Dancong Aria

Decent oolong, naturally sweet and fruity.

WOW…what a flavor. I read the description on Adagio and had to give it a try, and I’m glad I did. I just got this in the mail today. I opened the container and instantly smelled tropics. It’s a light amber brew, naturally sweet, slightly astringent in a pleasant way, light on the mouth feel, but with a great unique flavor and a hint of malt. I find that the flavors are more pronounced once it cools down a bit. The flavors in the description are quite accurate: “The one we have chosen intrigued us with its hypnotic orchid notes and lingering honey sweetness.” I’m already partial to oolongs, but the unique flavor in this one made me do a “double take,” if you will. This is only my first cup, and it came out pretty much perfect, but I imagine that too long of a steep time with water that’s any hotter than 200F will result in it being overly bitter.

UPDATE: A purposefully overbrewed cup the following day wasn’t any more bitter.

I was pleasantly surprised by this tea. I threw the oolong sampler into my cart to meet the $50 free shipping limit, but I didn’t have very high expectations. Adagio is a solid company with some good flavored teas, but I certainly wasn’t expecting their pure teas to be so top-notch. In fact, this is a lot better than any of the blends/flavored teas I’ve had from them (except for the Thai Chai, which is heavenly).

There are definite floral notes, orchid most likely. I’m not overly familiar with orchid scented teas but that is what this seems like going off of other notes. It’s less overpowering than jasmine and it’s also got a strong, sweet honey flavor that hits you in the back of the throat. It’s perfume-y all the way through the sip too, unlike many other floral teas I’ve had where it’s just prominent when it first hits your tongue. I am also getting a mellow citrus feeling as it cools, mandarin orange or clementine. It’s a very crisp cup, though I increased the water temperature for the second steep and got more malty notes.

EDIT: That floral note is violet! It’s reminiscent of those violet candies you get in the pretty purple wrapper. There’s also a bit of “wet grass after a spring rain” taste going on in the 3rd steep…. they really need to make a perfume that smells like this tea, it’s so elegant.

Today I’m getting hints of peach in the aroma (both of the leaves, and from the tea) as well as in the flavor. This is a very interesting tea, as it has a sweetness to it, but also a mossy/earthy flavor that balances that sweetness. The result is a complex flavor that unfolds with each sip, as well as while the tea cools. Good stuff!

Slowly sipping and trying to picture the Phoenix Mountain, China where it grows. Then I just googled it http://Scenery.cultural-china.com/en/109Scenery2859.html and yes that’s exactly how I imagined it :)

It’s malty, and fairly dark (which I like) and indeed I can taste some hints of honey.

Interview with the farmer: http://www.adagio.com/roots_campaign/pan_hui_huang.html?SID=4479b90a72dfa50bd67c2576cf0fcbce

I stopped the kettle well before boiling this time, and only steeped for two minutes. This tea seems to go bitter very easily, since this infusion is just on the edge.

However, it is DELICIOUS. The fruity aromas are prominent throughout the experience, they do not let up at any point and are well noticeable through to the aftertaste. It is absolutely gorgeous. Best oolong I’ve had so far.

I enjoyed this tea and so did my 3 year old daughter. What can I say I drank A LOT of tea when I was pregnant and there must have been some transference. LOL :o) The girl has a complex palette. Nevertheless, I felt this was a medium/light tea, earthy flavor but not grassy with floral accents and touch of sweetness. Tasty indeed!

I second Pat’s ‘double take’. What a fine tea! It’s like a wine: very fine focused taste. I did drink mine with sugar, but I have no doubt it the honey sweetness of the natural flavours make it fine on its own. I left my mug for a while and came back to a nearly chill tea, just as good as it was hot. Based on this, I think it would make a fabulous iced drink. This was a sample, I’m definitely ordering a full size.

It took several tries to get a good-tasting steep from this tea – it definitely does not benefit from oversteeping, and it is well worth while to time the steep and pull out the leaves after no more than 5 minutes. Oversteeping will result in an astringent aftertaste. It might benefit from a shorter steep with more leaves.

This looks like a black tea, but brews up very light and delicate. I added more leaves than I might for a Darjeeling or other black tea. During brewing, the smell reminded me of spinach – a strongly vegetal, mineral aroma. Even after adding more leaves, it brewed up a very light amber, with a light floral aroma. Once I got the steep right, I tasted a smooth, flavorful tea with a definite sweetness.

I like it very much, and think it is worth keeping on hand, even though it is a bit fussy to brew.

It has dark twisted leaves with a pretty fruit smell. Steeping it creates a sweet oolong tea with a bit too much bitterness for my taste. One of the few teas I couldn’t finish.