Phoenix Oolong

A kind of sipdown; but I have used all 5 grams in one session, so… not counting as one. Thank you a lot LeafHopper for this tea; and overall, I like to try DAVIDsTEA, as… sadly I can’t get those here.

I was in a mood for roasty and mineral tea after the Sweet Potato; and well that was delivered.

If I could, I would copy whole second paragraph from derk. Beautifully described, what this tea is about.

Walnuts, roast, wood, oaks, that all comes to the mind when steeping. Some minerality in the finish and aftertaste. I do not notice any fruits, but it could be age.

Steeps 15-30-45-60-… seconds. 7-8 steeps in total.

Simple tea. But good qualities here…

Nourishing, strengthening and calming, my face is a furnace!

Sweet aroma. Juicy minerality, oily and full of voluptuous honeyed lychee with yellow plum hints. Very diffuse, tingly bitterness with oaky/plum skin tannins. Aftertaste comes from the throat and is strongly caramelized honeydew, toasted coconut and cocoa butter and oh, yes, does it linger. Even some cooling in the mouth after the first several steeps. By the fifth steep, the taste has faded into roasty, woody and hay notes mixed into a tart taste.

This tea is a brilliant introduction to the world of Dan Cong oolong. It gives what it has without challenge. There are pronounced aromas, mouthfeels and tastes along with a seductive aftertaste. That diffuse bitterness perfectly balances the sweetness. I see this tea’s lack of longevity as a strength. The first four steeps were all I needed for a wholly satisfying experience.

Thanks for the sample, Leafhopper :)

Oh yeah, a tiny dab of patchouli on the wrists while drinking this was magical.

Decided to give this a try again. Its been sitting a while (over 6 months) and I swear the flavor profile has completely changed for me. It has a strong floral quality to it which becomes more prominent as it cools. There might be some sweetness, but its difficult for me to say. I’m not a fan of floral flavors and it can make it difficult for me to notice other flavors.

Just not wowed by this one.

I bought this Dancong in 2017 or 2018 when DAVIDsTEA still had stores near me. (Those were the days!) I think it was a Frequent Steeper reward, as I got 50 g. Roswell Strange recently mentioned that it was a favourite Mi Lan Xiang, so I had to dig it out of the tea museum. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of lychee, plum, char, and roast. The first steep has notes of lychee, plum, roast, grain, honey, orchid, oats, walnut, and wood. The plum is a lot more prominent than the lychee in the next couple steeps, and the tea is nutty and roasty. The lychee, honey, and florals are mainly in the aftertaste. Steeps five and six emphasize dates, plums, spices, hay, grass, and minerals, with the honey sweetness expected of a Mi Lan Xiang plus a lot of roast. There’s some honeydew melon in the aroma at the bottom of the cup, but it doesn’t make it into the tea. The sweet fruit persists for another couple steeps, after which the tea becomes nutty and roasty with some minerals.

This is a nice, middle-of-the-road Mi Lan with a bit more roast than I like. Maybe the fruit was more noticeable when the tea was fresher.

Advent tea
Wow this is sweet. What a nice fruity, honey oolong. I’ve been stuck in Big Red Robe land too long and have forgotten that oolongs can be tasty without too much flowery pomp and circumstance. The first steep tastes like honeydew melon. Second steep is just as sweet and honey melon as the first. Thanks for sharing Lexie!

The complexity of this tea is amazing. It’s made with only Oolong Tea leaves but the depth of flavor is incredible. It has a bit of dry grass / hay scent to it when brewed and you definitely get those notes when tasting it too. However, what is most surprising is how bright this tea ends up being. It’s fruity and almost sweet. I taste dates and, as others have mentioned, lychee.

I am impressed, you gotta try this.

I used my frequent steeper points on this. Honestly, I had high expectations for this tea because it is so expensive. So, out of my massive recent David’s Tea order, this was the first one that I tried.

The dry leaf of this smells like a good quality black tea. I might get an apricot note if I go looking for it, but other than that, I think it smells more like a black tea. The leaves are absolutely beautiful – long, delicate, and wispy.

I steeped this according to the instructions, and upon first taste, it really tastes like lychees, flowers, and slightly of stone fruit. But for me, the lychee note is the most prominent. It has absolutely no astringency either.

I also look forward to re-steeping this a few times!

Overall, this is a fancy oolong tea. And I would recommend using your frequent steeper points to try this. But I am not sure if I will buy it again on my own.

Day 8 of my DIY 24 Days of DAVIDsTea!

I think Phoenix Oolong just might be in my top 5 favourite straight/traditional teas from DAVIDsTea… It was the first dancong I ever tried and fell in love with. It’s so flavourful, bursting with notes of plum and lychee. I love the natural, brown sugar-like sweetness and the roasted character of this oolong.

I try not to go overboard on this one, because I’d hate to run out too soon, but thankfully I can keep enjoying it through subsequent re-steeps!

10/10 – would recommend!

Trying to sip through this, so made a pot this morning. Floral and slightly fruity (getting a juicy lychee flavor, still not as strong as the first cup). Ready for this one to be gone.

Picked this up as a free 50g of tea with my latest online order. No regrets, as it’s delicious. Rich, dark honey sweetness, minerally, woody. It was the sweetness I was after, and I was glad it delivered.

I did notice that the sweetness of phoenix oolongs seems to be best when the cup of tea is fresh; after sitting overnight, it wasn’t nearly as delicious. This is not the case for all teas, but seemed especially noticeable with this one. I suspect chilling it could have a similar effect; perhaps I’ll try one day.