Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Almond, Biting, Bitter, Butter, Floral, Fruity, Lychee, Milk, Peach, Roasted, Smooth, Sweet, Creamy, Dried Fruit, Grain, Perfume, Apricot, Oats, Thick
Sold in
Bulk, Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Organic
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 0 sec 4 g 6 oz / 168 ml

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3 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Yet another episode of “Didn’t I write this note last year?” I could have cheated and wrote it somewhere else. Anyway, an okay backlog. I got this last year as a sample when Hugo started to release...” Read full tasting note
    87
  • “Doing a bit of gongfu cha today! Highly unusual for me, but I’m doing a tea-themed spring countdown box on Instagram, and this was the item for today. I figured it would be silly to steep it in...” Read full tasting note

From Hugo Tea Company

This tea is certified organic.

HU ZAI DUCK is a dancong oolong made on Hu Zai mountain, a name locals use for a specific hillside of Wudong Shan in the Pheonix mountains of Chaozhou, Guangdong, China (the same origin as our ba xian). This is a production of ya shi xiang—or, colloquially, “duck shit”. A provocative name with a far-fetched story, this scent is a favorite among dancong enthusiasts with a penchant for Chinese folklore, but is best appreciated for the craftsmanship that goes into producing this lighter oxidation dancong.

This lot is an earlier spring production than the Cai’s ba xian. Like many dancong producers, the Cai family at Hu Zai tea farm pride themselves on their talent for proper ya shi xiang. The whither is shorter, and the oxidation—controlled via a series of rollings in cloth sacks—demands an attentive eye, as the aim is a much lighter bruise than higher oxidation dancongs. A finished duck shit should be yellow-green, with streaks of blue-purple, and emit high fragrance. The final roast is at lower heat for less time, used more to fix (deactivate the enzymes responsible for oxidation) the tea than impart any roast qualities. A post-production mid-autumn roast is rarely done (though as this 2018 lot ages we may re-roast ourselves with guidance form the Cai’s).

The Cai’s ya shi xiang is a strong foil to their ba xian, with abundant perfume and a thin, sweet liquor reminiscent of rambutan fruit. Steep at gongfu grammage with water well-off the boil for delicate body and tropical tree fruit; longer for a mouthful of flowers.

notes — lily | longan | refined
nomenclature — ya (鸭)—"duck" | shi (屎)—"shit" | xiang (香)—"scent"
style — ya shi xiang (“duck shit scent”)
cultivar — ya shi
region — Chaozhou, Guangdong, China
locale — Hu Zai tea farm
elevation —
producer — Cai family
vintage — spring ’18

About Hugo Tea Company View company

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3 Tasting Notes

87
1704 tasting notes

Yet another episode of “Didn’t I write this note last year?” I could have cheated and wrote it somewhere else.

Anyway, an okay backlog. I got this last year as a sample when Hugo started to release more of their loose leaf. It’s softer than most Yashi’s I’ve had and a lot creamier, but like Cameron notes, it got almost too floral in the later steeps. I did it gong fu to, and the lily, longhan, lychee(the site mentions rambutan), milk, LOTS of nutty almond, and peach were the reoccuring notes. The roast was there a little bit, but extremely bare to be noticeable when drinking the tea. It’s more noticeable in the dry leaf.

It’s butteriness also compared to some Taiwanese teas, but this tea is not at all vegetal-only fruity, nutty and floral. It can get sharp and bitter if it’s oversteeped, and I actually got some light minerals in steep five. There are some similarities to Bitterleafs 2016’s ducktales in it’s light fruitiness and minerality, but this one was more nutty and thicker in texture.

I actually debated on getting more into it, but again, I have too much Dancong I’m behind on. Then again, I might get more. But I’m saving. We’ll see how financially dumb I’m feeling.

I personally recommend it as a really affordable Dancong of this varietal and as one that was surprisingly durable. It was also very fruity and nutty, and I liked how it balanced out with the roast. It is a on the greener side without being vegetal, so that’s a welcome sign. I’d be curious to see what other people on here think about it. Also, they are going to sell out of this season, so if you want to try it, now, as for the days before easter in 2021 on this good friday, timing is of the essence.

So memorable, but this is not my best note since it’s a really old backlog and I’m bordering on unreliable narrator. To simplify things though, it’s a fruitier dancong that is pretty easy to drink for new drinkers and great for intermediate-to expert, and is decently priced for a durable Yashi. It can get bitter if oversteeped and border on biting if you’re not careful, but not as harsh as other dancongs in general. I can’t rate it because I’m siphoning memories of it last spring, but I remember enough to at least write about it.

Flavors: Almond, Biting, Bitter, Butter, Floral, Fruity, Lychee, Milk, Peach, Roasted, Smooth, Sweet

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3986 tasting notes

Doing a bit of gongfu cha today!

Highly unusual for me, but I’m doing a tea-themed spring countdown box on Instagram, and this was the item for today. I figured it would be silly to steep it in any other way, so out came the gaiwan!

I did 10, 15, 20, 20, 25, 30s steeps. I’m sure I could’ve kept going, but I got bored.

To be honest, this just isn’t my kind of flavor profile. The first steep was delicious, very milky and buttery with some nice dried stonefruit and grain notes, and lush but light and sweet floral notes. But from there, the floral notes sort of took over, and we all know that strong floral isn’t my thing. Still some nice peach notes, but mostly floral.

It was fun to try though! And I have a little bit left to try steeping Western-style another day…

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNI6EHeBfQX/

Flavors: Butter, Creamy, Dried Fruit, Floral, Grain, Milk, Peach, Perfume, Smooth, Sweet

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Daylon R Thomas

Great note! And it totally reminded me that I forgot to write about that one from last year…right when I was catching up on my notes. I really liked that one. If I didn’t already have a horde of Dancongs I’m behind on, I would have gotten more than a sample. I also love Hugo Tea. Their Jasmine Sachets are one of the best I’ve had, they are really upping their game with the loose leaf.

Cameron B.

Aw thank you, I didn’t think it was a very good note ha ha! I think I tried some teas from Hugo back when they had more of a steampunk theme, but this is my first tea from them in many years.

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