Middle Mountain "Wild Ba Xian" Dan Cong Oolong Tea 野生八仙

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Oolong Tea Leaves
Flavors
Apple, Bitter, Floral, Forest Floor, Grain, Grassy, Milky, Mineral, Nectarine, Nutty, Smooth, Star Anise, Stewed Vegetables, Sugarcane, Vegetal, Woody, Almond, Apricot, Astringent, Biting, Bread, Cherry, Citrus, Coriander, Cream, Custard, Grass, Honey, Nutmeg, Orange Blossom, Orange Zest, Orchid, Peach, Pear, Rose, Stonefruit, Strawberry, Vanilla, Violet, White Grapes, Wood
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Togo
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 4 oz / 114 ml

Currently unavailable

We don't know when or if this item will be available.

From Our Community

3 Tasting Notes View all

From Yunnan Sourcing

Our “Wild Ba Xian” grows wild at 900 meters of altitude (Middle Mountain) above Da An Village. This comes from a small stand of trees that grow naturally and are more than 50 years old.

“Ba Xian” also known as the Eight Immortals Dan Cong grows in a couple of villages (Phoenix, Ping Keng Tou, and Zhong Shan) in the Wu Dong mountains typically at an elevation of 500-700 meters. The original eight plants of this varietal date back to the Song dynasty. Of the original eight plants only one survived and it was from this “Mother” plant (now called F1) that “Ba Xian” survived and spread. For this reason it also called “Ba Xian Guo Hai” (The Eight Immortals Cross the Ocean) Today Ba Xian is grown in a few villages (in Wu Dong) but is not mass produced.

Ba Xian is a special varietal in that it has 53 distinct aromatic molecules in it. It is also grown completely naturally without the use of pesticides, using composted chicken manure as it’s sole fertilizer.

The taste is strong with an up-front bitterness that quickly fades in to a fruit and flower sweetness. It has a distinct White Magnolia (白玉兰香) aroma to it.

An incredibly unique tea, grown naturally and carefully processed to preserve it’s lovely character.

Spring harvest from Da An Village

About Yunnan Sourcing View company

Company description not available.

3 Tasting Notes

85
120 tasting notes

(Spring 2023 harvest) Florals and pencil lead on the nose. Some bitterness on the palate, somewhat astringent.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

86
943 tasting notes

I love the smooth, coating mouthfeel of this tea, as well as its elegant taste and complex aromas.

I can smell notes of forest, white nectarines, milk, stewed green vegetables in the pot. The taste is quite bitter and fresh – it has a very crisp and mineral presence. Among Dan Congs, it is more of a floral/savoury kind with notes of apple leaves, star anise, grass, sweet grains, wood and nuts. Addintionally, there is a sugarcane sweetness in the finish.

Flavors: Apple, Bitter, Floral, Forest Floor, Grain, Grassy, Milky, Mineral, Nectarine, Nutty, Smooth, Star Anise, Stewed Vegetables, Sugarcane, Vegetal, Woody

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 4 OZ / 110 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

88
1048 tasting notes

I’m slowly coming to the end of my long list of 2017 Dancong oolongs. I’ve enjoyed most of them, though I have encountered a few serious misses along the way. This was another strong offering. It was a little more biting and astringent than Yunnan Sourcing’s Wu Dong Ba Xian that I always seem to like from year to year, but it was still a very enjoyable tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 6 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of cream, custard, nectarine, orchid, peach, and orange blossom. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of rose, tangerine, and sugarcane. The first infusion introduced aromas of baked bread, grass, white grape, and roasted almond. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cream, roasted almond, orchid, wood, baked bread, and orange blossom that were chased by hints of tangerine, white grape, sour cherry, grass, sugarcane, peach, and honey. The subsequent infusions coaxed out aromas of violet, honey, vanilla, wood, strawberry, apple, and coriander. Notes of nectarine and custard came out in the mouth along with stronger and more immediate impressions of sour cherry, tangerine, grass, and peach. Impressions of minerals, violet, apricot, pear, vanilla, orange zest, and nutmeg also appeared alongside hints of rose, strawberry, apple, and coriander. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, grass, wood, sour cherry, cream, roasted almond, orchid, violet, pear, and orange zest that were underscored by hints of custard, sugarcane, baked bread, coriander, apricot, honey, white grape, and rose.

This was a quality Dancong oolong with a bit of an edge. As my gongfu session progressed, I noticed that the liquor became livelier and more biting while a noticeable astringency built. It is not unusual for that to happen with Dancong oolongs, but I found it to be particularly noticeable with this one. Fortunately, it was only a little distracting and did not detract much from the wonderful aromas and flavors this tea had to offer. Fans of Dancong oolong teas who are looking to get into Ba Xian probably should not start with this tea or another one like it, but for Dancong drinkers who are a little more familiar with teas of this type, a tea like this one would be a good option for expanding their horizons.

Flavors: Almond, Apple, Apricot, Astringent, Biting, Bread, Cherry, Citrus, Coriander, Cream, Custard, Grass, Honey, Mineral, Nutmeg, Orange Blossom, Orange Zest, Orchid, Peach, Pear, Rose, Stonefruit, Strawberry, Sugarcane, Vanilla, Violet, White Grapes, Wood

Preparation
6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.