Honey Orchid "Mi Lan Xiang" Dan Cong Oolong Tea * Spring 2018

Here is a review of another of my sipdowns from the summer of 2020. I generally find this tea to be one of Yunnan Sourcing’s most approachable and consistent Dancong oolongs from year to year, and this spring 2018 version was no exception. Though I have had better Mi Lan Xiang and generally tend to be picky about such teas anyway, this was a very good offering overall.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a standard 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 7 seconds. This initial infusion was chased 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 honey, orchid, cinnamon, peach, plum, sugarcane, cream, and cherry. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of spinach, roasted almond, and orange blossom. The first infusion introduced aromas or baked bread and vanilla. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of orchid, cream, vanilla, peach, sweet cherry, sugarcane, roasted almond, and orange blossom that were chased by hints of honey, spinach, grass, nectarine, lychee, baked bread, orange zest, and cinnamon. The bulk of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of grass, butter, orange zest, custard, nectarine, lychee, pear, violet, and coriander. Stronger and more immediately presented notes of honey, lychee, grass, orange zest, baked bread, and nectarine emerged in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, pomegranate, butter, candied pomelo, pear, green apple, earth, violet, cucumber, coriander, and white grape. I also picked out some occasional hints of custard. As the tea faded, the liquor continued to emphasize notes of minerals, coriander, roasted almond, white grape, orange zest, green apple, pear, butter, and grass that were chased by a swell of subtler impressions of spinach, sugarcane, orchid, lychee, cucumber, peach, plum, and baked bread.

Compared to the Classic Mi Lan Xiang, this was a sweeter, fruitier, and more syrupy tea with a heavier, thicker mouthfeel. Its comparatively fewer quirks and rough edges made it the more approachable of the two, though that also had the effect of making it seem slightly less unique. Still, this was a very good tea. People who are into sweet, floral teas or those looking for a high quality entry into the world of Dancong oolong would love an offering like this one.

Silly me ordered this even though I don’t enjoy a lot of honey-forward teas. And I’m not the biggest fan of dancong oolong. And when smelling the leaf every month trying to decide if I was in the mood, I was always left with this overwhelmingly rich and roasty honey impression that never coaxed my desires.

A stupid sense of longing arose within me today, that softie romanticism that could not be fulfilled. I again sniffed the leaves in their jar, maybe for the twentieth time. I reached for my saxophone, began to play. Another sniff of the leaf and this time, without hesitation, I measured 8 grams into my clay gaiwan. My cat, asleep on the bed, raised her head and gave me a leering glance. She’d had enough of my poor pressure control and the resulting off-key vibrations. She bellowed a deep and dissatisfied howl, stating her perturbance with my dissonant disturbance. She sauntered to the living room and sat on the chaise like the princess she is with her back turned to my door. Can I blame her? I’m going through spooning withdrawals, sorry.

I was weak and tired today and in my weariness, I committed a few follies at my tea table. Mistakes? No. Learning the boundaries of the leaf. One boundary is not letting a long hand brew the leaf. What was supposed to be five seconds for the first steep got away from me and turned into twenty. And while it was fine, I continued with forgetful infusions which did not do the brew any favors. The other limitation of this tea is that it’s green under the roast, as became clear by the third steep. Water right off the boil really brings out a full-mouthed drying quality. Not a sharp astringency, but when combined with seasonally low October humidity and a sunken sob playing her instrument, well, it was time to put away the brass. My cat is still snubbing me.

Other than that, this tea is not remarkable but it is comforting and pleasant, more than I wanted to give the dry leaf credit for. It’s like nourishing nectar coursing through my veins, at least that’s the way it made me feel. More floral and light than the dragging heaviness and soggy, sickly sweetness I usually experience from dancong. Besides the way the tea flows through my body and mind, its strength lies in the finish and aftertaste with the softest fuzzy white peach mixed with lychee. Yes.

Next time I will brew it with lower temperature before deciding if the leaf is as finicky as my cat’s preference for her water source — the bathtub faucet at a specific flow rate. Princess.

Edited to add a song pairing: Zero 7 — Somersault
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO-3U5m9N0w

Very enjoyable oolong, persistent taste after many steepings. Ribes, tropical fruits, flowers, sweetness but not too much.

This is most excellent tea.

I brewed this both GongFu style & Western style.

Western: I brewed it lightly @ 208 F for 2 minutes on the first infusion. There’s an aroma of rich honey and either a jasmine or orchid. The taste is similar. The honey taste is delicate but not overpowering and a very light touch of fruit with a very clean finish. The second infusion was similar to the first but a tad lighter. I want to try this again at a longer brew time.

Gongfu: First infusion @ 20 seconds/1TBSP/1 cup water @ 208F. Subsequent infusions @ 5-7 additional seconds. The honey & lychee aroma & taste stand out far more in this style of brewing. The flavors are more pronounced and distinct. It’s sweet but not overpoweringly so. This is an even more amazing tea brewed in the Chinese Gongfu style.

Exhilirating aroma that is very fruity with some longan fruit, apricots, cantaloupe and passionfruit. There are some more robust notes of forest floor in the background though.

When brewed light, the taste is mineral, fruity and a little sour, with some vegetal qualities too, which are mostly absent from the smell or just overpowered by other notes. I can also taste some baked bread and roasted walnuts in the background.
The tea induces a very interesting lingering effervescent, tickling and numbing feeling after drinking.

With harsher brew (higher temp and longer steeping time), I get a full bodied crisp liquor with thick oily mouthfeel and almost no astringency. Tea-like bitterness is very present, even in the aftertaste, but it transforms into something slightly sweet, nutty and very aromatic over time. The aftertaste is probably the most prolonged I have experienced with tea. The taste here is less fruity, the floral notes are much more pronounced instead. Interestingly, in later steeps, I notices some coffee taste as well.

There is a decently strong cha qi too, compared to most oolong teas I’ve had. Overall, my first session with a Dan Cong oolong will be remembered fondly. I am very impressed.