Mi Lan Dan Cong

Because of the delicacy of this oolong, I decided to brew this in a gaiwan with short infusions. First, while I heated the water, I took a look and smell of the dry leaf. Opening the pouch, I bring it to my nose and inhale deeply. The scent is sweet and heavy. Complex, because the heaviness and “darkness” in it seem to be along a different track than the sweetness, which seems to spiral through the tea, never settling in one place. The leaves look dark, twisted, and almost fragile. I rinse the leaves and prepare to begin.

The first steeping is for 30 seconds, and produces a deep and sweet smelling liquor that entrances the nose. The flavour mimics the scent, with a floral profile and a dark flavour reminiscent of a Formosa oolong. A sweet aftertaste sits on the tongue and coats the inside of the mouth. Immensely potent describes this steeping well.

I eagerly steep the leaves again. This steeping is much more subdued. The various elements are well-pronounced. This tea is very delicious and is quite the joy to drink.

By the third steeping, the aroma has become lighter and more vegetal, while maintaining its sweetness. The sweetness of flavour, mingling with the newly developed vegetal flavours, bursts in the mouth quite pleasantly.

The fourth steeping seems to have leveled out the flavour profile. It tastes much like the third steeping. I resteep the leaves again and decide that I am not going to get any more transformations from this delectable tea.

I will continue to steep these leaves until they give out, but this has so far been an excellent experience.

I give this tea an 85/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

The dried, dark leaves are quite long (1 to 2 inches) so it would have been easier to prepare this by weight versus spoon. The tea has a really unique fragrance- cereal and fruity, like graham crackers and stone fruit.

The prepared tea is on the darker side for an oolong with a slight red tint. The malty cereal notes are prominent in both fragrance and flavor. This is subtly sweet, leaning more towards fruit than honey. As the cup cooled, it developed a very slight tannic quality making it similar to a very weak black tea.

I really like the fragrance on this one. As soon as I opened the bag, I had the imagery of Teddy Grahams holding peaches. I like when there’s an immediate connection. The flavor was enjoyable, but there wasn’t anything that set this apart for me.

This was really delicious! Thanks Mercuryhime! I got through 4 infusions and they were all very fruity, floral, sweet and roasty. Definitely tasted some lychee or similar notes. I loved how the leaf tips turned green after the first infusion. They looked and smelled like a chinese green or somthing similar. Not what I was expecting from an oolong but I quite enjoyed it.

Wow! WOW!

I try not to read the descriptions before I take my first sip, because I usually can never taste the flavors they say I should be able to taste. But this? Lychee all the way. This is amazing. Love it. I can’t wait to play with it some more.

The scent is very earthy, sweet and reminds me of baked bread. It’s been a while since I’ve had this tea, so I’m excited to see if anything’s changed with my tastebuds.

Sipping… It’s mostly earthy, a bit floral and a tiny bit astringent for me. I also detect some bread, honey and tree bark. It’s not as tasty as I remember it. I think I might be picking up on more of the earthy dirt notes instead of the honey. I wish it had a little bit more body or richness. Not sure if I would purchase more of this one, but happy to have tried it again!

A glorious Oolong with marvellous ‘staying power’ – floral and with just the right amount of Oolong toastiness – Had never had a Dan Cong before this and this is one I will be ordering

Sipdown no. 16 of 2021 (no. 636 total). A sample.

Backlogging from yesterday when this was my last tea of the day, steeped western in the Breville.

Alas, I did not get the full impact of it because I didn’t have quite enough, so had to add some Harney Da Hong Pao because it was the dark oolong easiest to get a hold of at the time.

I didn’t look back at my first note before having this again and I had a thought that went something like — hmm, that’s interesting. What is that? I know it is distinctive. And then looking back at my first note I realized it was lychee.

Distinctive and comforting with its toastiness.

first infusion produces a great lychee aroma and taste.
second infusion continues but with some harshness (40 seconds)
only had time for a third, similar infusion. taste appears to be waning though after the third

Oh….. bad bad bad. I haven’t tried this one before? Agh, I’m so sorry MercuryHime! I thought I’d tried everything at least once, but I suppose that explains why there were two servings in this bag…. Anyways, finally getting to trying this today (apparently), and it is quite good. Long, full leaves (a miracle given how long I’ve had it!), and although I think a bit of flavour may have been lost, a 4-minute or so infusion gave me a perfect cup of broth, umami, roasty oolong. This is kind of like the da hong pao I had from 52teas the other day – similar flavours (duh, roasted oolong). Anyways, I clearly had forgotten how much I adored this flavour profile. So incredibly good. So smooth, no bitterness, just deliciousness. Going to have another infusion shortly.

This is something over the top for an oolong – immediate peachy taste, with just a tiny hint of astringency. The fruitiness wells up – it’s tutte frutte, with a strong dash of honey! Subsequent infusions keep up the taste, leaving a wonderful gum-lickable aftertaste. Altogether too heady, with a taste satisfaction that endures. Maybe too fruity, but keep some to entice your girl friends!