Wu Dong Ba Xian Dan Cong Spring 2015

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Astringent, Citrus, Floral, Herbaceous, Lychee, Orange Blossom, Roasted, Tropical, Malt, Orchid, Cream, Flowers, Fruity, Milk, Nutty, Strawberry, Thick
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Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Rasseru
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 5 oz / 139 ml

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5 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I wish I had sufficient experience with Dan Congs to distinguish the 53 separate aromatic molecules this one apparently has. Nevertheless, I can tell it’s good. The leaves are somewhat broken and...” Read full tasting note
    87
  • “Dry leaf: HERBAL, DRY SPICE, CITRUS (dry wood, dill, cilantro, cocoa powder, some baking spice notes, hint of dried red fruit. In preheated vessel – green stem, coriander, citrus, light lemon...” Read full tasting note
    82
  • “Yayy finally my ys order arrives! I ordered my first yancha along with 3 dancongs and some other less important non-oolong teas. All of the oolongs smell delicious, this one’s dry leaf smells...” Read full tasting note
  • “Totally agree with Rasseru. This is a generally over the top Dan Cong which I too have had darker roasted. The trend though has been to make lighter ones and with this tea its not an improvement...” Read full tasting note
    92

From Yunnan Sourcing

“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 2015 harvest from Ping Keng Tou village

Only 17 kilograms in total produced!

About Yunnan Sourcing View company

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5 Tasting Notes

87
413 tasting notes

I wish I had sufficient experience with Dan Congs to distinguish the 53 separate aromatic molecules this one apparently has. Nevertheless, I can tell it’s good. The leaves are somewhat broken and there’s not a lot of roast. In the bag, it smells fruity and herbaceous.

I filled my pot about halfway full of leaf, since I don’t have a small enough vessel to stuff it completely. With short steeps in boiling water, this tea has a lot going on. The first thing I notice is the orange blossom aroma, mixed with something that seems to combine citrus and tropical fruits. There’s also a nutty roasted undertone that gets more persistent in later steeps, plus a long fruity aftertaste. I’m now on my tenth infusion at 50 seconds and while the tea is winding down, I’ll probably get a lot more from it.

Flavors: Astringent, Citrus, Floral, Herbaceous, Lychee, Orange Blossom, Roasted, Tropical

Preparation
Boiling 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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82
167 tasting notes

Dry leaf: HERBAL, DRY SPICE, CITRUS (dry wood, dill, cilantro, cocoa powder, some baking spice notes, hint of dried red fruit. In preheated vessel – green stem, coriander, citrus, light lemon oil)

Smell: NUTTY, FLORAL (savory, green stem, nutty, floral – orchid-like?)

Taste: NUTTY, FRUIT, CITRUS, FLORAL. In the mouth, there is a base of woody “green stem” and black tea blend that, in initial steeps, combines with light nut oiliness and orchid-like floral notes. There are also notes of baking spices and cilantro. The finish accentuates floral note and sharp fruit/herbal notes. Aftertaste is complex, with peach, red currant, cilantro, and coriander.

Initial steeps are really fun – there is quite a bit of complexity and the flavor certainly changes between steeps. The in-mouth experience is not super complex, but the aftertaste is a lot of fun to explore and enjoy. After about 6 steeps, the in-mouth flavors are a general woody/green stem tea flavor, but the aftertaste remains strong and continues to develop for several more steeps.

This definitely accentuates the pleasant sharp, pungent notes of dan cong – what a lot of folks seem to associate with as “soapiness.” Definitely a fair observation, but I relate these flavors to the sharpness of red currant, with the pungency of cilantro and coriander. You can overdo it with your brewing parameters, but when done right, it is a tasty experience.

Final note – be sure to use enough leaf. It can be a bit watery without a fair helping of leaves in the vessel. You really have to gong fu this sucker – FILL UP the vessel with leaves and use short steep times.

Go get yourself some soap tea and bring back memories of cussing in front of your mom and being sent to the bathroom with a bar of soap in your mouth. Great times! (Just kidding – it really is pretty tasty soap!)

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 4 OZ / 118 ML

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141 tasting notes

Yayy finally my ys order arrives! I ordered my first yancha along with 3 dancongs and some other less important non-oolong teas. All of the oolongs smell delicious, this one’s dry leaf smells roasty, cocoa, vanilla, minty, and sort of fruity like raspberry or orange peels, I’m also curious to see how dancong does like a year and a half after harvest

In the warm gaiwan, there’s a warm sweet, sugary honey-like aroma, some mintiness, and a lovely.. uh I think it’s like a orange-flavoured syrupy.. aroma.

hm I get a bit of a spinachy taste, and a honey aroma, a nectarine taste, with a lovely dancong soapy sharpness on the tongue. Okay I always read about how you shouldn’t use a cha hai with dancong and I usually have just used it anyways cause then I can use my strainer and but okay so I tried without and it seems to be kind of a lot better tasting.

I get sort of a buttery aroma in the third, and a peach like aroma, and a lingering orange juice.. with pulp.. thing. it leaves a sweet thickness in the back of the mouth and throat. also a lingering gummy grape kind of aroma, this is a lovely dancong. Later in the session, an almondy lingering aroma kinda takes over.
The flavour and aroma lasts for a long time, i’m on 10th-ish steep now, and there’s some bitterness creeping in, still a very pleasant dancong bitterness though.

This tea started out unbelievable tasting, and went to pretty good tasting by the end. Overall, it’s a delicious tea.

Preparation
Boiling
Rasseru

mmmmm. Yeah I love Ba Xian! What other Oolong did you get?

Mackie

I got a Da Wu Ye and Zhi Lan Xiang and the yancha is Hua Xiang Da Hong Pao :)

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92
188 tasting notes

Totally agree with Rasseru. This is a generally over the top Dan Cong which I too have had darker roasted. The trend though has been to make lighter ones and with this tea its not an improvement IMOA. Yes all the things you love are here, but not with the pop and clarity of a darker roasted version. That being said its still a damn good tea, finicky if over-steeped and just the right temp. I played with the temp and found lower to be better than the requisite 195. The number two on my best Ba Xians

Flavors: Citrus, Malt, Orange Blossom, Orchid

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 6 OZ / 180 ML
Rasseru

What was your favourite? I had a check and no higher ba xian ratings than this

BigDaddy

I drink it locally at a tea shop near me called Tea Drunk, she only does mainland Chinese teas and her heart is all oolong. The prices are high because she really does care about procuring the best teas for her shop and it reflects in the quality. She does tea-offs on Tuesdays , the type of tea is chosen before hand and everyone brings their own and compares with her version, lots of fun and a great learning experience.

tanluwils

If only I could get to NYC on the weekdays..

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95
338 tasting notes

Oh nom.

Ba Xian ‘Eight Immortals’ is one of my favourite Oolongs, the 53 distinct aromatic molecules in it might be a factor. Ive had more darker, more mineral, & more floral versions before, this one is floral & nutty & creamy – almost reminds me of ground up nut paste one would use for a korma base. Thick matte instead of sharp gloss. I dont know much about flower types so im always a bit basic when it comes to these descriptions. I just think orchids – apparently its white magnolia.

Milky, light, sometimes lychee, sometimes strawberries & cream, always about the oils, which, when brewed right are just gorgeous. If oversteeped you can get a bitter twist, same as other floral fenghuang, but when done right is thick silky heaven with a chameleon effect on the nose. You can get lost in the cup. Nom.

I was just thinking how amazing it is that good Ba Xian is my baseline tea that I compare others to, I feel blessed to have even tried it. It also does funny things to my head.

Flavors: Cream, Floral, Flowers, Fruity, Lychee, Milk, Nutty, Orchid, Strawberry, Thick

Daylon R Thomas

I might have to swap some eventually.

Rasseru

Yeah go for it – Dan cong isn’t cheap is it, alwa s nice to sample

Daylon R Thomas

Most of my teas are samples since I’m still trying so many. When I’ve found one that I am completely satisfied with in terms of taste, amount, and price, then I’ll stick to it. Namely, that is the Misty Mountain Oolong and Liquid Proust Tea’s French Toast Dianhong.

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