Bangkok Chinatown Dan Cong, compared with Moychay Nanjing Yesheng Dan Cong

 

I'm reviewing a sample of tea given to me by a local Chinatown shop owner, from the K. Mui Kee Tea shop.  I stopped by my favorite shop near there, Jip Eu, to buy tea as a gift for a local monk, for an event, and they were closed due to building repairs on their shop (the roof awning was damaged; a part of it fell).  

that shop owner is so nice, but I'm always visiting Jip Eu instead, since I know them

The tea I bought looked and smelled great, a wild origin black tea, but I don't have any of that to try and review.  But they did give me a sample of Dan Cong, so I'm reviewing it along with a version from Moychay.  Moychay just sent a mix of lots of samplers, as a thanks for helping with some editing, so I'll use them for comparison versions, when it works out.

There won't be any final type description of this Chinatown tea.  Maybe they mentioned a type range, or maybe they didn't.  I think the owner said that it's not Mi Lan Xiang, but I don't remember if he mentioned what it is.  He said that it's from an old plant source, and that it's really high in quality.

The price I did get:  1800 baht for 100 grams, which is about $53.  It's a great deal for that price, but then that's kind of normal for a lot of Bangkok Chinatown shops.  It's sky-high in relation to a lot of other tea range sold in Chinatown, but you could buy versions that aren't nearly as good for 1 1/2 to 2 times that price.

Here are the Moychay listing details:

Nanjing Wild Dancong Oolong (Nanjing Yesheng Dancong Cha)  (it's about $38 for 50 grams)

Nanjing Wild Dancong Oolong is an exceptionally rare tea harvested from abandoned old tea gardens and wild tea trees in the high mountains of Nanjing County, Fujian Province. The tea originates from Dancong cultivars that were once cultivated but have since grown wild for several decades, blending naturally with undomesticated tea trees in remote forested terrain.

The tea is hand-harvested each spring in extremely limited quantities—no more than 50 kilograms per year. Locating and gaining access to these trees took years of searching, as the gardens are known only to a handful of locals and remain largely hidden deep in the mountains.

The leaves are picked as one bud with two or three mature leaves and processed using traditional methods: withering, oxidation, fixation, rolling, and drying. The dry leaves are large, twisted, and wild in appearance, with a deep forest fragrance.

When brewed, Nanjing Wild Dancong produces a golden liquor with an arresting aroma—earthy, woody, with hints of tropical flowers and resin. The flavor is intense yet clean, with deep minerality, vibrant energy, and a lasting sweet-bitter balance that reflects the strength of its wild roots. It holds up to long and multiple steepings, revealing its complex, layered personality over time.

That sounds good, but the character seemed in between conventional Dan Cong range and typical good Taiwanese oolong character, maybe closer to the latter.  That's still exceptional, but perhaps not what people seeking out novel Dan Cong experience are looking for.

It's crazy that I'm reviewing two Dan Cong versions without mentioning a type name / fragrance category.  There probably is one, related to the Bangkok Chinatown tea, but that description is a decent reason for why there isn't one for the second.

This might be the black tea I just bought, looking for more background on this Dan Cong.  If that is it that sold for 850 baht ($25) for 175 grams, or 14 cents a gram.  If it tasted as good as it smelled it's a steal at that pricing.  I should give some to another monk, and tell him I need to pinch some to try it for review.

You can get a limited sense of how this is going to go from the dry leaf appearance, which isn't how tastings usually work out.

Review:

K. Mui Kee Tea Wudong Songzhong:  this brews so much darker than the other that a main difference is surely going to be oxidation level, probably coupled with a difference in roast input.  You could see that in the dry leaves; the reddish color base is what oxidized versions would tend to look like, and the dark green with lighter green in the tips is normal for lighter oolong.

I'm not sure the type of this.  It's sort of floral, but at the same time fruity.  It's not exactly like Mi Lan Xiang, although it could be that, and it just happens to express a good bit of ripe peach as well.  [editing note:  I mean it could be that from my limited ability to match the taste; as I recall the shop owner said it's not Mi Lan Xiang, since he mentioned that he sells a lower quality, lower cost version of that, but this is something else].

This form seems perfect, the way that oxidation, and surely some roast, combine to integrate those rich, layered flavors.  The material had to be really favorable to make this, but they also got the processing just right.

Even brewed light, on the first round, it's intense, with a rich feel, and lots of flavor depth and complexity.  It carries over aftertaste effect.  I really should be able to pin down the primary flavor, but may never in this.

Moychay Nanjing Yesheng Dan Cong:  it's a completely different style, of course.  It comes across almost like other forms of oolong, like something out of Taiwan, for being this light.  Intensity is still pretty good, and creaminess is pleasant.  It's not the most type-typical for Dan Cong preparation, but it works.  

Feel is pleasant, and there's a richness and complexity to this too, and even depth.  Flavors are in a much lighter range, but overall intensity is good.  Again the lighter floral range reminds me of Taiwanese high mountain oolong.  A unique and good version of one, but it's still in that range.

People sometimes discuss brewing around a characteristic astringency in Dan Cong, and these aren't harsh at all.  There's fullness to both, but no edge.  I think that relates more to low elevation grown, lower quality versions.

KMK Songzhong #2:  this tastes more like almond this round; maybe it's that flavor type?  It still includes great warm mineral depth, and some degree of floral and fruit range.  It's complex.  There's a pleasant liqueur like character to it, like cognac, brandy, or perfume.  The intense flavor really coats your mouth, as the feel does.  This is clearly a very good quality tea.  I forget the selling price for it but it was quite high, which I suppose is justified, given how nice this is.

M Nanjing:  tones warm in this.  It includes even more mixed floral range, which I can't place.  This might relate to three different flower scents, but one part is most pronounced.  A little of a green wood sort of astringency picks up, but it's so faint that green wood isn't a natural interpretation of it.  Maybe it's closer to spruce pine buds, for anyone who has ever tasted that.  It's like the more vegetal part of sage, which works out to actually be a complex scent and flavor range.

It's difficult for this to compare or compete with the other, related to my own preference, given how much I like that warmer toned, more balanced Dan Cong style.  But within the lighter style this expresses it's good.  It's interesting that it includes creaminess; that's more a different oolong range entirely.

Switching back to the other the perfume-like scent range stands out, and a light form of completely different feel.  A spice like cinnamon might include warm flavors, and it might also affect the feel in your mouth, and this (other Chinatown Dan Cong) is like that.  Not taking a tablespoon of dry cinnamon, I don't mean, but the much milder effect from a good bit of cinnamon being put on toast, of course with butter and sugar.

KMK Songzhong #3:  a little lighter, related to forward flavors, but the depth is as strong as ever.  I'm brewing this quite fast, and could extend the time to over 10 seconds next time, instead of under that.  It's quite pleasant brewed light though, since the flavor is already intense, and the feel doesn't become thin.  Sweetness stands out well brewed light.  

This is so complex that it doesn't really match the more typical one note sort of main flavor effect of Dan Cong.  There probably is one, that I'm not catching, but it expresses a range of flavors.

M Nanjing:  even though I love the other style more this holds its own relatively well.  It's also complex and full, with pretty good aftertaste expression.  Related to my own preference the much lighter flavor tone isn't as nice, but that part could be subjective.  It includes a little vegetal range, which isn't really a flaw, but it's different than the other only hitting positive, integrated flavor notes.  This is still mostly floral in flavor range, with creaminess actually tasting a little like cream.  

KMK Songzhong #4:  it's stronger, brewed stronger, but the perfume like intensity was already good last time.  The feel becomes more structured, and warmer tones stand out more.  A spice-like aspect range is more present, not unlike cinnamon, but maybe broader than that, including more than one spice flavor.  Almond is still present, and it didn't completely drop warm floral and rich fruit range.  All of that is bundled within a narrow and integrated range, even though it's quite complex.  Or maybe it's that it all connects somehow, that it matches and links together.  It's an interesting effect.

M Nanjing:  this is still quite pleasant, not so different than the last round, just a little heavier for being brewed longer.  Again this is in between a conventional high mountain oolong style, and typical Dan Cong.  Maybe just backing off the oxidation level input leads to that effect, but I'd guess in this case the "wild origin" plant type is playing a role.  It's interesting that the wild origin plant seems to taste a lot like a Qing Xin variation, the older set of plant types used in Taiwan.  

later rounds:  I tried these over a number of additional rounds, of course.  Both stayed quite pleasant for awhile, not changing in particularly interesting or unexpected ways.  Feel grew stronger and dryer in the Chinatown version, while the Moychay tea stayed smooth and full until the end.  Both were made from exceptionally high quality tea material, just in two relatively opposite processing styles.

Conclusions:

Now I wonder how much that Chinatown version cost.  $1 a gram pricing is pretty much unheard of locally (the Moychay version was 76 cents a gram, not quite that), so it really could sell for a lot less and still seem expensive, per local norms.  I should ask that shop owner and add it here, after I finish this post, as a later edit.  

That tea probably is worth at least $1 a gram; good Dan Cong is in high demand, and that version is pretty far up the scale.  If it's something like $2 that's too much, no matter how good it is, or how old a plant source is, even if that's still a normal market rate.

I've been trying some pretty exceptional teas recently, which has me considering just what it means for a tea to be about as good as a style or type gets.  That last Fu zhuan was amazing, and the two green teas (from Viet Sun and Moychay) were really good.  Even the last Thai sheng and black tea from Wawee Tea were pretty much as good as anything I've had from Thailand, although I think in that case it related more to a match to my own preference than to an atypical quality issue.  Quality level was good, very favorable, but they also happened to be just what I like.

As a sheng pu'er drinker I can sometimes really miss that intensity and general character, when I try these other exceptional versions.  Maybe less so with the Fu zhuan; that depth, complexity, and refinement really transcended the normal type range, for those.  With Dan Cong complexity is often favorable, in spite of what I just said about them tending to taste like one flavor, as they are marketed, but depth and refinement really sets the type apart.  But I still miss the way that sheng hits; it's hard to acclimate to the lower intensity.

Related to the Moychay Dan Cong tasting like Taiwanese oolong, to me, I think some people would find that very off-putting, and for others it could be a main appeal, a draw.  It's in between the conventional style ranges, which is completely unique.  But it's not floral or fruity in the same way Dan Cong often is, including that perfume like aromatic context that can come up.  It traded out that strength for including rich feel, and creaminess, and a different overall balance.  I suppose many people might already know where they stand on lighter versus more oxidized Dan Cong preparation.

Both teas were exceptional, again.  That running theme made it hard to place those recent Chen Sheng Hao sheng pu'er versions, the inexpensive and good value types, which were pretty good, well balanced and enjoyable, but more ordinary.  I can really appreciate ordinary but good tea; to me it's good enough.

Trying high quality Dan Cong in a Bangkok Chinatown tea shop

 

I visited my favorite tea shop to pick up some tea before I travel back to Hawaii, that CNNP cake I reviewed not long ago (a 2007 8281 Mengku origin sheng pu'er), and to get a bit of tea to give to monks I know on the way out of town.

While there the owner let me try some exceptional Mi Lan Xiang Dan Cong (Chaozhou, Guangdong origin oolong, of course).  It was presented as from a single tea plant, which is possible, but you kind of never really know.  The quality was really high; it was at least one of the best Dan Cong versions I've ever tried, and maybe the best.  There wasn't that much room for improvement, only style difference.  

The pricing was eye-watering:  500 baht or $15 for 7 grams, so it's pretty much $2 / gram tea.  Too much, for an ordinary experience.  But I suppose people might see it as a unique experience they wouldn't get around to repeating, that "once in a lifetime" kind of theme.  I don't even consider such things; my tastes and appreciation are fine with drinking ordinary teas.  And I'm adapted to Bangkok pricing ranges, where you can eat a meal for a lot less than $15, or eat and also travel around all day.

To start we discussed processing, relative degree of oxidation and roast.  Kittichai, the owner, said that it wasn't in the modern very lightly oxidized and roasted form, that it was more in a medium range (for both), so a step towards a more traditional, older form.  Really whatever works best for that tea material is best, along with personal preference determining that.  It worked out.  

The scent of the tea was incredibly sweet and floral, or maybe floral and fruity, but very fragrant either way.  It didn't really come to life until he put it in a warmed gaiwan, then it did, even dry.  He was using 4 grams in an 70 ml or so gaiwan (not that I can assess volume like that).  Probably the infusions were even smaller, with the top that you don't fill and the tea taking up space.

It was bright, fresh, fragrant, and intense right away.  The taste was as fruity as floral, even though that type (Mi Lan Xiang) is described as honey orchid, and it's usually more floral than fruity.  It tasted like fresh lychee, the other owner claimed, and that was a good match, even if the power of suggestion may have helped cinch that judgement.

From there it intensified over a few rounds, really turning it up around the 4th infusion.  Sweetness was off the scale, astringency fairly moderate, although there was some, and flavor intensity was crazy.  It was really clean, with great aftertaste expression, and positive mouthfeel.  Good enough to justify the  $2 / gram value?  Who knows.  It was roughly as good as Dan Cong probably gets, although I suppose someone who has been exploring the high end of that range for awhile could judge better.

It didn't transition that much until around 9 rounds in, and then a little astringency started to pick up, which one might interpret as tasting like bitterness, even though the two things aren't the same at all.  It wasn't really pronounced until about the 10th infusion, and we let off around then, or maybe at 11 or 12.

Flavor complexity was so intense that you were just being blasted by floral and fruit range, so it might've been hard to do the normal round by round description of shifts.  If the relative balance of all that was there kept changing I didn't keep track.  It was definitely clean, sweet, intense, balanced, and complex.

I didn't mention the color; it started out with a pinkish sort of color, then I think it transitioned to a more typical light golden amber oolong range.  I'm not sure what that's about, the extra touch of pink, or if it signifies anything.

Packaging was definitely a bit much; it came in tiny aluminum canisters, like weed might be sold in, if there is such a thing as elaborately high end versions of that.  Then that was in a custom case.  This isn't so unusual for Chinese teas, presented as exceptional; they can go a little overboard.  I suppose status would be part of the appeal, drinking what is expensive, refined, and rare, and the packaging helps support that.  

Things are just different in China too.  One might expect lots of things to be rougher edged or more basic, somehow, but there's a broad higher end range of lots of types of experience or aesthetic context that's more the opposite.  Not that I've ever really been living the high life in China; I've visited that country three times, but as a value-oriented tourist (twice), and on a work trip once.  That almost leads into telling a story or two, doesn't it?  I probably shouldn't, but let's.

I went to China on business a long time ago now, maybe just over 15 years, so what I relate might be dated.  I'll skip the parts about the work context; it was somewhat IT related, since that's the field I work in, and from there it doesn't matter.  I was introduced to better tea in a Gong Fu ceremonial brewing demonstration at the company we visited (probably the one company you might think of).  

They were pretty good about not making it seem like tall, beautiful women were the norm in that country, even though they were that as hosts, and extending that not to make lots of claims about the tea brewing, hyping ancient traditional forms as being something they're generally not.  People might make wishes when they pour tea over tea pets; a fairly basic idea like that comes up.  Maybe that frog relates to money (it is holding a coin), and another to success with family, so it would be a good place / context for asking for a next child.  

Chinese people love to make wishes, as Thais do.  My wife loves to visit Hong Kong temples and go through all of that, or there are lots of Chinese temples in Thailand too.  We just happened to be walking into a local Chinese temple in Korat, Thailand, when we had just picked up Myra, our cat (then a kitten), back in 2021, so I took her in there and asked the multitude of Chinese gods to keep an eye on her.  So far so good.

 

some people might recognize this old Shenzhen mall space

Hong Kong; a temple, of course

Apparently drinking alcohol plays a role in business connections.  That's probably the last time I've been good and drunk.  The next time we met with another Chinese company I kept it bit more reeled in; it matches an expectation to go there, but it's really a bit much for me, as a non-drinker (now even more so, but mostly that back then too).

Enough stories.  Later I bought some tea in a shop, waiting for others to buy other things, and that started my next level of tea exploration.  But it was all normal enough.

Back to this tea, it was amazing.  Others would probably appreciate it a lot more than I did.  Earlier on in my exploration of teas I was really into broadening my horizons, and trying out exceptional range, and now I'm fine with just drinking good tea, and by that I mean anything with character and aspects one can appreciate.  That's most teas; they just offer different experiences.  Maybe the low end grocery store versions aren't like that, and other ranges that are comparable, but so, so much of tea range is interesting and pleasant, or at least just pleasant.

But it was nice having a unique experience.  I ran through a tasting set of pretty decent Dan Cong from ITea World a year or so ago (more now?), and it was nice trying the other types.  Mi Lan Xiang and Ya Shi / duck shit get most of the attention in "the West."  And they're often quite pleasant, so I suppose that they should, but others are also interesting.  I tried a number of them from Cindy, of Wuyi Origin, and that's a good source for exploring pretty far up the quality scale, at pricing that's quite fair for what they sell, even approaching $1 / gram.

Cindy!

Being more into sheng pu'er I don't even buy that much oolong now, of any kind.  Eventually I'll probably cycle back through a long exploration and experience phase again, but who knows how long that will take.  Good black tea is more my fallback, most often Dian Hong.  By good I don't mean searching out the high end, best of the best, I mean basic and pleasant.  And if good comparable forms are from Thailand and Vietnam I'll drink that instead, so I suppose calling that Dian Hong style tea is more accurate (DH adjacent?).

This shop sells pretty decent, upper medium quality tin packaged Dan Cong, at a much lower price point range.  That's more what I'd drink, but I only buy it there to give away to monks, to save my tea budget for the next sheng cake, or maybe black tea.

that tea I just bought, and already reviewed earlier, 2007, so perfect for getting to now

Cinnamon and Almond fragrance Dan Cong

This reviews two more Dan Cong versions from an ITea World sample set.  Earlier versions were amazing, much better than I could have expected.  This will continue that or not; we'll see.  This is from their website information about it:

That set lists for $80 ($79.99), but that vendor seems to routinely offer themed discounts, so it would be around that, maybe a little less.  Ordinarily 80 cents a gram is a lot for teas, of most types, but for really good Dan Cong that's probably fair.  These teas would be hard to find, at any price.

It's a little odd that the Chinese names for these aren't included; one would just expect that.  It doesn't mean that much to me, but I suppose others would feel differently about it.  It's easy enough to look that up, if you know where, cited here from the Tea Obsession blog (thanks Imen!):

Yu Lan Xiang - magnolia flower fragrance 玉蘭香

Huang Zhi Xiang - orange flower fragrance 黄枝香

Xing Ren Xiang - Almond flavor 杏仁香

Zhi Lan Xiang - Orchid fragrance 芝蘭香

Mi4 Lan Xiang - Honey Orchid fragrance 蜜蘭香

Gui Hua Xiang - Osmanthus fragrance 桂花香

You Hua Xiang - Pomelo/grapefruit flower fragrance 柚花香

Jiang Hua Xiang - Ginger flower fragrance 姜花香

Rou Gui Xiang - Cinnamon flavor (not the same as Wuyi Rou Gui) 肉桂香

Mi3 Lan Xiang - Milan flower fragrance 米蘭香 - tinny grain size yellow flowering plant from the southern provinces of China)

Interesting it would be called Rou Gui, but that makes sense.  That Wuyi Yancha type would be familiar to many (which translates as cinnamon).

Review:

Cinnamon:  that definitely tastes like cinnamon.  It would be nice if I could identify true cinnamon versus cassia (I think it is), the close variation that gets passed for cinnamon.  Beyond the cinnamon this is a bit vegetal.  Intuitively a cinnamon flavored version, one that naturally covers that range, would be a slightly more oxidized version, roasted to a medium level, using the extra warmth and sweetness to pair with and highlight that flavor.  That's not really the case for this.  

It's still good; the lighter style of Dan Cong is nice, and it shows off other parts of the tea character well.  Along with the lighter range there is a touch of tree-bud or green wood flavor, and a bit of astringency.  It's not pronounced, and integrates fairly well, so it's not overly negative.  Intensity is good in this; I'll need to keep brewing time limited or it could be too much.  I let this go a little long so it wouldn't be too light, but ended up brewing this round a bit strong.

Almond:  yep, almond.  This has much warmer, richer, deeper tones; it is more oxidized, and perhaps a little more roasted.  There isn't really vegetal range to speak of as a result.  Sweetness is good, as it was for the other version.  Depth of flavors beyond that almond range is nice.  There is good complexity to this, and it all balances well.  Feel might be slightly richer than the first as well.

It's that greater complexity and balance that makes it stand out over the other, at least at this point.  But the flavor range itself is interesting and positive too, beyond just covering some ground.  It leans a little towards spice tones, almost nutmeg, or actually that works as an interpretation.  To me nutmeg comes across as a fairly complex spice flavor, and this matches that, it's not simple.  It might even work to interpret one part of this as cinnamon.  The processing seems to have highlighted the potential of this tea very well.  The first lighter style can really draw out bright and fresh floral tones, but it may not be as suitable for this material version.  Of course that's on to guessing; I'm not qualified to conclude that.

Cinnamon #2:  this works better brewed lighter, which may also relate to the tea softening up a little on the second infusion.  In a recent tasting the subject of how different infusions vary came up, which we really didn't pursue far in talking then, but to me that just varies by tea type, and by version.  The old theme of "second is best" might work in a limited sense, but it's also too simple.  It depends on how any given version is transitioning across rounds.

A perfume-like floral range really kicks in for this.  Cinnamon isn't as noticeable this round.  It's still present, but only at the same level as other inputs.  Feel is richer even though this is brewed much lighter.  A vegetal edge has faded some, dropping to a more positive level.  To be clear this doesn't include a characteristic harsh edge some lower quality Dan Cong express, the type that you need to brew around by brewing rounds very light (even lighter than this, maybe).  I infused this for about 10 seconds, but a flash infusion would be different.

Almond:  this is so good.  The other is nice, very pleasant, complex, balanced, and interesting, but this is just better, across most of those dimensions.  Part of that could be my preference for this warmer toned style, but I also think it's just a better tea, or at least the processing optimized outcome better.  Everything stands out at once, all of those general themes, and sweetness, warm tones, complex pleasant flavors (almond and spice), rich feel, good intensity, etc.  

Almond with spice sounds like some sort of cookie range, doesn't it?  It's like that.  That warmth, richness, and depth almost comes across as a butter based shortbread cookie too.  This would be really fantastic to drink during cool weather, to actually pair with a winter holidays theme.  It's probably in the mid-80s F (30 C), and quite humid where I am now, but it's still nice, it would just match that cooler environment range better.  To me bright, sweet, aggressive but drinkable sheng pu'er matches the experience of heat well.

Cinnamon #3:  I'll stick with relatively fast infusions for now, again at about 10 seconds.  This is as good as the last round, still really hitting its stride.  The brighter, fresher, now only slightly vegetal edge, more into hardwood range, isn't really negative, but not necessarily positive either.  It integrates fairly well with the rest, but it's not as pleasant as the cinnamon and floral tones.  Overall balance is good.  To me this is still pretty good quality Dan Cong, but it doesn't match the level of the other version.  Again, maybe that's preference related?  Seems not, but maybe.

Almond:  the last description still works, all those positive things I was saying about this.  The almond flavor you notice early on, then a heavy and complex spice range kicks in, then as that fades the almond comes back out more again in the aftertaste.  It's funny how a tea experience can be like an almond cookie, as I mentioned, but the experience is so much more complex and refined.  Of course an almond cookie tastes exactly like an almond cookie, but the depth of feel, richness, layering of floral tones, and touch of liqueur-like character all go well beyond what a cookie could deliver.  Or maybe adding a little cognac in a cookie would be good?

I'm sure that these will transition a little more over the next couple of rounds, but I may not get back to making notes on that.  I had a big breakfast and don't feel ok with powering through 8 to 10 cups of these just now.  Breakfast was very pleasant, and quite healthy:  oatmeal with raisin and banana, two fried eggs, some fruit that seems like a cross of mango and plum, and a bit of goji berry.  I'll go do something related to getting all of this to digest some.

Of course I tried rounds later, and the teas were still very nice, but not varied enough to add much about that here.

The same is true of conclusions in general; the teas were as described.  The Cinnamon version was good and Almond version really good.  

The Almond version was good enough that it's hard to put it on a scale.  There are layers and sub-themes that come into play, beyond pleasant flavor.  These include feel (body), intensity, sweetness, overall balance, depth, aftertaste, and marker sort of aspects, like a liqueur-like quality.  I suppose that any tea could be better, but this is pretty far up there, beyond what I can place in relation to others.

Then the flavors were interesting too, and balanced well with each other.  It's still only tea, but the really interesting experiences are something else.

Aged Lapsang Souchong (2014) and Dan Cong (1995)

 

Lapsang Souchong left, in all photos

I'm reviewing two more aged teas from an ITea World aged tea set.  Most have been pretty good so far, and a 1995 Shui Xian oolong was really interesting.  I've tried different aged teas in the past but covering different types at those sorts of early ages is still new ground, at least those particular iterations.  This will be something different too, a 1995 Dan Cong.  

The rest of this set is this:

That's definitely novel; it's hard to judge if a $75.90 pricing (for 100 grams) is about right or a really good value.  It depends on the teas, and some have been exceptional, others just interesting and characteristic for the types.  They seem to offer different discounts at different times, and I think for a reduced rate below that value is pretty favorable.  

As I keep mentioning related to lots of teas I don't buy tea at 70 cents a gram or so (they passed this on for review; many thanks to them!), so value really depends on what you like, and what budget you are working with.  It would cost a good bit to buy these from any market outlet sort of vendor, if they were even available.

To me aged teas can be hard to place, because experiencing them is definitely novel, maybe more so than for any other type range.  But then in terms of pleasantness, refinement (one level quality relates to), or intensity of the experience they're often not as positive.  For buying random versions of them online storage issues often all but ruin them; mustiness can be a main aspect.  

In the last week or two I've written about a 2010's version that had probably been stored near incense, picking up a flavor input that seemed foreign.  So far none of that has impacted these tea samples, and it has only been that quality was exceptional for some and more medium range for others, or so it seemed to me.  We'll see how these go, or rather I already have, since I often write intros and conclusions during editing.  One is really good, very novel and pleasant, and the other just good.

Review:

2014 Lapsang Souchong:  interesting!  That picked up a lot of spice tones with the aging, it seemed.  It almost tastes like a spiced tea version.  I was expecting this to not be a smoked version initially, and there is no smoke, but it's hard to say how that flavor input would've held up over 11 years.  

It balances pretty well.  There is mixed spice input, which I'll try to break down more next round, then a warm toffee sweetness beyond that, and some neutral warm-toned base mineral.  There is no sharp black tea edge, but even in newer, higher quality Lapsang Souchong versions there might not be much of that.  Feel is interesting, especially for it being the first light round, a bit rich.  It seems clean and refined.  All in all it's pleasant to experience.  

Going back and comparing it to the other version a touch of sourness stands out, which is more evident in comparison.  First impressions can miss things like that.

1995 Dan Cong:  there's quite different spice standing out in this.  I don't remember spice tones picking up that much in aged tea versions before, but then I've probably never tried an 11 year old Lapsang Souchong or 30 year old Dan Cong.  This is a little sharper and more pronounced, like clove.  

The other came across as a mix of different flavors, that were hard to separate.   There is some fruit or floral base beyond that spice in this, and warm mineral again, but the sharper and more pronounced spice range really stands out most, and kind of blocks experience of the rest.   It will be interesting to see how these evolve, how the flavors transition in relation to each other.

Lapsang Souchong #2:  I brewed that first round about 20 seconds, and I'm going to stay with using decently long infusion times, maybe 20-some this time instead.  Drinking these brewed light would also work, using faster infusions, and they would produce more rounds, but I expect the effect will be most positive with intensity bumped to a medium-high level.  Or at least infusion strength; we will see what extracts.

More spice, no surprise.  It's mostly in a cinnamon related range.  There is a little sourness to this.  From being stored a bit damp?  Maybe.  It's far from ruined; that kind of works with the sweetness, otherwise clean flavored nature, spice tone, and underlying warmth.  But I suspect that people would have different natural tolerances or preferences for or against that inclusion, the sourness.  It was off-putting in a Thai shai hong style black tea I tried with Huyen and Seth, for her, and I still love that tea.  It might be more common in Dian Hong range than for other black teas, related to some processing form input.  I don't remember ever trying Lapsang Souchong that seemed sour to me, but earlier on I probably wouldn't have noticed it.  

To me this tea is good.  For others reaction to that one flavor input might decide it.

Dan Cong:  an interesting spice and aged wood tone has picked up.  This is really interesting.  It tastes like really aged furniture, a bit towards Chinese medicinal spices, what those Chinatown shops tend to smell like.  One note is still related to clove, but there's a lot more going on, all across spice and wood-tone range.  

Some lower quality aged sheng pu'er tends to taste woody, in a completely different sense.  That tends to taste like well-cured lumber, while this is a hint of cedar, or towards incense spice range, just not exactly that either.  It tastes like what I'd imagine exotic Chinese medicinal root spices might taste like.

Would this naturally be appealing or off-putting for many people, the same question I just asked of the other tea version?  I would think the novelty would generally be positive.  The overall balance is nice too; it's not musty, or heavy across an odd flavor range, lacking body / feel, or too dry in some odd way.  A bit of toffee sweetness helps the rest tie together well.  For well-aged sheng two different problems can enter in, that haven't here.  Those can be musty and earthy so that they require a few infusions to clean up, or some versions just tend to fade.  This definitely changed due to aging input, but not in those ways.

Lapsang Souchong #3:  I brewed these a little longer, to see what happens when they are pushed a bit, on towards a minute.

Spice is still pleasant in this, still mostly centered around cinnamon range, but more complex than just that.  Sourness is reducing, even brewed strong.  It's not unusual for some aspects to "burn off" over a few initial rounds, and that seems to have happened.  It comes across as a little sweeter, cleaner, and more balanced, with warm tones playing a larger role.  A toffee sweetness stands out.  Other warm tones seem to include just a touch of leather, not the musty horse saddle range that can turn up in hei cha or some pu'er, but a lighter, sweeter note.  It's tempting to go on and on about types of leather, but ultimately not informative, so I won't.

Dan Cong:  this changes every round, which is an interesting effect.  A lot of the description I already covered still applies, but the overall balance is quite different, and I had been listing out a lot of range before.  Wood still stands out, but a very novel form of it, a touch of cedar, well-aged furniture, and then the overlap with Chinese medicinal herbs.  A sappy feel enters in, connecting with one part of that, the unusual herb or spice range.  There are bark spice tisanes one can seek out, not cinnamon, and not like cinnamon, that this might resemble.  There is a lot going on.

It's not so unusual for some aged teas to fade, but this absolutely did not do that.  It's unique, clean, complex, and balanced, expressing flavor range that isn't familiar at all.  I suppose this is what one might hope aged tea would be like, it just usually isn't.  I'm guessing that the sheng and shou versions in this set might seem kind of ordinary to me, which I'll get around to checking on, but this doesn't.  One more round will tell enough of this story.

Lapsang Souchong #4:  kind of the same.  This may be fading a little already; an input like aging might transition the material to include novel range but could also cost it intensity and the ability to brew a lot of rounds.  The same can come up with oxidation and roasting steps.  

This tea isn't done, but it might've passed the most interesting part of the infusion cycle already.  Or the next couple of steeps could still be regarded as more positive than the first 3, since the sourness transitioned out.  This one I brewed a little faster so the intensity dropped some, but it's still fine.

Dan Cong:  it's interesting brewed lighter; different flavor range comes out.  A lighter spice range emerges, almost including a citrus note.  Aromatic range is interesting.  It tastes like aged furniture, but not in the musty sense, instead related to those fragrant preservative oils that are used in some places (like here in Bangkok, where old traditions and practices sometimes stick around).  This also isn't better brewed so light, but it is interesting trying it in different ways.  It still works.

Conclusions:

Those teas really were on the way out; they kept brewing, but they were already declining by then.  The 10+ infusions theme relates more to younger, powerful teas, not those so transitioned by aging input.

The Dan Cong was a really unique experience.  I've been a little skeptical that it really improves teas much to age most for 10+ years, but it held up, and changed into something very novel.

The storage input to the Lapsang Souchong wasn't quite as positive; a light early sour note threw off results a little.  I'd expect that being stored with more humidity in the tea made that difference.  In the past people often talked about re-roasting teas, to keep them dry and positive in character, but it later seemed like storing them well-sealed at an appropriate humidity level works out much better.  They're not changing related to fungus and bacteria inputs, fermenting, as sheng pu'er and other hei cha are, so they don't need limited air input and a higher degree of humidity to support that microbiome.

I'm not sure that everyone can appreciate what a market value for a well-stored, high quality, novel 30 year old oolong might be.  There isn't much of that around; it could be hard to identify that.  I wrote about types and transition patterns in aging oolongs before, back in 2020, and mentioned reviews of a half dozen versions of different ages.  It had seemed a lot of what had been around was already sold by then, with some pricing getting a bit crazy.  The TeaDB blog wrote about that awhile back (this time in 2016, but I was looking for something else).  Pricing for everything mentioned was all over the map, in both posts, often way over $1 a gram, but one thing would be the same from both:  those aged teas selling in 2016 to 2020 are probably all gone now.

Or are they?  I looked up one I tried earlier on, well before 2020, a 1995 Thai Qing Xin oolong from Tea Side (a Thai vendor), and it's still available.  It sells for $40 for 50 grams, exactly the same rate as this sample set.  I thought it would be sold out, or would sell for more if available.  Two Moychay aged oolongs (one Qilan listed here, and another) from 2004 and 2006 sell for 24 and 30 Euro for 50 grams; a little less, but those are a decade younger.  I guess that it's still out there.  This vendor sells 70s Dan Cong, for around $300 for 50 grams.  If you have an open enough budget this 95 version isn't the far extreme.

For people seeking out this kind of experience this set has been reasonable, a mix of really exceptional and unique versions and others that at least represent the range fairly, and the value seems fine.

Ginger flower and honey orchid fragrance Dan Cong

 

honey orchid left, in all photos

This reviews two more Dan Cong from an ITea World sample set, sent by them for review. The last two were exceptional (orchid and magnolia fragrance versions).

One is the most commonly sold Dan Cong type, Mi Lan Xiang, or honey orchid fragrance (or aroma).  The other version, ginger flower fragrance, I've probably never tried. Their site description of that set follows:

iTeaworld 2024 Christmas Gift Sampler: Fenghuang Dancong Oolong Tea  ($109.90 for 100 grams)

Fenghuang Dancong Oolong Tea:  Huang Zhi Fragrance, Orchid Fragrance, Honey Orchid Fragrance, Magnolia Fragrance, Ginger Flower Fragrance, Osmanthus Aroma, Cinnamon Fragrance, Almond Fragrance, Night-scented Stock, Jasmine Fragrance

I might add a note on their brewing advice, before touching on the subject of value.  They recommend using Gongfu brewing, of course, starting at 6 to 8 seconds, and moving to 10 to 15 seconds, for up to 10 infusions.  That's fine, but I would brew these quite a bit longer, and only get about 6 to 8 rounds out of them.  If I was using a proportion of 8 or 9 grams I'd probably roughly match their parameters, but to me 8 seconds isn't long enough at 5 grams to 100 ml.  That's about preference, not really an optimum.  I'm a sheng pu'er drinker; I can't be brewing teas really light like that, but it is one common form of preference.  It might even work slightly better to isolate flavor aspects, even though that's counter-intuitive.

Is just over a dollar a gram justified for these?  I tend to state over and over that I just won't buy tea at a dollar a gram.  I probably wouldn't buy these.  But for what they are, the quality of the four versions I've now tried, that's about right.  At least they offer sales that could cut that back a little, 20% off if you spend over $100, so it seems this would drop automatically, at least now.  If these really cost 80-some that's a pretty good value.

It feels odd saying that.  Who spends over 80 cents a gram on tea?  People who don't care what the cost is, or who get hooked on types and quality levels of teas that they just can't get for less.  It's better not to do that.  This is where I usually say that other range of similar tea, for this type, isn't as good, in a sense, but it's interesting and pleasant enough that it doesn't matter, it's fine.  With Dan Cong you kind of take a hit.

I will say this:  I just bought decent Dan Cong for a gift at $20 per 100 grams.  It won't be this good, and this range of different DC versions doesn't turn up.  I bought that in a Bangkok Chinatown, and you can't match value or that version offering on the internet, oddly.  I didn't try that exact version I bought, to be clear, but I've bought Dan Cong from that shop three times, I think it was, so you can kind of get a sense of what they sell from that kind of history.  Upper medium quality Dan Cong can be really nice, if you can find it.  Online sources wouldn't sell that for less than $40, but it's still 40 cents a gram instead of 80+.  Other Chinatown shops here would probably sell lower quality Dan Cong for more; it was an exception, even for here.

These might all be that little bit better, or at least the first 4 were.  Maybe the honey orchid, Mi Lan Xiang, wasn't quite on the level of the others, but they were all pretty far up there for quality.  So I guess if you really feel that you need to experience what pretty good Dan Cong is like this is reasonable (given the other versions are like the first four, and I expect that there could be some quality variation).

Review:

Honey orchid:  that's nice.  I didn't use an extended first round for these to bump infusion strength to a normal level, so I'll be trying them light for a first infusion.  Character is good; these aspects are nice.  Tone is a little warm; it seems that oxidation level is balanced really nicely, probably supported with very moderate roast input, that is hard to fully place.  It all integrates.  Flavor is floral, of course, hinting a bit towards ripe peach.  The warmth comes across as a touch of cinnamon, at least so far.  Astringency hasn't emerged yet, but being on the light side that would be moderate.  It's a great start.

One might wonder if this seems really familiar, for this being the name for Mi Lan Xiang, the most common form of Dan Cong.  I guess so.  Those still vary a good bit, and this is a novel and positive version of one.

Ginger flower fragrance:  I guess that tastes a lot like ginger flower?  There is a light spice edge to it; it's really interesting.  The general tone is sweet, like jasmine, not even all that far from jasmine.  Again the moderate warmth works really well for this.  Floral tones are plenty bright and intense, and then it's grounded by warmer floral range, and what could seem like a bit of spice.  

This is so fragrant that it's perfume-like.  No tea this good is artificial, I don't think; I mean that volatile compounds give it a positive effect, what I often call liqueur-like, when the flavor context is slightly different.  It'll be interesting trying both slightly stronger.

Honey orchid #2:  I brewed these for about 15 seconds, or just over, not a long infusion time, but plenty for this proportion, for "only" using 5 grams.  Flavor is great.  Intensity picks up a good bit, but it stays in a similar flavor range.  A richness picks up, a thicker feel.  Astringency also does, but it's not sharp or edgy, only tied to that fuller feel.  Flavor definitely includes a lot of warm floral tone and some peach, and again I read the warmer part as being like cinnamon, just not exactly that.  

Ordinarily I'd be brewing 8 or so grams of this, drawing out even more intensity, even for using slightly cut back infusion times.  As long as you keep infusion timing out around 20 seconds that intensity would still be there.  There is no sharp edge to worry about; may as well push this tea a little.  Refinement and balance are great.  There could be a little more depth, and a little more pop, with aftertaste carrying over a little more, so I'm not saying that this is an ideal version, but it's pretty good.  It's definitely in the right range.

Ginger flower:  that ginger edge really comes out; it actually tastes more like ginger this round.  Maybe I was expecting that to be less of a literal description, or maybe ginger flowers also smell like ginger toot.  The sweetness is again like jasmine, with more warmth.  Where the other includes warm tone that's towards cinnamon this is really aromatic incense spice range instead, a set that I don't have clear enough memory of to distinguish between (frankincense, sandalwood, etc.).  

Feel seems a little thicker, and aftertaste does carry over just a little more.  It seems natural to push these just a little harder next round, infusing them for just over 20 seconds, to see what comes of that.  There's nothing negative to work around, so it will be down to trading off maxing out intensity for having them brew less rounds.

Honey orchid #3:  it's funny how someone unfamiliar with this tea type range could be absolutely blown away by this tea version, the strong floral tone, touch of fruit, sweetness, richness, depth, overall intensity, the way it all balances, and so on, and then the other version amps a lot of that up just a little.  Good Dan Cong is really something. 

"Good" is so relative; above average quality versions just tend to be like this, but from how people describe even versions they take to be positive many aren't.  That characteristic astringency edge people describe needing to brew around is a quality issue.  I suspect that low elevation, monoculture grown versions are pushed too hard with chemical fertilizers, leading to that, but of course that's just a guess.

Aftertaste does seem to pick up a little, for adding just a little more infusion strength.  Feel is generally good, it just seems less noteworthy with the other being a little richer.  Maybe the flavor being relatively familiar does cost it a bit in terms of novelty, but it's not as if I'm drinking Mi Lan Xiang versions all the time.  It's been awhile.

Ginger flower:  that's as far as this should be pushed for infusion strength, or maybe this is tipped a little over a natural optimum.  You know when something is enough when it's too much.  The ginger type flavor is still novel and positive, and other floral range is nice, but that jasmine sort of floral note is a little too strong in this.  

Could that flavor have been bumped by contact with actual jasmine flowers?  Sure, it's possible.  I'd guess that's not an input, but the effect would be like this.  It wouldn't draw out that much ginger flavor though.  And the supporting incense spice range warmth is really interesting and pleasant.  This is just how good Dan Cong goes; it's a little surprising that tea can be like that.  If added flavoring could be this clean, balanced, and positive I'd probably drink flavored teas.  Good Wuyi Yancha can be a bit surprising too, but not as much across this floral and fruit range, typically.  That liqueur-like effect can be really strong in some types of those though.

Honey orchid #4:  the feel isn't necessarily thicker or richer, but somehow it picked up a syrupy effect; the texture changed.  That's nice.  Intensity and complexity are good, and depth, but somewhere in that set is the closest thing to a limitation this tea has.  It could hit harder.  I suppose it could be slightly more intense and complex, and could express a little more depth.  It feels like splitting hairs saying that.  Someone could buy a dozen Mi Lan Xiang versions and not get one this good.  But there's a magic that happens when it's all dialed way up, and this quite good, but maybe just short of magical.

This is part of why I feel like chasing quality level optimums is a bad thing, to be clear.  If you need every new and different next experience to be better than all the last you set yourself up for disappointment instead of enjoyment.  This is already so good.  I'm just trying to place it, for people who are really on that page, into Dan Cong.  It would make for a bad goal trying to top this tea, and an expensive one, probably requiring some hit and miss, but it would be possible.

Ginger flower:  at just the right infusion strength this gets pretty close to magical.  The way all those flavors I keep describing come together, with the rich feel, warmth, depth, aftertaste trailing on--it works.  I suppose that ginger and floral mix, not so far off jasmine range, may not appeal to everyone, or that incense spice undertone people might see as less positive than I do.  To me it all really integrates.  I don't think it was a happy accident that made this tea turn out this good; I suspect that whoever made it really knew what they were doing.

That reminds me, in the last meetup at my favorite Bangkok Chinatown shop the owner, Kittichai, was describing how oolong is harder to make than sheng pu'er (in his opinion).  He said that to make sheng the material plays a lot of the role, and if you get the simpler standard steps right it will turn out as well as the material allows.  But oolong is different; there are more steps, more inputs, and more judgment required.  That matches my understanding too, even though I have zero experience with processing tea myself.  The timing for every step needs to be carefully determined, not according to a recipe, but in relation to the material and the conditions, related to how compounds are changing just then.  It's the same for withering, bruising, and oxidation, on to fixing, then later roasting; variable after variable requires tea maker input.

It seems funny saying that since over and over I've said that South East Asian sheng is typically just a little off Yunnan versions, probably related to processing differences.  Some of that could be intentional; people seem to draw out withering or add a limited oxidation step to offset the final bitterness and astringency, the harshness.  In Yunnan if the material is a bit aggressive after processing it just is; you age it some to offset that, not change the processing inputs.  What do I know anyway; I'm just a tea drinker.

Fifth infusion:  in order to not repeat those same aspect lists I'll just combine thoughts in one note for this round, and end this note-taking.

The honey orchid version has levelled off related to changes, not necessarily fading, but maybe giving up a little intensity.  It's quite pleasant like this, and not changed, but a next round would need to be infused longer to get this far.

That ginger tone is always surprising in the other version, when you first taste it each round.  And it being supported by so much floral and spice range is really something.  I suppose the feel could be a little thicker, but there's so much novel and well-balanced range that it's really splitting hairs to point out where it's weakest.

Conclusions:

These are much better than the earlier tasting sets from ITea World.  If you go back and read the wild origin material posts I did those teas are positive, mostly, but they're not complex, intense, balanced, and refined like this, none of them.  Then again this is Dan Cong (and they also cost more); that would be like trying sheng pu'er and saying that other type range just doesn't match it for intensity.  Of course not.  Just across that one dimension these aren't as full-throttle intense as the ordinary range sheng pu'er versions I often have with breakfast.  But across almost every other dimension the aspects really stand out.  

I suppose that only applies if someone loves floral-oriented teas with some fruit and spice range to add depth.  If someone loves green tea or hei cha, and not that range, these may not work as well for them.  To me the appeal seems relatively universal in form, but in practice personal preference isn't exactly like that.  People like whatever they like.

ITea World orchid and magnolia fragrance Dan Cong

 

ITea World sent a few sampler sets to try; I'll be awhile working through them.  They include a Christmas and New Year's themed set, which a Dan Cong set is a part of.  I guess that matches the holidays.  And a Longjing set (less seasonal, but nice), and an aged tea set, based on a mix of pu'er and hei cha types.

To back up a little ITea World is a Chinese tea vendor re-branding initiative, shifting focus from an earlier product theme to selling basics, including sample sets, which have diversified to cover a good bit of range now.  I've reviewed a lot of them, and they've initiated promotion through giving out sample sets to lots of people, including many who aren't tea bloggers or the like.  

This all seems fine to me.  It got to be a bit much on Reddit, especially r/tea, because giving sample sets to a dozen or more Redditors--who are into tea--resulted in a posting blitz there.  But the rest works; most of the samples have ranged from basic to slightly better than average in quality and distinctiveness.  Match to represented types has been pretty good.  I suppose a wild origin set was a little less consistent than some of the rest, but that's how wild origin material and versions tend to go; there isn't a narrow, well-defined character range.  Probably earlier, very low cost samples were more basic, limited in quality, but to some extent sets identified as more unique have been better.

Dan Cong is a challenging range, related to sourcing good versions.  A lot of Dan Cong out there is known for including a distinctive form of astringency, which to me relates to low quality.  Better versions aren't so harsh.  Maybe that relates to lower elevation, mono-culture farmed, fertilizer boosted production, and less than optimum processing.  Or who knows; it requires a lot of hearsay input for cause and effect sequences mapping onto final aspects to seem reliable.  I won't be getting into any of that here.

I'll have to lean into judging general quality level and also specifying match to preference, since I can't really remember distinct floral tones.  That would require quite a bit of scent training, or at least a different kind of memory than I possess.  There have been plenty of orchids growing at our house, and lotus flowers, and lots of flowering vines, but I still don't remember those scents well.  I've tried a good bit of Mi Lan Xiang (honey orchid) and Ya Shi (duck shit) Dan Cong versions, but probably won't keep comparing these back to those types much.  That's honey orchid anyway, not the same as the one I'm trying, just plain orchid.  

Onto review then, but I'll add a product listing and limited information after taking the notes.

I just noticed that they ran a sale offering 25 to 30% off ending yesterday, as of time of editing.  Not so helpful mentioning that now.  Chinese New Year is this month though; how could they not have a sale related to that?

That Dan Cong set contains 100 grams of tea, 20 samples of 5 grams each, listing for $110.  $1 a gram is a standard pricing for high quality level tea, but I personally avoid that spending rate.  With that holiday sale it would've been less, maybe around $70.  The relative value depends on the quality level of these teas.  They would have to be pretty far up the scale to justify even that discounted rate, and since I'm writing this after making review notes I can jump ahead to a conclusion about that:  they are pretty exceptional.  

I really didn't expect that; based only on the two versions I've tried these are slightly better than just about anything I've tried from ITea World.  Their teas have been consistently within average quality range, or a bit above that, but not like these.  Of course you really can't judge a whole set from two randomly chosen versions.

It's odd that set doesn't include Ya Shi, duck shit, isn't it?  That type gets a lot of hype in Western tea circles, and good examples of it are nice.  I asked someone in ITea World about that (indirectly), and they covered that in this Reddit post:

The "Top Ten Aromas" of Phoenix Dan Cong was established back in 1996 by professors and researchers from South China Agricultural University. At that time, Ya Shi Xiang wasn’t as popular. So, naturally, it didn’t make the cut.

2. The Evolution of Ya Shi Xiang

Before it gained fame, Ya Shi Xiang was originally known as Da Wu Ye (大乌叶/“Big Dark Leaf”) because of its large, dark leaves. 

That answers another related question, which fragrance name Ya Shi relates to.  I've tried Da Wu Ye, and never made that connection.  These fragrance or aroma names imply that every version tastes relatively identical, which isn't exactly how it works out.  They would be similar, and overlap in flavor, but wouldn't all be one thing.  Even with completely identical plant genetics--which also isn't how that works out, except for with controlled cultivars--microclimate, soil input, and processing differences change outcome, and flavor aspects.

Related to brewing approach to me it would be a real shame to prepare these using Western style brewing, the 3 to 4 grams to a cup of water approach, brewing for 3 to 5 minutes.  A lot of oolong range--and sheng pu'er--gives much better results using Gongfu brewing.

They include extra tea bags with a lot of their sample sets, including these, but I definitely wouldn't use them with this loose tea.  Of course others could see it all differently.

Review:

Magnolia:  that's quite pleasant.  Dan Cong tends to be made in two different styles, or I suppose really as a continuum between those, but it works to describe it as two consistent ranges.  One is lighter in oxidation and roast input, a "greener" version, which this is, and the other is more oxidized and roasted.  I take the second to be more traditional, but who knows.  

Freshness and brightness comes across well, and also depth, complexity, and refinement.  Quality level seems pretty good.  There is some astringency, but this is far from expressing that harsher edge.  Good Dan Cong, and some other oolongs, tend to express a nice liqueur-like character, with the floral range expressed in a way that is reminiscent of perfume or liqueur, and this is like that.  That depth and intensity carries across well as aftertaste, even though this is just getting started.  It's a good start.  

I suppose the deeper, richer, heavier floral tone may be like magnolia, but I really wouldn't know.  It leans a little towards lavender scent and character effect, one of the few flower types I've encountered so many times that it's familiar.

Orchid:  that floral range is really pleasant.  The other was also nice, but this hits hard.  I suppose it does remind me of orchid range, to the extent I could place that.  Of course there are many versions of orchids, and some don't express that much scent.  It's not so far off lotus scent, another familiar flower type.  

The other was rich and full in character, but this is richer, deeper, and warmer.  It's closer to that more oxidized and roasted style, even though it's really more in the middle.  The balance is great, for getting good results from the tea's potential.  

These are a little better than I would've expected.  Pretty good Dan Cong is out there, not impossible to find, but rougher edged, more limited versions are a lot more common.  It's my guess that I've tried a lot of the better range in the lighter style, from trying a lot of Wuyi Origin's range in the past.  Cindy, one of my favorite tea producer and contacts, and a family member of the owners, married another tea producer from Chaozhou, where Dan Cong originates from, so they really do produce both tea ranges, of course along with many other family members.  It would seem hasty to say that this is as good as their teas, or not as good, but these are really pretty good.

Related to a match to my own preference, even though it's early to call, the warmer tones and very distinctive orchid flavors make the second work better, for me.

Magnolia #2:  I'm trying them brewed fast, and light.  Intensity should still be fine, but they'll give up a bit of feel.  This approach is used to offset what is often described as characteristic astringency, but again I've not noticed that being problematic in higher quality versions.

Flavor intensity is still fine, and it's easier to identify flavor brewed lighter (not that it helps; this is some variation of floral range, probably tasting like magnolia).  Some creaminess still comes across, even though the other version had a thicker, richer feel, matching warmer flavor tones, and greater depth.  One bright, almost citrusy aspect range in the flavors is quite pleasant.  It's still floral tone, not actual citrus taste, but it's light and bright in a similar way.  It does lean towards fruit though.

Orchid:  that's really intense, for being brewed so fast, under 10 seconds.  The increased lightness in the other version didn't carry across; this is rich, deep, and complex.  Between both of these this is most intense floral range flavor experience I've been through in quite awhile.  I guess that's a good thing; it is quite pleasant.

This doesn't seem like a traditional match to a Christmas theme, to me, in the sense of it being a conventional pairing, but it does work well as a parallel experience range.  Maybe especially this second version, for including so much warmth and depth.  

Let's get one possible connection out of the way:  could these be flavored teas?  I really doubt it.  It is possible, since there could be much better extracted flavor products out there than I've encountered, but these don't relate to that general range of effect, as I see it.  I've described a part of the first as matching a solvent flavor experience, but I've only encountered this type of form of that in the best oolong versions, also in Wuyi Yancha range.  These are definitely strong and floral in character; unusually so.  But I expect that's just an anomaly from finding much better than average versions.

If these have been scented they would've had to do so using a traditional form of contact with flowers, layering the two together, then separating the leaves back out.  That is more possible.  Again I doubt that happened, but if so these represent achieving very unusually positive results.  The feel of the tea is also too positive; it perfectly matches how a good quality Dan Cong should feel.  I don't think there is any way to adjust that; the material potential and processing had to be good to begin with.

Magnolia #3:  this is good.  It's the comparison with the other version that's making it seem more limited.  Bright, sweet, complex floral tones are quite pleasant.  Feel is nice, and astringency form and level balance well.  Aftertaste experience is pleasant, adding complexity (or the effect of it).  But the other version dials all that up just a little, in a form that I like better, with flavor range I also prefer.  It makes this seem a bit thin, in comparison, even though that's really a style outcome, not exactly a quality limitation.

It probably helps to explain that in terms of flavor description.  This includes a touch of what I tend to interpret as green wood.  To me that's a natural continuation of that bright, light flavor character, the light floral tone leaning towards bright citrus.  But to some extent it's not entirely positive.  I can't directly compare it to green tea range, really, but it works to say that it's remotely similar in some ways.

Orchid:  deeper, warmer, richer, and quite different in floral flavor range; the same description I've already been repeating.  There really is no vegetal flavor similar to green wood in this, but it might work to interpret one part as similar to aromatic wood, similar to incense spice range, sandalwood or the like.  To me the green wood in the other flavor isn't entirely negative, but it could be interpreted that way by some, while this warm spice tone is a positive input.  

Fourth infusion:  these are transitioning some, but the minor shifts don't replace the original character.  It could make for a more interesting review, for some, to hear about very subtle, minor shifts in flavor aspects, but for as many others it would probably seem redundant.  These are surely less than halfway through their infusion cycle, so changes would be more extreme within another four rounds, but I'll still leave off taking notes here.  The main story has been told, and I need to do some housework prior to going out on a play outing with my kids.

If anything the overall effect of the orchid version has dialed up depth and intensity; that's quite pleasant and promising.  Again it's unusual how good this is.  Both, to some extent, but I really like the style and character of the orchid version more.  

Back to the real versus artificial flavor issue, which I've already set aside, conventionally flavored teas tend to wash out the added flavor fairly quickly, over the first few rounds.  That's probably less the case with naturally infused versions, those layered along with flowers, multiple times, in a different kind of fragrance transfer process.  But if anything these are still improving, instead of fading, as they should be at this stage.  I didn't keep track of minor shifts in flavors later on but they did brew more than four more very positive rounds, and didn't fade in an unpleasant way throughout that cycle.

Conclusions:

So are these as good as Wuyi Origin's versions, those made by my friend Cindy?  If they're not they are at least pretty close to that range.  Wuyi Origin's teas wouldn't all represent the same quality level, or a narrow style range, even though they're generally made lighter, at lower oxidation and roast level, which typically shows off tea character well, and suits some material types.  

Quality level for these samples is high enough that it's on to minor distinctions making a difference, like feel and aftertaste factoring in, and subtle emergent range like refinement.  Them representing different styles and types of Dan Cong is also a positive factor; that's not so easy to turn up, at a really high quality level.

There probably is room for improvement in quality; that's almost always the way it works out.  But it wouldn't be an easy difference to appreciate, for most.  These lack flaws, and are made in pleasant styles (so far; again I've only tried two of ten versions).  They're refined, complex, and distinctive, with good intensity and balance.  It's probably that feel could be a little richer, and aftertaste experience could extend a little.  

I've mentioned those aspects as relative positives in the notes, so it's not as if that's a gap, I'm just guessing that the very highest end of the range may be different in that way, that there could still be room for limited improvement.  Another related guess is that you could buy lower quality versions from supposed curator vendors at twice this pricing rate.  These were pretty good.  For someone exploring Dan Cong this is a good place to start, and especially at a discounted pricing level value is quite fair.

An example might help place that.  A local Bangkok Chinatown shop, my favorite one, Jip Eu, sells a very rare type of Dan Cong product:  medium quality, low priced, good value versions.  They're not this good, giving up unique flavor range, positive feel, and refinement, but they're the outlier example of 100 grams of quite pleasant tea selling for $20-some, which you just don't find in Dan Cong.  That wouldn't come up at a US based Chinatown; one input is that I live in Bangkok (most of the time), where just about everything costs less, especially local products, or some imports from China.  

You typically couldn't even find the same thing for $50 in US shops, for twice as much, because it's such a rare find in general.  The type just isn't there.  It's either $1 a gram, or more, for the higher end range, through curator vendors, or whatever Yunnan Sourcing happens to carry for less.  That could be fine, but I bet most of that is closer to that Chinatown version than these samples.