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.
