Dan Cong Vendors

[Noonie]

I enjoyed some Dan Cong I tried from a local vendor recently (only carries a couple of selections) and now I want to explore this tea further. I searched most of the oolong vendors listed here in the vendor forum, and I see vendors ranging from a specialist vendor (tea habitat), one carrying 10+ varieties (Jing) and some generalist vendors who have <10 Dan Congs in stock (Norbu, JK).

This search has triggered some questions:
- doesn't seem to be a lot of vendors carrying a lot of Dan Cong (despite what I read on tea habitat's blog that there is so much variety within this type of tea)
- other than Tea Habitat, most vendors carry a lot of other teas along with Dan Cong...and they don't have a lot of Dan Cong for sale
- there doesn't seem to be a lot of Dan Cong out there? Or am I missing something...

For those of you who enjoy Dan Cong and have maybe been buying it for a few years or longer, what has been your experience and what vendors do you recommend? Keep in mind I'm a relative noob and prefer to start with something a little more commercial grade (and price)...but I will spend a bit more on small volumes to see if I can taste the qualities in the older / single bush teas.

Thanks!

[BW85]

To me it seems that Dan Cong's aren't produced in as large of a commercial scale as other teas, such as minnan oolongs. Could be because Dan Cong processing is more involved and labor intensive than your run of the mill TGY. It's also possible that a lot of it isn't produced for export but for local consumption.
The good ones can get fairly pricy, as I'm sure you've noticed on tea habitat. Jing seems to have some fairly decent options in a more affordable price range. I haven't personally tried their Dan Cong's but have heard enough good things to consider getting some from them myself for the sake of having some that I can drink a little more casually. Tea Hong's black leaf is also reasonably priced and enjoyable.

[miig]

Hi Noonie,
I'm absolutely no expert but still I used to drink a lot of DC. If you're rather new to it I recommend the sample packs from JK tea shop - you can get quite a lot of different teas there.
Also I'm very happy with Tea Hong's Oolongs in general - they usually offer slightly bigger packages than JK (40g+, still not too large) but the quality is really good.

[bagua7]

YS carries quality DCs. I still got a bag of Milan Xiang and really good tea.

Cheers.

[entropyembrace]

I've really enjoyed Jing Tea Shops dancongs, theyre definitely worth a try

[drinking_teas]

I've really enjoyed Jing Tea Shops dancongs, theyre definitely worth a try

+1, the Mi Lan AAA is one of my staples.