Back on Dan Cong Again

[Herb_Master]

Third night running after a spell away from Oolong trying to understand Sheng.

1st Night - Tea Habitat's 1998 Mei Zhan
Coming back to DC, I thought I knew what to expect but this was unfamiliar and had none of the Xiang I was looking forward to. After getting accustomed to what I was drinking I began to enjoy it. It reminded me of a well aged Dry Oloroso sherry, with a lean towards a mid roasted yan Cha. 3rd pot onwards I was really enjoying it.

Last night - Tea Habitat's 2008 Wu Dong Huang Zhi
Huang Zhi is one of my favourites and this was as good as they come, pot after (100 ml CZ) pot of floral, yet woodsy, invigorating and refreshing.
I can see why some refer to Huang Zhi as Orange Flower fragrance, but there is a lot more besides.

I have taken to stuffing my little CZ pots 2/3 full so that I can start the session with several quickly infused brews. So after 3 years and more of weighing everything I am adjusting to feel, but when the need arises to use my larger pots (200 ml plus) I think I shall go back to the scales.
The Huang zhi began as a fairly delicate drink until I upped the times, and when in a rush to finish off the session by exhausting the leaves I upped the times longer than was needed a prickle of attention entered the result in a pleasant way.

Tonight Tea Habitat's 2007 Ba Xian
This is the 2nd batch I have had from Imen and it is one of my favourites when i am not looking for powerful Yan Cha flavours. Immediately I detected the sweet violets that so caught my attention 2 years ago, but I have never seen anyone else use the association so opened Imen's pages to see what she said

umm
This is likened to the Mi Lan group of DCs, honey and Orchids - well subsequent infusions saw me identifying the honey, but I am not familiar with Orchid fragrance - so I shall stick with Violets but refer to them as honeyed rather than sweet

The honey and fragrance lasts on and on through all the infusions.

I started my DC journey several years ago (before I found Tea Habitat) and was unimpressed with Mi lan, Xue Lan, Zhi Lan and Yue Lan
maybe I was too much of a novice at DC brewing, maybe they were poorer commercial grade teas, I enjoyed them enough to persevere with Dan Cong and a selection from Dragon TeaHouse that included Almond, Ginger and Big Dark leaf soon had me hooked. A big white leaf from Hou De and a couple of others dragged me in further and then I found Tea Habitat, still shunning all the Orchid Xiangs I have never looked back.

I do tend too infuse my Dcs a little longer than other people I like plenty of body rather than simply fragrance, my initial forays into DC with Lan Xiangs may have been too lightly infused. But now that I know one of my favourites is likened to Orchid, it must be time to try some top quality Dcs of Orchid fragrance.

[Tead Off]

Since you're on the DC trail, you have a good supplier with high end DC in your neck of the woods, East Teas and Postcard Teas. I suggest you give them a try and see how they stack up against Imen's. The ones I recommend are Emperor Jiaqing's and Peach Nut.

[Herb_Master]

They are on my 1 day soon list, but a bit short of funds - off to S E Asia soon for a 3 week trip. KL followed by 9 days in Penang for the Chinese New Year. We may fit a 3 day trip to Chiang Mai in for some cooler air, it will be my first trip to Thailand if we go.

I also want to try CantonTeaCo if only because there is a feel about the site that they are like many TeaChatters rather than the regular retailer.

http://www.cantonteaco.com/oolong-tea/b ... -cong.html

A rare single bush Dan Cong from a top producer on the lower slopes of Wu Dong mountain. This Dan Cong offers the characteristic intense fruit and floral notes with a long aftertaste.

A remarkable tea displaying all the characteristics of a classic Dan Cong. Fruit, nuts and blossom jostle for position and every brew is distinct with a subtle emphasis on a different flavour.

This is a true single bush tea, all the leaves actually do come from just one tree and have been skillfully processed by this highly sought-after producer.

Origin
Guang Dong Province, Wu Dong Mountain, lower slopes, Lower part.

Aroma
Complex mix of fruit, flower, but also quite nutty - obvious grapefruit blossom

Liquor
Bright, thick and mellow

Quick Brewing Instructions
For best results use 7g of tea in a 100ml yixing or gaiwan. Rinse with boiling water and then infuse at 85c to taste.

Brewing instructions stand out against those from retailers who only give western style brewing advice.

They even use MarshalN's Youtube video on how to use a Gaiwan - I hope they have his permission.
http://www.cantonteaco.com/tea-school/h ... guide.html

[David R.]

I have received and tasted some of the new Postcard Teas Dan Cong. They are really different from those I had from Imen. Variety is great. I also purchased Hojo's dan cong. So far, I only tasted the Mi Lan Xiang which was great.

I too use far longer brewing times than what I usually read, nothing below 30" for 1/2 leaf-capacity ratio, often increasing rapidly.

[Tead Off]

I have received and tasted some of the new Postcard Teas Dan Cong. They are really different from those I had from Imen. Variety is great. I also purchased Hojo's dan cong. So far, I only tasted the Mi Lan Xiang which was great.

I too use far longer brewing times than what I usually read, nothing below 30" for 1/2 leaf-capacity ratio, often increasing rapidly.

Which ones did you like from Postcard? How do they stack up against Imen's and Hojo's?

Herb Master: Canton tea is selling high grade DHP for 9 pounds per 50g? Is this something believable? High grade DHP sells for a lot higher than that if it is the real stuff. I would buy them out if I were you.

[Proinsias]

high's a pretty relative term but if you want high grade dhp cheap head over here instead

[Herb_Master]

I have received and tasted some of the new Postcard Teas Dan Cong. They are really different from those I had from Imen. Variety is great. I also purchased Hojo's dan cong. So far, I only tasted the Mi Lan Xiang which was great.

I too use far longer brewing times than what I usually read, nothing below 30" for 1/2 leaf-capacity ratio, often increasing rapidly.

I shall be in Hojo's shop soon, I may ask to try a DC

30 seconds is too long for me to wait, I fill 2/3 and start with 10, 10, 15, 20 unless the first infusion tells me to adjust. Also with Imen's I don't find the need to use lower temperatures so it is just off the boil all the way.
With DTH DCs I use slightly cooler temp after the first infusion.

[Herb_Master]

Herb Master: Canton tea is selling high grade DHP for 9 pounds per 50g? Is this something believable? High grade DHP sells for a lot higher than that if it is the real stuff. I would buy them out if I were you.

I wonder if there is so much low grade DHP about that one needs to add an extra range of superlatives and that whereas high grade something else may be near the best but high grade DHP is scarcely in the middle.

No indication of the age of the trees but it does admit to being a plantation at 600m altitude!

Does that tell us anything? what altitude are the Zhen Yen Cha

let's Google

Hou De Blog

Wuyi yen cha can be categorized into three groups, according to the locations of the plantations:

Zheng-Yen : The yen cha is from a plantation located inside the Scenic District of Wuyi Shan, average elevation 650m. This is where the orthodox and very limited yen cha were produced. The soil in this district is gravelly and rich in minerals. The warm and humid climate keeps the tea trees well hydrated while the roots can breath easily. This Terroir contributes to the ethereal and spirited (or, dynamic) taste of yen cha. The picture below shows a plantation inside this District:


source: www.wuyishan.gov.cn

Ban-Yen : "Ban" means "half, in the middle of". This refers to plantations on terraces just outside the Scenic District, a transition from zheng-yen to zhou-cha.

Zhou-Cha : This is where the bulk of yen cha are produced. Zhou means "outside the limit" in chinese. So this says "tea from outside the District limit". But another way of writing Zhou in chinese means "terrace". Elevation usually 100~400m high. Tea from these locations sometimes lack enough characters, so not uncommon they have to be darkly roasted to enhance the taste and structure.

well it looks like if this objective info is correct that their subjective 'high grade' may not be too far off the mark
It may be worth paying one's learning fees to find out!

I wonder if MarshalN got any free samples for allowing the use of his Video or is YouTube free for all to use?

[David R.]

Well, I am still a newbie but I liked the "style" of these Postcard Teas dan cong. Roasting is clearly very well made. I only tasted quite fresh dan cong from Imen, fresh flowers or fresh fruits. I had to change everything in my way to brew dan cong to appreciate these ones, using much longer brews, sometime beginning at 2 minutes.

They are darker, warmer, a lot of honey. It can lead to a very good evolution from one brew to another, as the roasting wears off. Shui Xian Mi Lan Xiang is for me a good example of this. It is not always the case with dan cong which can be the same from step one to step 10.

The MLX from Hojo is very classy, very very sweet. Lichee all over the place, among other things, with an excellent aftertaste.

[alan logan]

Herb Master: Canton tea is selling high grade DHP for 9 pounds per 50g? Is this something believable? High grade DHP sells for a lot higher than that if it is the real stuff. I would buy them out if I were you.

(...)

well it looks like if this objective info is correct that their subjective 'high grade' may not be too far off the mark
It may be worth paying one's learning fees to find out!

I wonder if MarshalN got any free samples for allowing the use of his Video or is YouTube free for all to use?

"da hong pao" applies to many things (amongst which some good blends of leftover leaves of good origin), so w/o tasting (provided the taster has the reference to be able to compare) it would be tricky to know from vendor depiction only. so why not try and see ?
my bet would be you may get some tea that may have little to do w da hong pao, that could nevertheless be very enjoyable and good quality ...and also, who knows, might be heavily priced thanks to the "da hong pao" label on it. but at some point, better to buy a good quality tea w "abfab" name than s*** with the right name and, in this case the price is not awfully high so... no dramatic risk.


(about use of video by embed & stream:
youtube goes w terms of use that answer your question about use of a video posted by someone on the site. basically, when you embed a video from such a platform you do not "take it" because server location/host does not change. if the OP removes his video your embed will no longer stream. for contents w rectricted rights the posters can desactivate embed option, or restrict streaming according to location indicated by IP --eg lots of CBS contents won't play outside the US.
so, technically and legally here, the video has not passed to anybody else than its OP and his intellectual property is untouched.)

[Rayuela]

I dont know about their song dan cong, but I don't think Canton's standard DC is really up too much. It has neither the fruitiness of a lighter roast, nor the pleasant bite of a roastier one. A little dull, at least for me.

[Tead Off]

Herb Master: Canton tea is selling high grade DHP for 9 pounds per 50g? Is this something believable? High grade DHP sells for a lot higher than that if it is the real stuff. I would buy them out if I were you.

(...)

well it looks like if this objective info is correct that their subjective 'high grade' may not be too far off the mark
It may be worth paying one's learning fees to find out!

I wonder if MarshalN got any free samples for allowing the use of his Video or is YouTube free for all to use?

"da hong pao" applies to many things (amongst which some good blends of leftover leaves of good origin), so w/o tasting (provided the taster has the reference to be able to compare) it would be tricky to know from vendor depiction only. so why not try and see ?
my bet would be you may get some tea that may have little to do w da hong pao, that could nevertheless be very enjoyable and good quality ...and also, who knows, might be heavily priced thanks to the "da hong pao" label on it. but at some point, better to buy a good quality tea w "abfab" name than s*** with the right name and, in this case the price is not awfully high so... no dramatic risk.

Quite true. My comments were really addressed only to the use of 'high grade' when referring to a DHP of low price. It can still be enjoyable tea but usually you buy a DHP to get a real DHP, and, a high grade to get a true 'high grade'. When a vendor steps out on the ledge like this, the red flags go off in my brain. Yes, it's my problem.