Tasting Notes: stone-fruit and honey

Description:  A famous Dan Cong variety Oolong from the Phoenix Mountains. An aromatic dark oolong tea with a balanced taste that is both complex and delicate. Balanced notes of stone-fruit, toast, honey, and almond linger in each sip. A naturally sweet oolong due to the rich plum stone-fruit notes.

Zhongshan Baiye which translates to "White Leaf" is one of the famous oolongs made from the Zhong Shan cultivar grown in the Phoenix Mountains. This tea cultivar has large leaves that once harvested are put through an extended hand-crafted process of withering, bruising the leaf, oxidizing, firing and re-firing to create a depth of aroma and flavor that is unparalleled.

What is a Dan Cong Oolong?  Dan Cong Oolongs are a rare variety of oolongs from the Phoenix Mountains in Guangdong province, China. The term, Dan Cong, translates as single trunk, and refers to the style of cultivating each tea tree as a single-cultivar plant. Many of the tea gardens in Phoenix Mountain are planted with centuries-old tea trees.  Even the new clones are grafted onto these ancient tea tree roots. The result is an extraordinary cup of tea that is produced from an ancient mother tree older than 600 years. Dan Cong Oolongs are characterized by their extraordinary stone-fruit aroma, sweet honey fragrance, and a subtle fragrance of orchid.

Ingredients:  oolong tea from the Phoenix Mountains located in Guangdong Province, China

Steep Directions: steep 1-2 heaping teaspoons of tea per 8 oz below boiling water, 195°F, for 3-4 minutes.  This handcrafted tea will yield multiple steeps. The 1st steep is known for its aroma, the 2nd and 3rd steeps unveils rich flavors, the 4th and 5th steeps will reveal lingering notes that are satisfying.