White2tea’s March 2019 tea club featured three teas in total: two Dan Cong oolongs and a 2015 white tea. This article will be about the roasted version of the Dan Cong tea. This 26 Hour Roast Milan Maocha is exactly the same (same garden, farmer and processing) as the other Dan Cong, except that this one was roasted twice over a period of 26 hours. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I tasted the unroasted version yesterday so today was the right moment to try the roasted one.
26 Hour Roast Milan Maocha
Maocha in the name refers to the fact that this tea is unsorted and that it contains larger leaves and irregular shapes. Usually, this kind of tea is sorted before selling so the leaves have a more uniform look. This is not the case here and the tea is in its natural state after processing. The term ‘Milan‘ translates as ‘honey orchid’, which is the main flavour profile of this tea. As mentioned above, this is an article about the roasted version of the tea. It’s supposed to be better for ageing but only time will tell if this really is the case.
You can clearly see the unsorted stated of the leaves. It consists of very long, irregular and twisted leaves. The colours are darker tints of brown and some lighter tints here and there. The aroma immediately filed the room when putting these leaves in the pot. It was a deep and roasted sweetness of honey with some light peach as well.
After infusing, the main colour of the leaves is green with some light hints of brown. The leaves are still very long and a bit twisted. While smelling the leaves, I experienced light citrus at the surface in combination with a warm and deep sweetness of warm honey.
Tea tasting
- Water 99°C
- 5g of leaves for a 100ml Chaozhou teapot
- 1 rinse
- 6 infusions
Infusions
1st infusion (15 sec): this infusion has a dark yellow colour. It’s mainly a roasted and fruity sweetness. Nothing too intense.
2nd infusion: (20 sec): this one is fruity right from the beginning. It’s a kind of roasted fruitiness that is warm and full-bodied. The aftertaste has some very light peachy notes to it.
3rd infusion (25 sec): the colour is shifting a bit towards darker tints. The smell is amazing as a fruity sweetness is filling the room! I’m still getting a roasted sweetness that has a certain bite to it. The sweetness closely resembles warm honey.
4th infusion (30 sec): still a deep and full-bodied sweetness of warm honey. It’s a bit more floral now instead of fruity. Some sweetness in the aftertaste as well.
5th infusion (35 sec): the fruity and floral notes have greatly diminished. Only a light but still deep and warm sweetness.
6th infusion (40 sec): floral notes towards the finish but I notice that the leaves are starting to fade. The flavours are still good, but not as intense. There is also a light sweetness in the aftertaste.
Do you want a healthy and refreshing drink? I posted a recipe of a Silver Needle Peach Iced Tea. It’s perfect to stay hydrated during the summer months while drinking something healthy and delicious! You can read detailed instructions over here.
Conclusion
This tea was quite a difficult one because the flavours did not change much during the session. Only slight changes were noticeable. The flavours mainly consisted of a deep and full-bodied sweetness that closely resembles warm honey. During the early infusions, I got some roasted notes but those were gone during later infusions. A combination of fruity and floral notes was noticeable throughout the whole session. I had the unroasted version yesterday and the big difference, for me, is that the flavours are more at the surface when drinking the unroasted version. The 26-hour roast definitely added complexity to it by adding something deeper to the sweetness. Overall, this was a sweet tea with a certain bite to it. Highly enjoyable!
Unfortunately, you cannot buy this tea but this one is similar. If you want to be a member of the white2tea tea club, you can sign up over here.
