I am drinking a lot of tea but I’m not that motivated to write about them. I also experienced this last year in July and August so it’s nothing new. It has been almost a week so I just had to write about one… For today’s session, I picked a Phoenix Hong Cha from Teamania; one of the many teas they sent me two months ago. I’ve had this tea several times before this session, but writing about it is different because then I really try to focus on what the tea is trying to tell me.
Phoenix Hong Cha
Right when I got this tea, it immediately got my attention because of its name. Phoenix Hong Cha means that it’s hong cha from the Phoenix Mountains in China’s Guangdong Province. Tea leaves from this area are mostly used to produce oolong tea; the highly aromatic dan cong oolong tea.
Don’t know where to buy tea online? I made a list of over 300 online tea shops and I keep updating it regularly. You can check it over here
The Phoenix Hong Cha is made from the Mi lang Xian cultivar, which is one of the most famous dan cong teas. This particular batch is from spring 2020 so a bit over a year old. In short, this tea consists of leaves that are usually made into oolong tea, but now it’s made into hong cha. I hope to experience the best of both worlds.
Tea Tasting
- Water 99°C
- 5.2g for a 150ml zisha teapot
I see rather large and twisted leaves with a dark colour and bordeaux hue. The aroma is definitely fruity (lychee) with a hint of dry wood. There is also some malt and a sweetness lurking beneath the surface.
Infusion 1 (15 sec): it’s obvious that this is dan cong material! Really aromatic and prominent notes of exotic summer fruits. This is actually what is going on throughout the whole infusion. The finish is fruity, just like the aftertaste. It’s almost as if I’m smelling a dan cong oolong! Really impressed with this infusion.
Infusion 2 (20 sec): very similar to infusion 1. Still sweet and exotic summer fruits that go on long into the aftertaste. It’s less sweet and it feels thinner, but this is not a bad thing. Really long aftertaste and it feels pleasant as well.
Infusion 3 (25 sec): the fruitiness is less intense, but it’s a bit sweeter. A maltiness is starting to appear now. The finish and aftertaste are a tiny bit sweet with a malty undertone.
Infusion 4 (30 sec): the liquor looks really thick and syrupy. It’s getting less aromatic and more like hong cha now. Still slightly fruity with a deep sugar sweetness in the finish and aftertaste.
Infusion 5 (40 sec): very similar to the previous infusion and really pleasant to drink. It’s slightly fruity, a bit malty and even a bit sweet.
Infusion 6 (long): some traces of fruit are left, but a clear maltiness is coming through now.
Conclusion
The Phoenix Hong Cha was a really interesting tea. The fact that the leaves are usually made into dan cong oolong tea was definitely noticeable. The early infusions were really aromatic with strong flavours of exotic summer fruits. The later infusions were more about malty flavours.
The early infusions were almost like drinking a dan cong oolong, while the later ones had more characteristics of hong cha. Definitely an interesting and delicious tea!
If your want to try it, you can buy it over here.
