Snow Orchid Dan Cong Oolong 2007

Tea: Xue Lan Xiang (Snow Orchid) Dan Cong Oolong 2007
Vendor: Seven Cups
Price: $11.80 / 50g ( for the 2008 currently)
Source: Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province
Vendor Description: Snow Orchid is the most popular Dan Cong tea due to its strong peach aroma and taste. The strong oxidation and roasting allow the special character of this tea to remain stable for at least two years. Appreciate the dry leaves that smell like the local orchids blooming in winter from which this tea is named. After brewing, the clean honey tea color will yield a robust flavor that fill the mouth and leaves a complex lingering aftertaste. The Chaozhou people, from whom this tea comes, are famous for their rich diet and frequently pair this tea with meals to improve digestion.

Additional Vendor Information:
Tea Bush: Mi Lan Xiang descendent from original Feng Huang Shui Xian
Tea Master: Ye Han Zhong
Harvest Time: middle of March
Picking Standard: zhong kai mian (2-3 slightly open leaves)
Brewing vessel: glass cup, gaiwan, glass or porcelain pot, yixing pot
Brewing Guidelines: 1st infusion 1 Tbs per 12 oz 212F for 1 min
Infusions: at least 6 times

Leaf: The leaf for this tea had smallish leaf for a Dan Cong. It is still large in size. The leaves are black with brown highlights and grey on the edges.

1st Infusion Parameters: 4.28g, 5oz, 208F, 45s, 5s rinse

1st Infusion: This infusion has a light brown color. It is almost red in hue. The aroma is interesting, it has a certain woodiness to it. The flavor is light with a pronounced sharpness on the back end. I found that the aroma was quite captivating with a very nice smoothness up front. There was a very light astringency on the back end. The flavor is lighter than most Dan Cong.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 1:30, 208F

2nd Infusion: This infusion has a stronger core Dan Cong aroma to it, the aroma was much sweeter this time. The color was a red-brown hue. The flavor is much richer and quite full bodied. It was lightly sweet, but much more flavorful. There is a medium sense of astringency. It gives me a peaceful feeling.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 2:15, 208F

3rd Infusion: This infusion had a lighter red-brown hue to it. The flavor was even richer than the second infusion. It was smooth and a bit more subdued. There was a medium sense of astringency. It leaves a bit of a rough feeling on my tongue.

4th Infusion Parameters: 3:00, 208F

4th Infusion: This infusion had a light brown hue with a very light aroma. The tea is still smooth and flavorful with a medium sense of astringency.

Rating: 9/10

Conclusion: This was a very flavorful DC. This was very enjoyable and is rather inexpensively priced. The flavor got richer for the second and third infusions for three very pleasant infusions. I can't think of any significant downsides to this tea. Thank you to Jessica over at Authoritea for this sample.