Thunderstruck Dancong

Tea: Thunderstruck Type: Leikouchai Dancong Oolong (雷扣柴单丛乌龙) Style: Qingxiang Dancong Roast: Light Harvest: Spring 2024 Region: Wudong Village, Phoenix Mountains, Chaozhou Producers: Wen Zitong Tasting Notes: Bread Rolls, Raisins, Cedar, Green Apple, CinnamonThe Leikouchai, or thunderstruck, is a blend of older tree material from Wen Zitong’s Wudong Mountain tea trees. These trees are all over 80 years old and are several meters tall, as a result, the tea is mineral sweet with less bitterness than younger, smaller bushes off Wudong mountain. . As soon as they are placed in a warm gaiwan, the leaves open with a homey aroma of baking bread, butter and kitchen spices, which transforms drastically into a full bouquet of fresh flowers once hit with warm water. Although this tea has been masterfully charcoal roasted, it presents itself as a qingxiang tea rather than the more traditional nongxiang heavily roasted teas (for a definition of these Chiense terms, check out or Dancong Glossary). The fragrance of this tea is extraordinary and is transferred clearly into the tea soup. The brew is a light gold and redolent of all the savory and floral notes found in the leaves themselves. Once drunk, the tea is mineral sweet on the tongue and incredibly pleasant and thirst quenching. While the fragrance of the liquor maintains its floral notes for much of the session, the tea eventually opens up into a savory brew which balances toast, vegetation, sweetness, and floral notes marvelously.