Tea: Jasmine Fragrance Type: Moli Xiang Dancong Oolong (茉莉香单丛乌龙) Style: Qingxiang Dancong Roast: Light Harvest: Spring 2024 Region: Wudong Village, Phoenix Mountains, Chaozhou Producers: Wen Zitong Tasting Notes: Jasmine, Vanilla Bean, Gardenia Flower, Pinecone, Citra Hops This is a new Dancong cultivar to us that we have never carried before. When we visited Wen Zitong this April up on Wudong Mountain, we watched the picking and processing of these precise leaves. It was lovely to see the leaves from their living green to their withered state, to their reawakening under Wen Zitong's masterful touch. We knew we wanted to carry this tea after drinking the freshly processed maocha back in April, and thus it has been a long wait to finally receive these finished and fully processed leaves. The dry leaves in the cup exude an almost glazed sugar sweetness, reminding us of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and vanilla icing. This is backed up by the floral fragrances of jasmine and lilies. The floral fragrance intensifies as soon as the leaves are hit with boiling water though the sweetness hinted at earlier on is transferred clearly into the cup. This is one of the sweetest, most gently floral dancong oolongs we had the pleasure of tasting this year. A light roast and pale gold brew let the high notes of this tea shine like diamonds in the light. The brew not only has an oily thickness of body that coats the mouth, but this tea also sits pleasantly in the stomach. We find this tea is one of the exceptional few whose fragrance is clearly transferred into the cup. We smell the fragrances of this tea as much with our tongue as with our nose. When pushed with boiling water, this tea can get pleasantly bitter, reminding us of the hoppy IPA flavors some of our most favorite dancong oolongs have. As the sessions progress, the leaves begin to exude complex fragrances of fruit and flowers that leave our senses reeling for proper descriptions. Drinking this tea in quick succession doesn't give a deep huigan, but what it does do is leave the tongue tingling and pure water tastes sweet for a long time after.
