Got this in a mystery box (yes, I broke my own rules for this, but only partially regret it) from Paul of W2T and the package said 柚花香 and basically matches the listing on the site for the Pomelo flower Dancong so I’m assuming it’s the same thing.
4.5g, 90 mL gaiwan.
dry leaf is light roast smell and sweet orange, almost cola-like.
Wet leaf is perfumed floral smell, extremely sweet, almost cloying.
quick boiling rinse, then 3x 205f steeps. No detailed notes since I didn’t like this one and stopped at steep 4, so this tea has the honor of being one of the only teas I didn’t even bother to thermos in quite a while. It’s a soft and sweet tea overall with a grassy base and strong aroma, very heady floral. Only lightly oxidized, since the lightly yellow brews left over turned into a murky brown gray color when left out, an even more drastic color change than I’ve seen from my accidental leaving out of green tea brews. I kept the leaves in a cup at my desk, and they smell quite pleasant, but I really cannot stand the taste.
I really should’ve known from what I’ve read about dancongs online being more fruity floral heavy that I would not like this. I remember liking the One River Tea ones I tried before, but the roast was much more standard yancha like roast (and tasted like it!), and not like this one in the line of my impression of standard dancongs with leaf color a mix of greenish and brown. The mass of recommendations to try Imen’s and Hojo’s pricier dancong offerings are always tempting, but I’ve confirmed I do not enjoy this sort of profile and will remain content with my newfound affection for bland shou.
