So far I am not too crazy about this tea, especially not for the price I paid for it. Maybe I am partial to Mi Lan Xiangs, but I found this to be a slight bit on the boring side. I don’t think this tea is scented with osmanthus.
I steeped it up in the yixing this afternoon. It has a light, roasted flavor and a gentle floral aroma, which accounts for the osmanthus name, I guess. I tried it with some various steeping times, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and around 190F water.
I got some light fruit and floral notes but this isn’t anything special in my opinion. I know dan congs can be fussy, so I will keep trying to see if I can do something that makes it wonderful. With my next batch I will use boiling water only, a bit more tea and very short steeps to see if that makes a difference.
Another fussy Dan Cong! I can’t seem to get best out of them. I plan on getting some bamboo charcoal from Yunnan Sourcing on my next order (might not be for a few months) to see if that helps improve the taste. I wonder if just using a Brita filter would do it? There’s charcoal in there….
hmm, let me know if it works. Yeah dan congs can be fussy for sure but I think in this case maybe the tea is just boring, lol
This is a useful website: https://www.peonyts.com/brewing-phoenix-dancong-with-a-gaiwan/
Also I just read that some dan congs are not suitable for clay pots so I will try a gaiwan too. :)