Milan Dancong

2017 Milan Dancong
Pretty behind on these reviews from the tea club.

I think I had the water too hot for the beginning of this session. It was a much better tea at a cooler water temperature. Long lasting tea – I got 9 steeps from this.

200F, 100 ml shibo, time – 10, 10 , 20, 20, 30, 30
These steeps were much more mineral and woody. Kind of drying as well. Some fruitiness, raisin in aftertaste, and tangy.

Steeps 6-9 were with much cooler water 185F ish
These were fruitier with a thicker mouthfeel. It got much sweeter as the water cooled.

Of the two Milan Dancongs from this tea club (still have the 2018 to go), I liked the 2017 better.

A bit smoky, reasonably thick, some sweetness coming in in later steepings. Definitely nicer than the other milan dancong I’ve tried, but still not really as complex or intense as I’d prefer.

Ultimately, I think what I’m learning is that as a matter of personal taste I just don’t love most dancongs (though there have been exceptions).

I’m mostly only bothering to post this in case anyone wants me to put the rest of the bag in the mail to them. :)

Finally trying this sample from club box, whew, really behind on those, ^^;.

Half the sample bag into a 68 ml gaiwan, 185F-ish water, long rinse. Sugary sweet finish that lingers on top of a pleasant roasty backdrop. This tea really hits its stride in the late game, around steep 6 or 7, punching a surprisingly sweet honey wallop. It starts off slow, grows into that steep, and then fades slowly back out, but is incredibly forgiving throughout. I oversteeped this tea considerably for one round, and it was merely a bit bitter on the roast, rather than a bitter knot of regret as I was expecting.

Overall, very pleasant, smooth, and sweet with pretty good endurance, but kind of boring to my taste.

I got this as part of the teaclub whatever month it was included in. The dry leaves have a nice and crisp floral aroma, with a bit of vegetal and/or autumnal undertones. The wet leaves had a sweeter aroma, with mineral, peachy candy notes, along with a bit of a buttery or saltiness.

The tea tasted much like it smelled, with a bright floral front, especially in the early sips. The flavor moved into more of a peachy fruitiness, and the tea finished with a buttery smoothness. As the session progressed, I noticed a bit more of a mineral flavor early in the sip, followed by more of the peachy, buttery finish. Like a peach cobbler! Except not that sweet…It was good though! I still don’t really have enough experience with Dancongs to know what level this one is at. I enjoyed it, but was not wowed by it or anything.

Starts bitey and a little malty evolving to a mild honey flavor and medium body. Med oxidation, tightly twisted leaves