Ling Tou Village "Bai Ye" Dan Cong Oolong Tea * Spring 2017

This was the last of the Dan Cong oolongs I consumed in January. It seems that 2017 was a good year for Dan Cong teas as the overwhelming majority of the 2017 Dan Cong oolongs I have tried from Yunnan Sourcing have been very good. This one was no exception. I found it to be more complex than the Spring 2016 Bai Ye I tried last year, though I also found this tea to have a bit of a bite and to not be quite as smooth.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 6 seconds. This infusion was followed by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of orchid, pomegranate, nectarine, candied pomelo, and cherry. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of lotus, honey, hibiscus, orange blossom, and almond. The first infusion brought out aromas of spinach, baked bread, and butter. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of nectarine, pomegranate, honey, orchid, candied pomelo, and cherry that were chased by slightly subtler impressions of almond, baked bread, butter, and vanilla. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of green bell pepper, chili leaf, vanilla, and wood. Lotus, hibiscus, and orange blossom notes emerged in the mouth along with hints of spinach. Impressions of cream, minerals, chili leaf, green bell pepper, pear, wood, lychee, peach, and white grape also appeared. As the tea faded, lingering mineral, green bell pepper, baked bread, cream, butter, wood, and almond were underscored by hints of lotus, orchid, vanilla, spinach, candied pomelo, white grape, and peach.

This was a very nice Bai Ye, but I found it to be slightly prickly and sharp in places; the tea’s woodier and more vegetal qualities sometimes undercut its gorgeous floral and fruity characteristics. Still, this was a very good Dan Cong oolong, one that fans of such teas would likely appreciate greatly. Even though there are smoother Bai Ye oolongs out there, one could do far, far worse than give this one a shot.

3rd time trying it now. It’s getting better each time taste wise. I found out the problem. It’s not the taste but that my stomach is sensitive to it. Perhaps the sharpness and the sour notes at the end steepings did my tummy in the first go around. I drank it in the morning before any food. >.< The 2nd time I drank it after dinner and it was much much better. I’ll probably have to work on finding the right temperature and steeping time as it is complex, full-bodied, intense yet smooth, bold, pungent, rich, thick, astringent… Definitely not a mellow light tea. Although intense, it is balanced which makes it pleasing. Some honey, fruity, lychee, sour notes. It numbs my tongue a little too. Has a long finish. If you’re a fan of Dan Cong, I think you’d like this. Should give it a go.

I really enjoyed this tea! To me, it was like a more interesting, less floral and vegetal high mountain Taiwanese oolong. What I mean is it was very sweet, but it had more complex flavors that changed with each steep. Also, after a single sip, the flavor would bounce back and forth from sweet to sour notes. It’s mildly dry, which seems to help the flavor coat your mouth and last after swallowing. This is a tea I would always like to have on hand.

The curled dry leaves are dark and small, with a sort of sweet fresh pastry/nutty aroma. Maybe a little fruitiness, too.

I brewed gong fu style in a gaiwan, with 5-30 second infusions. I kept the water near 90-95 C most of the time.

After a quick rinse, the first steep had a honey and green apple (?) aroma and tasted like a fruity sweet nectar, with a little sourness in the center of the tongue. It was only slightly dry, and had a moderate thickness. The leaves started opening up a bit after the second steep, and I was able to see the leaves were a mix of green and purple. Initially the aroma was like fresh sweet pastries again, but then had a slightly sour and spicy fruitiness. The taste became sweeter and a little more dry (but still only moderately). It again had a slight sour, fruity aftertaste, and the dry cup smelled like honey.

After the third steep, the gaiwan’s lid smelled like cornbread and brew was a very clear and bright yellow. This steep was even sweeter than the last, a little less astringent and less sour, and more viscous. The brew smelled very sweet, like a light honey. The fourth and fifth steeps were similar to this one, maybe even more sweet and honey-like. I brewed 8 times, and it was enjoyable until the end, but the flavors started dying off with the 6th steep.

This Bai Ye is a perfect example why I adore Dancong’s so much above all kinds of Oolongs. Those crispy elegantly rolled leaves are masterly produced and composed. This is the stuff you want for your Dancong sessions! The fruitiness of this fellow is massively overwhelming! Imagine a full on multivitamin juice and even more. First and foremost the

re is an overall citrus layer to it with a fine very subtle nutty undertone. But the real start is a basket full of tropical fruits like passion fruit, a hint of Thai mango, lychee followed by very ripe and juice sweet jackfruit plus a hint of very sweet non sour kiwi. Beside that you might also discover more local fruits like peaches, very sweet nectarines followed by clementines, some cherries plus a nice mix of red sweet apples & pears. You see that fruit basket is rich and fully filled with little delicious wonders. Later onward this sweetness also transforms a bit into something bakery sweet a bit like a blueberry muffin. The echo within the aftertaste is long and full on fruit mode. This is a magnificent example of perfection within the Dancong Oolong varietal.

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