Tea of the Month for April- Dan Cong

Whew... Managed to get this post in on nearly the last day of the month. I went to the tea market at least two weeks ago, but finally found(took) the time to make the tea and to take a couple of photos of the tea today.

While I was ogling a couple of large celadon tea jars in one of the shops upstairs at the tea market, my friend and I started to chat with the shop person. She persuaded us to sit down and try the tea that I initially thought that I would buy for this post. We ended up trying two or three different teas, and when she mentioned Dan Cong, I knew that I had to buy it. I have been reading a small number of tea blogs for a few months now. One of them, who publishes some of of his posts in French, is a huge fan of dan cong tea. He frequently raves about the best regions for growing and which year has the best taste.

Dan Cong (pronounced "tsong"), is a family of stripe-style oolong teas from Guangdong Province. It is apparently the great mimic of teas: these teas are noted for their ability to naturally imitate the flavors and fragrances of various flowers and fruits, such as orange blossom, orchid, grapefruit, almond, ginger flower, etc. It comes in different grades which is plucked, processed, packed and sold by single bush. Apparently if must be plucked in spring, and must be plucked between 1 to 4 pm in sunny but cool days. Seems pretty rigid, but they have been doing this for centuries with only slight (and wanted) variations in taste. Incidentally, I have no idea which Dan Cong I purchased. It matters not; I find that my palate does not distinguish at first, the subtle variations in grades of tea. It seems to take me prolonged tasting to become accustomed to it, and then able to tell the difference.

Tasting notes and observations: the tea leave are needle shaped and quite brittle in texture. They are also slightly brown. They unfurl slightly in the water, and clearly have been shredded or torn lengthwise on the leaf (compared to Tai Gwan Yin with is torn rather roughly widthwise and then rolled slightly). The color of the tea tends to be an amber brown color. The taste and smell of this tea was slightly peachy. I was in a bit of a hurry when I brewed and tasted it, so I'm a bit fuzzy about the full palate. I'll simply have to try again. I did not pair it with anything (again, too pressed for time). Seems like a good tea to have mid afternoon and perhaps by itself- not very strong and really quite subtle.


Note my new gaiwan (the white cup with a lid). I have noted that a few serious tea bloggers use this type of holder to brew this kind of tea, so I decided to do it too. On my last visit to the tea city, I returned to the stall where I bought my scoop and screen. They have many tools teapots and trays (and sometime this year, I will likely be buying a tea making tray from them). I spotted the gaiwans, found out the price (less than one Canadian dollar) and bought it quickly. I love the practicality of this instrument; I have used this both as a cup and as a teapot. This particular one, although kind of dear to me, is really a very cheap version; there are many antique and more refined gaiwans that are out there just waiting for me and my wallet.