"King of Duck Shit Aroma" Dan Cong Oolong Tea - Yunnan Sourcing
Notes of warm milk, with a sweet and creamy texture.
King of Duck Shit Aroma dry tea leaf
Name: "King of Duck Shit Aroma" Dan Cong Oolong Tea
Source: Yunnan Sourcing
Price: $13.25 / 25g
Harvest: Spring 2021
Origin: Ping Keng Tou Village, Phoenix Mountains, Guandong Province
Varietal: Ya Shi Xiang Dan Cong Varietal
Tea Quantity: 5g
Brew Temperature: 95ºC
Water Quantity: 60mL
Brew Time: 30s
Wash: Yes
Visual Notes
The tea takes on a deep dark brown color, darker than cocoa or coffee beans. The shape is generally long leafy strands, rolled lengthwise. There seems to be very little tea dust or smaller broken flakes. As expected from a very expensive tea. The color of the tea liquid is a light brassy yellow orange. It is not nearly as dark as the tea leaf would lead you to think. It appears that after multiple brews, the tea leaves appear to have a green hue to them.
Scent Notes
The initial tea is quite malty, followed by a sharp sweetness in the back of the nose. There are some notes of soy beans, and fruity berries adding a sweet vibrancy. The scent of the tea is warm like a frothed milk.
Tasting Notes
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The taste is sweet, mellow, and creamy on the front of the tongue, and a bit tingly and exciting on the sides of the tongue. The taste is a mix of warm milk, and oolong tea. The texture is very silky, and the finish is a soft fully coated mouth feel, no dryness or bitterness at all.
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I like my teas a bit richer when I taste them, so I can more easily pick out all the notes. And I also just like it strong. So I am changing to 60mL, keeping everything else the same. On the scent I am picking up notes of honeysuckle. The taste is slightly more bitter on this infusion that reaches to the back of the nose. The flavor is still milky and sweet, and while not incredibly complex in its depth, is very straight forward and delicious. The sweetness is still on the front of the tongue, and the savory creamy texture coats the mouth. There is a slight bit of dryness on the tongue now.
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60mL, 40s. The tea still takes on a honey color with a bit more orange. The scent still has that warm frothed milk inviting aroma. The flavor is creamy on the tongue, invigorating on the edges of the tongue, and leaves a small amount of dryness on the finish. A bit more bitter than the very first infusion, but it is a pleasant bitterness. The texture is still creamy, but not as much as at the beginning. It is still happy warming sipping tea.
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At this point, the bitterness is starting to increase and the tea is loosing some of its sweetness. The texture is a bit more like water now, and the sweetness is quickly fleeting. There is a more prominent drying on the tongue and back of the mouth now. The scent of the empty tea cup is feint, but reminiscent of milk candy.
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A lot of the main savory flavor is gone, and the tea is more thin and dry. Still quite enjoyable if you can tolerate the bitterness.
Rating: 5/5
The quality of this tea is fantastic. It is an expensive tea, so you would hope that it is able to deliver, and it does. The tea leaves themself are fairly uniform in size and color, with no broken pieces, and very little tea dust. The flavor is not as deep and complex as others, but it has such a lovely sweet, milky, honey aroma, that it is truly a delight to sip. The scent is of frothed milk and is super inviting. There is very little bitterness and dryness in this tea, and when it does appear, it is not disruptive.
Tea Seller’s Description
Ya Shi Xiang Dan Cong (aka Duck Shit Aroma) is a rare Dan Cong varietal grown in and around Ping Keng Tou village in the Phoenix Mountains outside of Chaozhou in Guangdong Province. The tea bushes from which our King of Duck Shit Aroma are more than 80 years old growing naturally!
It's called "duck shit aroma" because in the Ping Keng Tou village area the soil has a somewhat yellow brown look to it and is unique to that area. With all teas the soil type is a key element in the tea's taste. Villagers wanting to guard the uniqueness of their tea bushes told outsiders that the color and uniqueness of the soil in their village was due to copious amounts of duck shit and began to call the their Dan Cong "duck shit aroma". True or not it's an entertaining story which reveals why the tea has such a gross name.
The tea itself is lightly oxidized and the leaves are still mostly green in color. The brewed tea is highly aromatic with flower, honey and longan notes. The mouthfeel is delicate and soothing with a taste that perfectly balances sweet, bitter, and astringent notes, none of which are overpowering.
This offering is literally the "King of Duck Shit Aroma" Dan Cong. Strong taste and aroma... thick and sweet with notes of longan. Can be infused 10+ times! I have not tasted a better version of this tea than this one!
29 kilograms in total produced. Single family production!
Elevation: 850 meters
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