If you are regular visitor to a Chinatown, you probably are aware of dimsum - a delicious Chinese food served out in small plates like the Spanish tapas over lunch time.
Unknown to many Chinese people, the Cantonese also have another specialty: tea!
Visit the cosmopolitan cities of Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and discover the Cantonese love for all things tea. "Morning tea" is a way of life. There is a local saying that if you don't drink tea, you can forget about doing business in Guangdong province!
The Cantonese people, especially those from the tea-growing region of Chaozhou, are also ingenious oolong tea drinkers. They perfect the art of gongfu tea ceremony using Yixing tea pot - known in China as the Chaozhou Gongfu Style.
They also invented a very special tea, which forms one of the four main schools of Chinese oolong tea: Phoenix Dancong oolong.
In China, Phoenix oolong is known as Fenghuang Dancong. The name can be translated as Phoenix Single Bush tea.
Phoenix refers to the Phoenix Mountain, the birthplace of this oolong tea, where tea trees grow in the altitude of 1,000 meters.
Growing in high altitude gives Phoenix oolong a unique "high mountain" flavor. This is the reason why she is famed for her sweet, honeyed taste and exquisite, floral fragrance.
Phoenix oolong also has another special quality: her very sophisticated and pure fragrance. The secret lies in her name: Single Bush.
The Cantonese not only perfected the art of tea ceremony, they are also consummate tea cultivators.
For more than 100 years, they have meticulously observed and selected the best tea trees for cultivation. Passing from fathers to sons, the result is the Phoenix oolong tea, which now boosts 80 varieties.
Because the Cantonese have insisted on cultivating tea trees using one tea tree at a time, the tea is called Single Bush.
This extraordinary technique results in each tea tree having very pure genealogy, with its own fragrance, style and taste.
She has the purest and most sophisticated fragrances. There are as many as 10 broad types. In the next tab, we will introduce to you my favorite: the Huangzhi Xiang (Yellow Sprig).
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Fenghuang Dancong (Huangzhi Xiang) AAA Grade (Autumn 2010) - 125 grams
A most impressive of Chinese oolong, I can't help being overwhelmed by the quality and value she offers.
During my testing, she infuses up to 15-20 times. I can even feel her in palate all day long! The picture shown to the right is the 9th infusion - simply incredible.
The tea is medium oxidized and lightly roasted, and retains the best of floral oolong tea. The fragrance is of the light gardenia type. The tea liquor is a light yellow and tastes sweet and honeyed.
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By Petr (Nymburk). Jul 16, 2011I´m tea enthusiast for more than 15 years. The tea satisfy me very well - in other words it is great. From time to time I buy tea which looks like rare one. Thanks you for your care.
| AAA Grade - Exceptional Taste & Quality |
By Barry (RI). Dec 15, 2010Highly recommend this high quality tea for everyday drinking. Another smooth exciting tea to savor it's exceptional taste!
Phoenix oolong tea's flavor sits between the Iron Goddess tea and Wuyi tea. She is slightly more oxidized and roasted than the Iron Goddess tea, but less so than the Wuyi tea.
She should be brewed the same way as the Iron Goddess tea using porcelain ware. For further information, read
Jade and Amber Oolong Tea - Introducing The Three Styles
