This is one of our favorite dancong cultivars and Wen Zitong has an incredible ability to make this cultivar shine. This is our most looked-forward to dancong of the year every year, and we are so happy with what Wen Zitong has crafted.
The dry leaves have a sweet creamy fragrance that comes from the controlled roasting, however, it doesn’t completely overwhelm the spring flower fragrance of the leaves themselves.When infused, the roast quickly gives way to the sweetgrass body of the tea itself.The first few infusion have faint notes of jam, but the tea soup is overwhelmingly creamy on the tongue with a pleasant mouthfeel.
The brew is a pale gold, suggesting a lighter roasting than some of the other offerings from Wudong this year.After a few infusions, the natural floral fragrances and vegetative body of the tea comes to the forefront to dominate the session.The pleasant thickness of the tea remains throughout the session coating the mouth and throat with a mineral sweetness that lasts long after the final infusion.
This tea is a blend of a few old Baxian trees that belong to Wen Zitong's family up above the Wudong village, on the slopes of the Wudong mountain itself. These teas from the Wudong core region leave a lingering tingling sweetness on our tongue that is surprisingly consistent, apparent, and exclusive to the Wudong dancongs.
2010 Yao Aroma and 2013 Purple both have the classic aged Liu Bao profile - very good. The 2019 Yao has an amazing barbequed note that made it my favourite.
