Tea: Winter Daphne (Rui Xiang - 瑞香)
Type: Charcoal Roasted Wuyi Rock Oolong
Harvest: Spring 2023
Roast Type: Heavy
Producer: Zhang Ji 章冀
Region: Wuyi Mountain, Fujian, China
Tasting Notes: Chocolate, Berries, Sage, Ginger, Limestone
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The Winter Daphne, not to be confused with the White Winter Daphne, is a less common Wuyi Oolong cultivar praised for its floral bouquet and more gentle brews. Numbered 305 in the modern Wuyi Oolong cultivar naming convention, this cultivar was created from descendants of the Huangdan cultivar tea bush, and is famed for its minerality, yanyun, furit and flower fragrances and more mellow taste. Thus, if you don't like strong Yancha, this might not be the tea for you, consider it more of a delicate counter-note to a market mainly dominated by the bold of mouthfeel.
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The dry leaves in the warmed vessel already begin to show off their deep sweet side with a heavy backbone of melted chocolate, while the more herbaceous notes of cooking spices, sage, and sweetgrass emerge once infused. The brews are a rich amber in color, but the tea sits lightly on the tongue leaving behind a refreshing and slightly mouth watering sensation after successive infusions. While there is a persistent floral fragrance to the brews, the dominating features are more mineral and spice driven. A spicy ginger note emerges in the first few infusions which mellows out into a much more rounded herbal spice flavors like sage and even a dash of cinnamon.
