Mother Bush Osmanthus Fragrance Dancong

Roast: Medium

Tasting Notes: Osmanthus, Cream, Pastry, Orchid, Honey

As I taste this final tea, it is September here in China, and all across the country the Osmanthus trees are beginning to bloom.  This small yellow flower fills the streets with the most wondrous perfume I have ever smelled, as soon as I moved to China, I’ve always looked forward to the Autumn when this tree flower blooms.  The Osmanthus fragrance dancong is similarly a special cultivar to me, and having the opportunity to buy some of Wen’s most ancient tree producing this cultivar was an opportunity I couldn’t resist.

When the leaves are placed in a warmed gaiwan, we get an incredible butter cream fragrance that is laced with honey notes, it smells like a fresh baked croissant dipped in honey.  As soon as the leaves are infused with hot water, they begin to exude their iconic osmanthus fragrance, which is backed by rich spices like cinnamon and licorice root.  For the mother bush teas especially, we always drink the rinse, as it has some of the most ephemeral flavors in the whole session.   This first of all infusions is incredibly sweet, which is no surprise based on the fragrances. 

This tea is a medium to light roast, so the color of the brew is a light pale gold, and the tea on the tongue is impressively thick and oily coating the mouth evenly and leaving a long lingering sweetness.  The brew remains delicately floral and sweet without having an overtly powerful fragrance, these ancient trees have a different way of expressing their power than high-fragrance, there is rather a deep body sensation referred to as Chaqi which is grounding, calming, and powerful.  For us, this tea slows the world down, all while providing cup after cup of sweet, calm nectar. 

***

The mother bush teas from Wen Zitong are teas not commonly available.  Only thought strong connections and deep relationships with the growers as well as makers can we source these teas.  We are honored that Wen Zitong agreed to reserve a pound of this tea for us from the very limited amount of leaves picked this spring (each year there are only a few kilograms of final tea from this tree).  This is Danzhu, Single Tree, Mother Bush, true Dan Cong, aka Single Bush.  Teas like this are a rare treat and indeed the nuances tend to be subtle and profound for those learned in the leaf.  

While these teas usually don't have the rollercoaster of flavors and aromas, their true magic comes in their incredible vitality, the sweetness in the later infusions, and of course the Cha Qi.  Wen Zitong knew how much we loved his Ba Xian last year, so this year he saved just 500 grams of this Mother-Bush production for us to try and offer here.

 

Check out our Glossary of Dancong Oolong Terms to understand this info more!