This was a year of honey for us out in Chaozhou. We loved all the cultivars with honey in their name: Milanxiang, Mixiang, and this Mitao Xiang. The Mitao, or Nectarine, in Chinese literally means honey peach, and for us, it is a perfect explanation of this tea. It is a heavy roasted cultivar, so the butter and honey notes are foremost, followed by a very sweet body, in fragrance alone, it is like an amped up Milanxiang, but the body is something totally unique.
When the dry leaves are added to the warmed gaiwan, we get butter and honey mixed with some very sweet floral notes, like lilies or daffodils. When infused with water for the first time, the roast comes out, we get darker notes of spices like vanilla even bordering close to tobacco. The initial rinse shows the color of the heavy roast, but fades with the infusions. Surprisingly, the taste on the tongue is very light and sweet with an oily coat from the roast.
As the infusions continue, the brews become a light amber-tinged gold and the mineral notes show themselves more prominently in the tea soup, leaving our tongue tingling in a pleasant way. The fruit notes take dominance after a few infusions reminding us of stone fruit jam or compote.
Check out our Glossary of Dancong Oolong Terms to understand this info more!
