Thunderstruck Dancong

Master Wei was our first introduction to high-end dancong oolong teas.  These teas are often more subtle than their low-altitude heavily-roasted fragrant-forward counterparts, and so it took us a while to understand them at first.  Wei’s mentality is that he never wants to roast a tea in a way that conceals its true leaf flavors, as a result, we get a lot more medium to light roasted teas from Wei, but what we also get is a glimpse into the terroir and trees themselves.

When we smell the dry warmed leaves, we are met with a rich vegetative aroma of sage, sap, butter, and something spicy like cinnamon.  When infused, the recent roast rinses right off (still needs a few months to sink in more completely) and we are left with a fragrance that feels like we are running through the forest after a rain.  The cedar, sage, and sap are intensified with the addition of sweetgrass and pungent flowers. 

The brew is a green-gold that is sweet and gentle on the tongue.  In the mouth we get a lot more sweetness than we were smelling on the leaves, with a gentle mineral tingle that keeps us salivating between infusions.  Toward the end of the session, the floral bouquet begins to open up more and more giving us faint fragrances of orchids and lilies.