WATER SPRITE MI LAN PHOENIX DANCONG OOLONG

We have chosen this as an introduction to the very complex world of Single Tree Phoenix Wu Long. This is from the highest graded group of Phoenix or Fenghuang oolongs known as 'Dancong' (meaning single tree), which range in price from this modest opener to up to fifteen times as much. This one grows in the Xiangyun area on a mountain at an altitude of 300 metres. The bushes are cloned from an original tea tree and the Mi Lan strain is thought the closest in style to the famous old Song Zhong Phoenix teas. There are some three hundred varieties of tea tree, each yielding different, subtle nuances of flavour and aroma. The most expensive is not just from a single variety but a single tree! Dancong teas are picked from trees some hundred years old, which grow on the terraced, rocky slopes of Wudong Peak. At midday, when the leaves are at their juiciest, skilled workers pluck the small amount of very fine leaves these old trees will yield. They are then processed through the night by a tea master who will create a tea, well rounded in flavour with a sweet, fruit, orchid-like aroma and smooth, refreshing infusion. The process in this grade is finished in a machine. These teas are best when aged for at least three months but keep improving the longer they are kept. Water Sprite will yield two to three infusions from the same leaves, the more expensive varieties up to twenty. Using 2-3g of tea in a small teapot, pour on 90-100c, filtered water and brew for one minute, increasing each infusion by one minute. The tea releases a remarkable fragrance which lingers in the mouth for hours and in the cup for days! Allegedly very effective at lowering triglycerides, so often used as a dieting aid.