Ya Shi Xiang, Phoenix Dancong by Teakan
Oolong Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 60g
Ya Shi Xiang, Phoenix Dancong is part of Teakan’s Volume 4 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Ya Shi Xiang, Phoenix Dancong makes up 10g of the 60g kit.
First Impressions
Ya Shi Xiang directly translates to duck shit – and is surprisingly not smelling of poop if you know what the name translates to. Phoenix Dancong is a bit of a more forgiving name, that is for sure! This particular Ya Shi Xiang comes in a sealed, resealable kraft paper pouch with a white and black label across the front and back. To be specific, this oolong was harvested in spring of 2021 from Wudong, Guangdong, China.
The dry leaves are long, slightly wiry with a light twist. The colour of the leaves are a deep brown, with light pops of tan and lighter brown throughout. The aroma of the leaves is floral and sweet, nothing at all like the name suggests, with hints of what reminds me of the smell right after a rainfall.
Preparation
Teakan recommends steeping Ya Shi Xiang in 95°C (203°F) for 2 minutes (western style) or 98°C (208°F) for 5 seconds (gongfu style). I opted to steep western style, due to ease on my part.
First Taste
Ya Shi Xiang steeps to a clear light golden yellow after the 2 minute steep. The aroma of the steeped tea is mostly floral with hints of fresh rain and wet moss like you get when going for a walk through the forest, and it’s pleasant to the nose to be sure. The tea itself has a smooth texture, sweet, floral with very light nuttiness at the tail end of each sip. It has a thickened mouth texture but pleasantly smooth and easy to drink.
A Second Cup?
Ya Shi Xiang resteeps nicely – I did six resteeps of the same leaves (seven steeps total) – and added an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The leaves open beautifully – look at those lovely green leaves! The flavour gets a bit deeper for the first two resteeps, and then slowly begins to wane in flavour intensity, but I do enjoy each resteep thoroughly.
My Overall Impression
I loved Teakan’s Ya Shi Xiang, Phoenix Dancong. The tea resteeps beautifully, and has a lovely floral flavour with each steep. The flavour remains fairly consistent with each steep, and lends itself to a really tasty cup of tea – despite of what the name of the tea is! I even had a cup of it cold (due to leaving it too long), and really enjoyed it as well – so there’s that.
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