The honey orchid / Fenghuang Laocong Milan

Description

(Archive Phoenix Honey orchid from old trees with the scent of pines)

First time I visited Fenghuang village in 2016 with my Czech friend Vítek Dzaridze. Most of teas we had there were super astringent and bitter, not only due to the preparation of local people (the 10g for 100ml gaiwan brewed with boiling water for few seconds), but I suppose that the yellow soil in Fenghuan plays a significant role in the nutrition of the tea plants which are super fragrant and super astringent or bitter. Of course the way of processing is also very important. Unfortunately we were not lucky to find anything special for reasonable price. We were riding bikes every day around the village in the search of something extraordinary. Everyone wanted us to drink many teas with them and one day we were so tea drunk that we had to take off the very next day. To find something special was a tough task. Finally we were leaving only with few samples. Before we got on the local bus back to Chaoshan, we came across a small, unremarkable tea-shop with very interesting tea roasted on charcoal. I was surprised that it has a red infusion with deep notes of pine cones and a secondary aroma of orchid flowers. It also smells a bit like roses. So this was my first Laocong Milan xiang whith full body and rich flavour. Try it yourself and let me know your tasting notes. It is one of the top Phoenix teas I have ever drunk.