Honey Orchid XO 1992, extra old Phoenix Dancong oolong, 50 g

Taste profile Nose: Notes of honey and dried fruits with an earthy, sweet herbal overtone, accented with fresh cut camphor wood and bamboo leaf wrapped steamed sticky rice. Palate: Silky smooth tactility with a bouquet sweetness hinting apple, dried longan on a warm, roasted and earthy undertone. Hints of slight bitterness from some citrus peel and the Chinese herb huangqi. Light but intricately complex tinkles of minerals. Finish: Lasting but slight sweetness, soothing and quenching. Infusion tips This tea manifests a fuller body when a 90 to 95°C water is used. We recommend on the high side for its delicate aroma. The taste experience using either the shorter duration method, such as gongfu infusion with a smaller vessel half-filled with the dried leaves; or the standard longer brewing style, such as 5 to 6 min with a leaf to water ratio of 1.5g to each 100ml in a 600ml teapot, is similarly enjoyable but different, as in other Phoenix oolongs. Either way, blanching the leaves before infusion is advised. Because of the softer nature of this selection, it is a good alternative to the fresher Honey Orchid for practicing the more difficult to master gongfu infusion approach, if you still need some learning to understand both the technique, and the nature of this group of tea that is the classic style medium baked Phoenix oolongs. Read more about infusing Honey Orchid here: Does your Honey Orchid Supreme taste too bitter? Note: While Vincent van Gogh is often branded as an Expressionist painter, Mark Rothko is categorised as an Abstract Expressionist. The works of both painters are as mind engaging and spiritually absorbing but in very different ways. Somehow their works came to mind when writing this tea description, so they are quoted. Please do let us know if you think there are more appropriate metaphoric representations. We would be most grateful for such ideas. Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh Deep Ocean by Mark Rothko