Tea Review: Dancong Black Tea (Serene Tea)

Dancong Black Tea 单丛红茶

Serene Tea
Type: Black
Origin: China, Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, Phoenix Mountain
Product Description:

It comes from Phoenix Dan Cong tea trees, but processed as a black tea instead of a Dan Cong oolong tea. Originally such tea was created for experimental purpose, but tea drinkers in China adored its rich sweet flavor of fruitiness and hence, plus it also makes an excellent cold brew, so nowadays it has become a perfect daily go to tea and an all season suitable tea. 

Cultivated in mineral rich soil, this tea thrives in the coastal environment in Canton province on Phoenix Mountain. Both wild and farmed, these tea trees can reach the ripe old age of 200 years.

Temperature: 208° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of flowers, aged wood, nut shells, and oats.

The copper red infusion is floral and savory with light notes of brown bread and baked fruit.  The taste is floral, sweet, and fruity with a fruity and floral finish.

Slightly lowering the water temperature after the first infusion will have good results.  I especially enjoyed how the floral and fruit notes smoothed out and berry notes developed in the second infusion .  The third steeping was mellower, while still being enjoyable.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Silver Piece Pu Erh Tea (Serene Tea)

Silver Piece Pu Erh Tea

Serene Tea
Type: Puerh
Origin: China, Yunnan Province, Xishuangbanna
Product Description: 

It’s known as Sui Yin Zi in Chinese, which means ‘Silver Pieces’ as ancient Chinese coin. It’s a high quality Shu Pu Erh that also known as ‘fossil tea’ thanks to its appearance and the 10+ brewing. It’s also the essence part of ‘Lao Cha Tou’, which is the best aged Shu Pu Erh. Shu Pu Erh tea has to go through a microbial fermentation process after they have been dried and rolled, which allows beneficial bacteria and fungal bacteria to develop, resulting in the tea's health benefits of probiotic. It also allows the teas to improve with age like a fine wine as time goes by. Unlike most Pu Erh teas that the tea leaves unroll or expand as the steeping goes on, Silver Pieces stay the same shape through brewing.

Pu Er is also known for helping with digestive function making this is a perfect combination both for its health benefit and rich organic taste.

Temperature: 205° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of leather, wood, and moss.

The copper red infusion has an aroma of leather, kiln-dried wood, and underlying spice.  The taste is rich and savory with notes of cooked rice, a hint of sweetness following each sip, and a sticky rice-like finish.

The taste reminded me distinctly of sticky rice and the color deepened following the first steeping.  To get the most out of this tea, add more time with each subsequent steeping.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Blue Detox (Serene Tea)

Blue Detox
Serene Tea
Type: Tisane
Origin: Not Provided
Product Description:  Not provided.

Temperature: 175° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaf blend includes lemongrass and butterfly pea flowers.

The liquor is deep cobalt blue with the tart aroma of lemongrass.  The taste is lightly tart with distinct notes of lemongrass all the way through to the long finish.

The full flavor was in the first two infusions  with mild mellowing of flavor by the third.  This was a particularly nice tasting experience as I really enjoy lemongrass in food and drink.  The pretty color of the liquor was a nice bonus.

At the time of this review, Blue Detox was not available.  Check Serene Tea's official website for updates.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Phoenix Dan Cong Charcoal Roast Honey Orchid Aroma (Serene Tea)

Phoenix Dan Cong Charcoal Roast Honey Orchid Aroma 蜜兰香

Serene Tea
Type: Oolong
Origin: China, Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, Phoenix Mountain
Product Description:

Mi Lan which is Honey Orchid Aroma, is one of the most distinguishable aromas from the ten aromatic categories of Phoenix Dan Cong teas. This Mi Lan, however, it's a very special varietal and it's not roasted by machine, but hand roasted painstakingly with charcoal. It's unlike any other Honey Orchid you have ever tried, and it's one that you won't be able to stop sipping.

Fresh harvested from the coastal area in Canton province, this 100% pure tea benefits from the mineral-rich soil on Phoenix Mountain. Constantly surrounded by mists and fog, wild tea tress and tea farms populate the mountain in soil as rich as the folklores of Phoenix Dan Cong Tea. These ancient trees exceed 100 – 200 years in age and are from a special type of Oolong known for its highly distinctive natural aroma that mimics certain flower or fruit aroma. Believed to be the ancestor of all Oolong teas, it’s well-known for its ten aromatic categories and its rich and complex flavor. 

Temperature: 205° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaf aroma is sweet with notes of fig, apricot, aged wood and a hint of dried flowers.

The golden amber liquor has a rich aroma of baked fruit, honey, and a hint of rice-like starch.  The taste is floral with a hint of honey and a light touch of astringency.

I started out with a higher water temperature than I usually prefer when cupping oolong and the results were pleasantly surprising, full-flavored with no unpleasant sharpness in flavor or aroma.  Sweetness had developed by the third (my favorite) infusion.  Overall, this was a very pleasant brewing session.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: White Peony Cake (Serene Tea)

2015 White Peony White Tea Cake

Serene Tea
Type: White
Origin: China, Fujian Province, Fuding
Product Description:

Aged for 5 years now, White Peony is the second grade of white tea and it is a high quality delicacy itself. Unlike aged Shou Mei with big twigs and big leaves, White Peony has more buds and small young leaves, hence its aroma is more herbal and floral-like compare to Shou Mei. This aged white tea can also be steeped through decoction with aged Shou Mei (see brewing instruction below) and bring an astonishing taste note unlike any other aged tea. It also holds a high collecting value since its aroma and taste will evolve with time. 

A popular local saying in Fu Jian is ‘one-year-old white tea is only tea, three-year-old is medicinal herb and seven-year-old is treasure’. Similar to Pu Er, the aromatic compounds of white tea change with time and polyphenols (known for antioxidant properties) increase with time giving this tea a high collecting value because even more changes occur as time goes by enhancing the aroma and nutritional value.

Temperature: 195° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3-5 minutes

The dry leaves have a sweet aroma with notes of seasoned wood and nut shells.

The golden liquor has a sweet aroma with notes of sweet pea flowers, green vine, and something that reminded me of buttermints.

This tea performs beautifully when prepared gongfu-style (small teapot, larger portion of leaves) and was also flavorful and aromatic when prepared more casually with 3 grams (approximately 1 heaping teaspoon) of leaves at the lower temperature of 195° F.  It's very forgiving for those of us who tend to get distracted and leave our tea steeping.  While the first, third, and subsequent infusions handled longer steeps nicely, I found that the bolder second infusion performed better with a slightly shorter steeping time (3-4 minutes when prepared with 195° F water).

This tea was purchased by me.