Xing Ren Xiang
杏仁香 · Almond Fragrance Dancong
Oolong
Phoenix dancong are usually named after a flower. This one is named after a nut.
The style needs a deep bake that most dancong never get, and the timing is the whole craft. If the surface seals too early the leaf smothers and the smell never arrives. Done slowly enough, an almond scent comes up out of the fire, roasted and dry, like ground almond rather than fresh.
Farmers call the plant saw blade, for the teeth along its leaf. Everything grown today traces back to one cutting taken in 1966 from a tree already three hundred years old. It drinks of almond over caramel, dry rather than sweet.
- almond
- apricot kernel
- caramel
- Origin
- Phoenix Mountain, Guangdong, China
- Water
- 95°C / 203°F
- Ratio
- 6.5 g / 100 ml
- Caffeine
- Medium
- Rinse
- Yes · 5s
Phoenix dancong top-ten aroma type
How much leaf
Gong fu brewing is leaf-heavy and short. Set your gaiwan or pot size and this is what to weigh out.
Vessel volume
100 ml
Recommended dose
Use ~6.5g of tea
The session
8 infusions after the rinse, about 3m 32s of total contact time.
- Rinse5sWake the leaf and pour it away — this one isn’t for drinking.
- Steep 110sA nutty warmth, still gathering.
- Steep 212sRoasted almond opens, warm and powdery.
- Steep 315sApricot kernel deepens the nut.
- Steep 420sNutmeg and spice thread through.
- Steep 525sCaramel sweetness rounds the roast.
- Steep 630sA gentle bitterness lifts, then sweetens.
- Steep 740sDate-honey trails the fading almond.
- Steep 855sWarm nut settles, clean and long.
Also sold as
Almond Fragrance, Almond Aroma Dancong, Ju Duozi, Phoenix Almond, Dan Cong
Nearby in the family
- Ju Duozi · cultivar
- Phoenix Dancong · aroma type
Steaper times this session for you
A countdown per infusion, a gong when each one is up, and the whole library in your pocket. Coming to iPhone.
Get notified at launchThese numbers are a median of independent gong fu sources, not a law. Leaf age, vessel and water all move them. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.