Picked from a grove of 60+ year old trees in Chaozhou, the Honey Orchid Oolong tea has a unique aromatic character originally coming from a particular "mother" tree.
After a tea maker identifies specific characters, they clone the plant to ensure the genetic make-up does not change as additional tea trees are grown. Trees grown in this way are known as "Dan Cong", which refers to tea that comes from a single grove or origin.
Our Honey Orchid Dan Cong is grown from older trees that have deep root structures allowing the plants to absorb a more complex set of nutrients contributing to the smooth texture, sweetness, and complexity of this tea flavor.
After harvesting, these leaves were withered outside, and then gently oxidized for over ten hours resulting in distinct fruit and honey notes. Three rounds of post-production charcoal allow for roasting and a deep and intense flavor.
This results in an initial clean, smooth and thick flavor without up-front bitterness. As the tea brews, aromatic and flavor clarity can be found with notes of peach, sweetened condensed milk, and almond.