Officially, I’m on vacation – well at least from school for the week (not work). The fourth of July is hastily approaching, of course, the holiday does not occur without a family cookout with all the fixin’s. Traditionally, on every holiday, my mother plans a big dinner during the Fall and Winter months and a cookout during the Spring and Summer. This year is no exception. Lately, I have added tea to the menu. While not everyone enjoys a cup, my family acknowledges my passion and is starting to expect me to bring a variety of teas for them to sample. Most have never heard of oolong or white tea or what they perceive as exotic blends like chai. It has been such a treat sharing what little I know about tea with my family.
Since all of our dinners and cookouts include potluck, this year, I think I’m going to make a variety of iced teas to share. That, in conjunction with the store bought Amish Potato Saled my mother loves. Until then… I’m drinking Moon Crest a.k.a. Feng Huang Dan Cong.
Composition: Oolong tea leaves handpicked from bushes that grow on the Wudong peak of Phoenix Mountain in the Guangdong Province in China.
Dry Visual: Dark brown and dark green with a spattering of light green curled tea leaves. Some stems are present. Thanks Earthbound Tea for the picture.
Dry Aroma: Distinctly oolong – the leaves smell fresh. A slight vegetal aroma.
Flavor: A very clean and light tasting oolong, the flavor is consistent from start to finish. Moon Crest has a slightly vegetal quality, characteristic of some “green oolongs”, but not enough that the flavor could be compared to a green tea. Definitely refreshing and flavorful, I found Moon Crest to be a palate cleanser. The finish contains fruity notes.
As I often prefer, I enjoyed this cuppa tea with no sweetener. Naturally sweet, there is almost no astringency (just a hint) thus no sweetener is needed. With such a mild tea, I fear the flavor profile would be compromised.
Liquor: A rich golden hue.
Brewing Time: The recommended steeping time for Moon Crest is 3 minutes in 180 degree water. I steeped for 3 minutes as recommended.
Manufacturer: Earthbound Tea
Caffeine: Yes.
Moon Crest Tea a.k.a Feng Huang Dan Cong is processed via a technique called “rattling”. As I am not familiar with this technique, it will be the subject of another post. If you have had the pleasure of enjoying a cup of Moon Crest, please stop by and share your experience. Until then… Happy Tea Drinking!
I read with interest that you found this tea to have a vegetal quality. Dancong is not generally known to be vegetal but is rather known for its extreme fruitiness and strong floral notes. It can also be extremely astringent or bitter when brewed just a little too much. But my guess is that you avoided that sensation by using a much lower water temperature than usually used for Dancongs (which is close to boiling and steeped for a scant 15 sec in the first infusion). I also haven’t encountered a Dancong yet that I would call ‘mild’, but then, I brew them much hotter.
I would be curious to hear what you think of your Moon Crest Tea when brewed in a gaiwan (or small yixing pot) with a short, hot steeping…
Jo,
I think you are absolutely right. When I brewed Moon Crest the water was at a lower temperature. I brewed at work using hot water from our water cooler (for lack of a better word) which is never boiling. I wrote the review after drinking my third cup – the first two were brewed with near boiling water and were quite astringent. I thought my water was too hot which prompted the third cup using the cooler water. I definitely detected the fruity notes, but I did think it was vegetal. Perhaps I’ll have one more cup – now that I know astringency is characteristic I would like to have another cup to see if I can taste beyond the astringency.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.