Snow Orchid, bouquet Phoenix dancong oolong
$ 21.40
Xuepian Ya-shi Xiang:
Finer winter Phoenix oolongs have always been sought after for their unforgettable natural bouquet fragrances. To us, an aroma of a premium tea has to be complete with a winning taste profile. It has taken us over a decade to fine tune the mastery of the processing of the choicest harvest to attain a result we can be proud of. Presenting Tea Hong’s very own Snow Orchid, the roundest, smoothest, and by far the most seductively fragrant oolong ever known. It is our luscious indulgence secretly from Nature.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack
In stock
鳳凰冬茶、雪片銀花香
Snow covering tea gardens in Fenghuang Shan. Being in the subtropical, this region rarely snows except for some occasions in the higher peaks, such as this in Wudong. So why would the winter oolongs from this place called xue-pian ( snow flakes )? See below.
Taste profile
Nose: Perfumy, sweet, full-bodied bouquet with a rich, creamy undertone. Palate: Velvety, sweet, bright infusion carried by a buttery smooth body. Tangy bites of tangerine peels and slight accents of pears and apples. Finish: Refreshing, lingering aftertaste of mouth-watering sweetness and bloomy aroma.
Infusion tips
As with all bouquet Phoenixes, use more leaves and shorter time for maximum enjoyment. This particular selection is especially heightened with near boiling water and shorter time. The 6g to 160 ml proportion is great with infusion length ranging from 20 sec to 1 minute, dependent on your preference. If, however, you need to serve it using a bigger pot, follow the 1g to 100 ml water rule (even less if you are using 700 ml capacity or more) but make sure the pot is very well preheated. Do not infuse for longer than 6 minutes for intact of the taste profile.
Storage tips
This tea has been cold-stored until shipping. While it is perfectly alright to let it stay in room temperature for a couple of months, its maximum aroma and taste profile decrease upon extended shelving in room temperature. If you do not plan to consume the pack soon, it is better to store it in the fridge, sealed and better yet in a ziploc bag. To return the leaves to room temperature, take the pack out at least 2 hours before opening. This is key to subsequent storage and maximum infusion results.
What is Xue Pian?
“Xue pian” literally translates as snow flakes. It reference the days between the lunar calendar’s 20th solar term of Light Snow, or xiao-xue (Chinese: 小雪), or shousetsu (Japanese:しょうせつ), or soseol (Korean: 소설), or roughly November 22 on the Gregorian calendar; and the 21st term Heavy Snow, or da-xue (Chinese: 大雪), or taisetsu (Japanese: たいせつ), or daeseol (Korean: 대설), or roughly Dec 8. It is between these days that winter harvests of Phoenix danongs are made. The 24 solar terms are still important reference tool for traditional farming in the Far East.
Additional information
| Weight | 90 g |
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| Dimensions | 18 × 9 × 5 cm |
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Reviews(4)
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Cream Stout, Wuyi yancha oolong
Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, Tea, Wuyi-shanSilk Finish Aijiao Wulong:
No this is not the beer but 100% pure oolong. Wuyi classic oolongs in general distinguish themselves from other oolongs with a stout, rather immediate and powerful impact. Tea Hong’s Cream Stout differs from the crowd with a soft creamy finish and a light tone of cream that is developed naturally in the tealeaves themselves. This is possible only with a new pedigree of tea cultivar, Aijiao Wulong. We believe you’ll like the oolong much better than the beer, as we do.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack 
Shiguping Wulong, rare Phoenix oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Fuller Bodies, Lighter Aromas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, TeaRare Indigenous Cultivar:
To us, offering the extremely rare Shiguping Wulong is not a challenge enough. We think we should give you the best of its kind. Trekking further deep into the mountain above the elusive main village of Shiguping, we found the patch of land which the locals called Liao-xi-ya, where it all began. The tea is softer, yet fuller and even more complex than that in the main village. The very original Shiguping Wulong*, as highly acclaimed by the man who devoted all of his life in advocating oolongs of Phoenix, the 74 years-old tea specialist Huang Bozi.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack 
Red Cloak Grande, Wuyi yancha oolong
Denser Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, Tea, Warm Energy, Wuyi-shanCentenary Bush Dahong Pao:
The most revered amongst all Wuyi oolongs, Da Hongpao (translate: Big Red Cloak) from the pure pedigree grown in better horticultural environment mean significant difference and are most sought after. Tea Hong’s Red Cloak Grande is an extremely limited production (10 kg/year) harvested from two second generation noble breed that are over 100 yrs old in the heights of Wuyi. Masterfully processed to best deliver the taste this name represents.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack 
White Peony Classic Long, traditional white tea
Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Minnan/ Mindong, Fujian, Neutral-Cool Energy, Tea, White teasZhenghe Mudan Wang
While White Peony from Fuding tastes more floral, that from the other earliest region, Zhenghe, tastes longer and deeper. The more tedious curing process is marked by the darker colors on the leaves. While many prize Silver Needle Supreme for its delicate taste and furry appearance, a superb traditional white tea as White Peony Classic Long delivers a more impressive taste experience. That may explain why this Mudan Wang, aka King of White Peony, is considered the best and most classical representation from the origin, and a favourite by many tea connoisseurs. As most aficionados prefer it, we have always matured this tea adequately before releasing it in the shop. The current stock is a single batch first flush ( i.e. pre-Qing-ming ) harvest from 2019.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in wide Kraft-alu pack
If you’re a fan of Anxi or Taiwanese oolongs, you should definitely check Snow Orchid out. It might replace your current-favorite oolong.
The leaf quality is superb, the aroma of the dry leaf is intoxicating, and the experience in the cup is unlike anything else out there. I’ve had quite a few different examples of freeze-dried Fenghuang oolong and this is the best one by far. Employing Ya Shi as a cultivar was a great choice, it naturally has a buttery silkiness to it that is amplified by the processing techniques here, and it has created something unrivaled even in the larger, and more generalized, world of oolongs. You just won’t find any other oolong quite as rich and decadent as this one.
It’s super thick and creamy, it oozes rich and gooey notes of fruits and flower with explosions of milk & whipped honey that are somehow front-and-center, yet also manage to support all of the other notes without drowning them out. I get some fruits reminiscent of citrus and pears, with hints of mangoes, melons, and eventually berries as the session progresses. There are some apparent, mineral-rich undertones that are gentle and stitch the whole experience together, reminding me that despite how velvety and smooth this tea is, at the end of the day it’s a high-end Fenghuang oolong, and so it will carry that characteristic bright minerality with it that all good dancong should have.
I’m surprised by the persistence of this tea. It has remarkable stamina when brewed up gong-fu style and will hold its composure very well across the full session, never falling apart. The color of the soup retains its clarity and does not become hazy. This is definitely a marathon runner, and it will go the extra mile where other freeze-dried dancong will fall apart and become bitter.
The leaf quality is superb. These are thick and wholesome leaves, processed uniformly and gently to retain the full spectrum of oils and aromatics that are produced within the leaves.
A quick word on processing: if the “zao qing” is done improperly, the freeze-drying technique will create brittle cell walls, which physically fall apart in the presence of near-boiling water. The cell walls disintegrate, the leaf starts to break down, and the resultant extraction becomes cloudy with tiny, almost microscopic bits and pieces of what used to be the constituents of the cell walls. Therefore, the real trick with freeze-dried Fenghuang oolong is to figure out how to pair the manual/mechanical processing techniques (“rattling”) with the freeze-drying in order to create something that releases tons and tons of flavor, but does not physically fall apart during extraction.
Tea Hong’s Snow Orchid achieves just that. I see why it took over a decade to fine-tune the process… it’s not easy to make something like this, and the mastery of the technique shows in every single second of the session.
Aptly named
I imagine if one picks a lovely, rare orchid out of the snow, this tea exactly mirrors that taste. Exotic florals finished by the sensation of a cool breeze circulating your olfactory system. Uplifting.
OMG!!!!!
Until now I have never known what they mean by fine tea! I don’t know how to write such flowery reviews but I have to tell you that this tea really is something big for me. It’s a total knock out! If this is what tea really is, all the others I have drunk were nothing! I can tell you that. Now I can understand why some tea here cost more. Such wonderful aroma, such taste, such silkiness. I am totally hooked.
ANOTHER POWERHOUSE
My, my, this tea is full of flavor. Dry leaf aroma of melon. Pale yellow liquor with smooth, floral bouqet that fill the mouth. Huigan is big and long. Tremendous flavor rests on the tongue. Thick mouthfeel. This could be somewhat over the top, and perhaps less leaf should be used unless you are looking for a powerhouse of a perfumed Dancong. Many, many, brews. Quite enjoyable. This is the best selection of Dancong from any dealer I know in Asia.