Honey Orchid Dancong | Phoenix Dan Cong Mi Lan Xiang

Honey Orchid Dancong · Mì Lán Xiāng · 蜜兰香

2020 / 50 g

€92,00

1/19

Honey Orchid Dancong · Mì Lán Xiāng · 蜜兰香

Oolong tea

Year of production 2020 2021 2023 2025

Weight50 g

€92,00

€1.840,00/kg

The fragrance that stays in the room.

Among the many distinguished aroma families of Phoenix Dancong, Mi Lan Xiang, Honey Orchid, is the one that needs no introduction to earn its following. It is the most recognised, the most sought, and for many people, the first Dancong that made them understand what Dancong actually means. The dry leaf is tightly twisted, dense, and heavy, a sign of age and careful processing. The dried strip carries its own weight quietly. But lean close and the fragrance gives itself away immediately: lychee, warm and full, osmanthus, sweet and slightly powdery, yellow gardenia rising beneath both.

lychee · osmanthus · yellow gardenia · mountain honey · bright gold · mellow sweetness · vessel retention

FORMAT · Loose leaf

HARVEST · April - May

ORIGIN · Phoenix Mountain, Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, China

ELEVATION · 500 - 1000 m

CULTIVAR · Ya Shi Xiang (Duck Shit Dancong Old Arbor)

PRODUCER · Guangdong Wujin Tea Roastery

PROCESSING · Hand-plucked down to leaves → Solar-withered → Structural bruising and oxidation → High-temperature fix → Traditional charcoal roasting

BATCH · 75kg

CERTIFICATION · Protected Geographic Indication Origin Standard

STORAGE · Sealed, dry, odour-free environment at ambient temperature

97/100

孤峰 · Gū Fēng Lone Peak Score: 95 to 100

An award winning classic. Everything unnecessary has fallen away.

Mi Lan Xiang scores 97 due to its phenomenal consistency across extended sessions. The defining mountain honey character never collapses into flat bitterness, but instead deepens and becomes sweeter as the infusions progress. It represents a highly trustworthy, classic baseline for high-grade Phoenix oolongs.

more about the Yuan Archive Scoring System

State-Certified National Park & Organic Terroir

This tea is cultivated in an officially designated, state-monitored ecological protection area.

Official Organic Certification: Accredited under national organic standards (GB/T 19630) for both raw agricultural production and artisanal processing. Holds the official Chinese Organic Product Certificates issued by government-accredited certification body (CNAS / China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment).

State-Monitored Ecology: Grown in a strictly protected natural reserve where industrial activity is forbidden, and natural biodiversity creates an optimal microclimate for tea.

Purity Guaranteed: Free from synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or soil additives.

The Dry Leaf

Tightly twisted, structurally dense, and noticeably heavy ink-colored strips carrying a deep aroma of tropical lychee and sweet osmanthus.

The Soup

Bright yellow-gold, perfectly luminous, with an oiled clarity in the cup.

Fragrance & Palate

The entrance is mellow and deeply substantial, avoiding any aggressive bitterness while entirely filling the mouth with unhurried warmth. Distinct floral registers of lychee and osmanthus persist flawlessly through multiple steepings, met by a rising wave of yellow gardenia. The base of the vessel retains the fragrance as if it had been indelibly written into the clay or porcelain.

Spiritual Character

The Energy: Warm and neutral. Cultivates an energy of easy, unforced confidence and quiet presence.

The Hour: Perfect for calm hours, extended afternoons, or any session that rewards close attention without demanding it.

Lineage & History Mi Lan Xiang is the most recognized and beloved of the Phoenix Dancong family, serving as the definitive introduction to Chaozhou oolongs for many. Its tightly twisted, dense, and heavy dry leaves are a testament to meticulous traditional processing, which includes careful sun-withering, indoor cooling, rhythmic shaking to induce oxidation, and slow roasting over select charcoal. This rigorous craftsmanship is what locks the unmistakable, room-filling fragrance of tropical lychee and osmanthus into the leaf.

Terroir & Microclimate Grown in the high altitudes of Phoenix Mountain in Chaozhou, Guangdong, this specific cultivar thrives in rocky, well-draining soil. The mountain terroir forces the roots to dig deep for nutrients, while the crisp mountain air and distinct temperature variations concentrate the natural fruit sugars, resulting in a substantial, golden liquor driven by high-altitude mountain honey notes.

This dense, tightly twisted oolong requires absolute heat to uncoil its complex essential fruit oils. Avoid a violent rolling boil, but keep the temperature near maximum.

Vessel: Chaozhou clay teapot or thin porcelain gaiwan (minimum 120ml interior)

Ratio: 4g per 200ml

Water Temperature: 95°C - 100°C (203°F - 212°F)

First Rinse: 5 seconds then discarded, allowing the heavy leaf strip to awaken and release its initial fruit notes

Steeps: 10 or more successive infusions, maintaining rapid pours during the first three rounds

Teaware Pairing

To fully enjoy the substantial, non-flat character of Mi Lan Xiang, use a shallow white porcelain tasting bowl that spreads the yellow-gold liquor across the palate, highlighting the evolving honey transitions.