This tea was/is being sold at Samovar in San Francisco and they say
they bought all that was available? Isn't this a Dan Cong? And, if
you've had it or know about it - can it be worth the price? Aphid
residue is supposedly responsible for the taste..............
Shen

Shen > writes:

> This tea was/is being sold at Samovar in San Francisco and they say
> they bought all that was available? Isn't this a Dan Cong? And, if
> you've had it or know about it - can it be worth the price? Aphid
> residue is supposedly responsible for the taste..............

Judging by what I see on Samovar's web site, this certainly isn't a
Dancong. I think the Dancong you're thinking of is Mi *Lan* Xiang.
Mi Xiang has other meanings you could look up in Babelcarp, but from
what they say, this tea is some kind of outlier, a fisted oolong
subjected to the same insect stimulation as Oriental Beauty (Bai Hao.)

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

On Mar 4, 7:16*am, Lewis Perin > wrote:
> Shen > writes:
> > This tea was/is being sold at Samovar in San Francisco and they say
> > they bought all that was available? Isn't this a Dan Cong? And, if
> > you've had it or know about it - can it be worth the price? Aphid
> > residue is supposedly responsible for the taste..............
>
> Judging by what I see on Samovar's web site, this certainly isn't a
> Dancong. *I think the Dancong you're thinking of is Mi *Lan* Xiang.
> Mi Xiang has other meanings you could look up in Babelcarp, but from
> what they say, this tea is some kind of outlier, a fisted oolong
> subjected to the same insect stimulation as Oriental Beauty (Bai Hao.)
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin /

Aha! Yes! That's what I was considering......still wondering if anyone
has tasted this stuff....????
Thanks, Lew. And, again - thanks so much for Babelcarp!
Shen

I bought some of this a few months ago when I was in San Francisco.
Hadn't tasted it until this week. Very interesting! The first infusion
was very sweet. Not Lipton-iced-tea-in-a-bottle sweet, but sweet-for-
having-no-sugar-added sweet. Guess we owe that to the aphid poo. Does
that make this tea a "poolong"? Anyway, the second infusion was
similar, just not quite as sweet. Makes sense. The third infusion
suprised me by being very fruity. Black currant mainly, to my tongue.
I also didn't drink the third infusion until it had cooled down
somewhat, so that might have allowed the fruitiness to be more
pronounced. BTW, the sweetness is not a clean white-sugar sweetness,
but more of a honey or caramel sweetness.

I was very amused when I bought this. They had very little left, and
weren't sure they even had enough to sell to me. Phone calls to
mysterious persons were made, and clearance was given. I felt like a
secret agent making a pickup. And then when the small black tin was
presented to me, I felt like I should hide it in my trench coat. ;-)

Alan

Shen wrote:
> On Mar 4, 7:16�am, Lewis Perin > wrote:
> > Shen > writes:
> > > This tea was/is being sold at Samovar in San Francisco and they say
> > > they bought all that was available? Isn't this a Dan Cong? And, if
> > > you've had it or know about it - can it be worth the price? Aphid
> > > residue is supposedly responsible for the taste..............
> >
> > Judging by what I see on Samovar's web site, this certainly isn't a
> > Dancong. �I think the Dancong you're thinking of is Mi *Lan* Xiang.
> > Mi Xiang has other meanings you could look up in Babelcarp, but from
> > what they say, this tea is some kind of outlier, a fisted oolong
> > subjected to the same insect stimulation as Oriental Beauty (Bai Hao.)
> >
> > /Lew
> > ---
> > Lew Perin /
>
> Aha! Yes! That's what I was considering......still wondering if anyone
> has tasted this stuff....????
> Thanks, Lew. And, again - thanks so much for Babelcarp!
> Shen

Alan > writes:

> I bought some of this a few months ago when I was in San Francisco.
> Hadn't tasted it until this week. Very interesting! The first
> infusion was very sweet. Not Lipton-iced-tea-in-a-bottle sweet, but
> sweet-for- having-no-sugar-added sweet. Guess we owe that to the
> aphid poo.

No, you owe it to the insect bites and the tea plant. Under attack
from those insects, the leaves secrete volatile chemicals that account
for the different taste. Presumably you enjoy the taste more than the
bugs do, or this response would have no evolutionary advantage.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Interesting! I'm sure there are other teas with this same property,
but more affordable. Any suggestions?

Alan

Lewis Perin wrote:
> Alan > writes:
>
> > I bought some of this a few months ago when I was in San Francisco.
> > Hadn't tasted it until this week. Very interesting! The first
> > infusion was very sweet. Not Lipton-iced-tea-in-a-bottle sweet, but
> > sweet-for- having-no-sugar-added sweet. Guess we owe that to the
> > aphid poo.
>
> No, you owe it to the insect bites and the tea plant. Under attack
> from those insects, the leaves secrete volatile chemicals that account
> for the different taste. Presumably you enjoy the taste more than the
> bugs do, or this response would have no evolutionary advantage.
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin /
> http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Alan > writes:
>
> Lewis Perin wrote:
> > Alan > writes:
> >
> > > I bought some of this a few months ago when I was in San Francisco.
> > > Hadn't tasted it until this week. Very interesting! The first
> > > infusion was very sweet. Not Lipton-iced-tea-in-a-bottle sweet, but
> > > sweet-for- having-no-sugar-added sweet. Guess we owe that to the
> > > aphid poo.
> >
> > No, you owe it to the insect bites and the tea plant. Under attack
> > from those insects, the leaves secrete volatile chemicals that account
> > for the different taste. Presumably you enjoy the taste more than the
> > bugs do, or this response would have no evolutionary advantage.
> >
> Interesting! I'm sure there are other teas with this same property,
> but more affordable. Any suggestions?

The only one I know of is Bai Hao, AKA Oriental Beauty. I should
confess that I don't actually know that the insects actually attack Mi
Xiang the way they do Bai Hao; I was, uh, extrapolating.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html