Victoria's Tea Travels (2017) - Wudong Mountain, Pt. II

Today, we look at the rest of Victoria's visit to Wudong Mountain from a week and a half ago where she was in source of some wonderful Phoenix Dan Cong oolongs. The area specializes in processing this kind of tea, and those of us who have tasted it understand just how distinctive Phoenix oolongs can be. 

The environment is one of the greatest contributing factors to the taste of a tea, and on Mt. Wudong, one finds an area vibrant and lively with excellent growing conditions. In the previous week's post, we saw how a thick mist often rolls through the area, and such mist nourishes the local vegetation. 

But other important factors that contribute to the unique taste of the tea is the tradition out of which that tea is made and, in particular, the technique used at the hands of a tea master. Not only does Wudong Mountain feature some of the best Chinese tea in the world, the tea master standing above with Victoria, Mr. Wen, makes some of the best Phoenix Dan Congs. 

Here is a closeup of one of the tea bushes. The vivid and luscious green on these tea leaves shows just how healthy they are and how well they grow here. These are some of the leaves that will be used in producing the Phoenix Dan Cong oolongs. 

Victoria enjoys a tasting session with some of the finished products! They enjoyed several different kinds of Phoenix Dan Cong oolongs, some of which she will be bringing back with her. We still have some of last year's harvest available, which makes a great point of comparison to learn how the climate and weather changes the taste of the same tea from year to year.