Alright, let’s yak about this dan cong oolong tea, you know, the stuff they say is real fancy. I ain’t no expert, mind you, just a plain ol’ woman who likes a good cuppa. But I heard some things, tasted some things, and I’m gonna tell it to ya straight, like it is.

First off, they call it dan cong, which some smarty-pants folks say means “single bush.” Sounds kinda picky to me, like those chickens that only eat one kind of grain. But they say the real good stuff comes from just one tea plant. Imagine that! One bush, all that tea. Must be a heck of a bush, I tell ya.

Now, where does this tea come from? Some place called Phoenix Mountains, near Chaozhou City, in some province called Guandong. Sounds far away, doesn’t it? Probably is. I ain’t never been there, that’s for sure. But they say that’s where the magic happens, where they grow these special tea bushes.

• Where to Find It: This ain’t your everyday tea, you know, the kind you find at the grocery store. You gotta go to them fancy tea shops, or maybe poke around on that internet thingy. My grandkids are always on it, maybe they can find some. They say Amazon has it, but not much. So good luck finding the real deal, I say.
• Brewing the Stuff: Now, makin’ this tea ain’t like dunkin’ a tea bag. They say you gotta heat the water up real hot, but not boilin’ boilin’, you know? Like, almost boilin’. They got numbers for it, like 90 somethin’ to 95 somethin’, but I just look at the water and guess. If it’s got them little bubbles, it’s probably about right. And you use loose leaves, not them bags. Fancy stuff, I told ya.

What kinda tea is it, you ask? Well, it’s an oolong, they say. I don’t know much about different kinds of tea, to be honest. Tea is tea to me, long as it’s warm and tastes good. But this oolong stuff, it’s supposed to be special. They say it tastes different depending on which bush it comes from. Can you believe that? One bush tastes like flowers, another tastes like fruit. It’s kinda like them fancy wines, I guess. Too much fuss for me, but hey, some folks like that kinda thing.

I tried some once, at my niece’s house. She’s always tryin’ new things, bless her heart. It was…different. Not like the plain black tea I drink every mornin’. It had this flowery smell, kinda sweet, kinda…I don’t know…earthy? Hard to explain. It tasted good, though, I gotta admit. Smooth and kinda… slippery, if that makes any sense. Didn’t need no sugar or nothin’, which is sayin’ somethin’ cause I got a sweet tooth, ya know.

Now, they talk about “high quality” dan cong and all that. To me, good tea is good tea. If it tastes good and makes you feel warm inside, that’s all that matters. But I guess some folks are pickier than others. They probably sniff it and swirl it around like them wine folks. Me? I just wanna drink it and enjoy it.

So, is this dan cong oolong worth all the fuss? I dunno. If you like fancy teas and you got the money to spend, then sure, why not? It’s a nice change of pace from the regular stuff. But if you’re like me and you just want a good, hot cup of tea, then your regular ol’ tea bags will do just fine. Don’t go breakin’ the bank for some fancy leaves, unless you really want to. That’s my two cents, anyway.

At the end of the day, it’s just tea, folks. Don’t let them fancy words and high prices fool ya. Drink what you like, and enjoy it. That’s the most important thing, ain’t it?

Tags: dan cong oolong, oolong tea, Phoenix Mountains, Chaozhou tea, Chinese tea, tea brewing, loose leaf tea, specialty tea