Verdant Tea

2020 Mi Lan Black Tea

2020 Mi Lan Black Tea

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK
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Crafted By Huang Rui Guang

Huang Ruiguang is an award-winning nationally-recognized master & published author. He is respected for his work expanding and modernizing tea agriculture in Fenghuang.
  • true
    80
    brown sugar, dark chocolate
    true
    80
    cinnamon, star anise
    true
    95
    plum, lychee
    true
    50
    vanilla

    Tasting Profile

    • savory - brown sugar, dark chocolate
    • spice - cinnamon, star anise
    • spice - plum, lychee
    • floral - vanilla
    • DATE OF PICKINGSpring 2020
    • Wudong ShanGuangdong Province
    • ELEVATION600 METERS
    • Mi Lan XiangTea Varietal

    This is the 2020 harvest from Huang Ruiguang.

    Huang Ruiguang's family Mi Lan Dancong is picked only once a year from single trees that are not pruned back to encourage deeper roots & more robust flavor, year after year. His mountain plot and decades of work in improving agriculture techniques for the region have earned Huang Ruiguang's Mi Lan awards such as the recent 2015 Gold Medal at the Sixth Guangdong Tea Expo. This Mi Lan is allowed to naturally oxidize for over 24 hours before being carefully spread, baked and tumbled. The oxidation creates a deep rich black tea flavor, but Mi Lan varietal’s natural juicy floral honey flavor still comes through strong.



Huang Ruiguang also recommends

  1. 2021 King of Thieves Dancong
    2021 King of Thieves Dancong
    贼王 or “King of Thieves" got its name from the famous story of a thief stealing this valuable tea tree in the middle of the night over 200 years ago, but leaving some of the roots and trunk in their haste to cut it down. King of Thieves growing today is said to have regrown from that little remaining root stock. This tea was hand picked and hand processed over 24 hours of intense labor to bring out its rich nuanced dessert-like flavor and spiced tropical undertones. The biodiversity of the high elevation Wudongshan plot give this tea deep cooling yun notes. Since only several kilos are picked each year, Huang Ruiguang personally oversees the 24 hour yaoqing finishing process, all without machinery, helping his two sons hone in on the striking one of a kind aromatics and texture that this tea has to offer.
  2. 2021 Ji Long Kan Dancong
    2021 Ji Long Kan Dancong
    Huang Ruiguang’s Ji Long Kan Dancong is an incredibly unique high elevation tea. The Ji Long Kan tea tree gets its name from its similarity to a "chicken pen" in appearance. Huang Rui Guang and his sons hand picked and hand processed over 24 hours of continuous intensive labor to bring out all the nuanced fruit and florals. The biodiversity of the region and unique microclimate lends a cooling ‘yun’ sensation to this tea for a persistent and commanding taste experience. Master Huang's work in Dancong tasting and agriculture has won him countless awards and recognition, a biography in a 2015 published book on the history of Dancong, and leadership in every convention and tasting event in Guangdong. This tea represents his personal selection to represent the absolute best of what his family produces, and only a few kilograms are available each year. We are excited for the chance to share this incredibly rare tea.
  3. 2021 Ye Lai Xiang Dancong
    2021 Ye Lai Xiang Dancong
    Ye Lai Xiang is named after the tuberose flower which blooms at night. This flower’s heavy scent is used in perfumes and is the inspiration for the varietal name. This Ye Lai Xiang is picked from Huang Ruiguang’s favorite high mountain plot in Wudongshan from older tree stock and meticulously hand finished by Master Huang's sons over 24 hours to bring out the deep aromatics. Master Huang's work in Dancong tasting and agriculture has won him countless awards and recognition, a biography in a 2015 published book on the history of Dancong, and leadership in every convention and tasting event in Guangdong. When Huang Ruiguang personally recommended this tea as a standout example of his reserve collection, it is hard to say no. Expect deep aromatics that linger for hours on the palate, cooling almost electric tingling yun sensation and a deep juicy sweetness that sets this tea apart. Tasting notes rarely do justice to the complexity on offer.
  4. 2021 Xing Hua Xiang Dancong
    2021 Xing Hua Xiang Dancong
    Xing Hua Xiang, or Apricot Flower Aroma is an extremely rare varietal hand picked and hand processed by Huang Ruiguang and his sons on their high elevation plot in Wudongshan. Huang Ruiguang has selected this as a standout representation of his reserve collection, the limited old growth teas he cultivates on his favorite tiny Wudongshan plot that is perfectly situated for the right amount of sunlight hours per day. The result is a deeply aromatic, but mineral-rich tea with a well-balanced profile and a luscious sweet aftertaste that lingers for hours. Huang Ruiguang and his sons treat this tea to meticulous yaoqing finishing without the use of any machinery using traditional techniques and a bamboo basket. Master Huang's work in Dancong tasting and agriculture has won him countless awards and recognition, a biography in a 2015 published book on the history of Dancong, and leadership in every convention and tasting event in Guangdong.
  5. 2021 High Elevation Jin Lan Xiang
    2021 High Elevation Jin Lan Xiang
    Huang Ruiguang's family Jin Lan Xiang comes from the extremely sought after high-elevation Wudongshan older tree stock picked from his favorite plot with a cool microclimate & east-facing slope for early morning light. Jin Lan (金兰) roughly translates to sworn brotherhood, and indeed, this tea takes the dedication of a “sworn brotherhood” to finish, requiring over 24 hours of meticulous and exhausting hand processing to bring out the deep aromatics of this striking and rare varietal. Each sip is almost like drinking candy. Master Huang's fifty years of celebrated work in agricultural innovation has changed the world of Dancong for the better.
  6. 2021 Old Tree Wulong Dancong
    2021 Old Tree Wulong Dancong
    This Old Tree Dancong is picked from tree stock over one hundred years old. These trees are allowed to grow wild on the mountainside, and are only picked once a year in small quantities to allow the trees to continue growing. The deeper roots take up more minerals and the long history of the tree means that as a fighter, the plant has produced more polyphenols to fend off threats than cultivated plants, giving it a richer more complex flavor as a result. Master Huang leans on over fifty years of nationally-recognized and awarded work in tea to direct his sons in hand-finishing this limited harvest tea.
  • 'Dancong is an alluring, deeply aromatic tea that changes over each steeping and lingers on the palate for hours. Properly brewing Fenghuang Dancong requires more care than many other teas, but the extra attention is worth the reward'

  • 5-10
    6-8
    208
    20 seconds
    10
    10
    6
    208
    6 seconds
    4
    5
    12
    room temp
    8 hours

    Steeping Instructions

    Western

    5-10 g.6-8
    oz.
    use 208° watersteep 20 secondsresteep many times
    add 10 sec. each infusion

    Gongfu

    10 g.6 ozuse 208° watersteep 6 seconds
    add 4 sec. per steeping
    enjoy many steepings

    Iced/Cold

    5 g.12
    oz.
    use room temp. waterrefrigerate overnight
    8 hours
    add ice & enjoy