Phoenix Oolong Huang Zhi Xiang 2011鳳凰単叢 黄枝香 2011

This tea has been aged in our Malaysian storage since 2011. Due to consistently high temperatures throughout the year, the aging process advances several times faster than it would in Japan.

Huang Zhi Xiang (黄枝香, meaning "Gardenia Aroma") is typically a mild tea, but after more than 10 years of aging, it has developed an exceptionally strong fragrance. The matured tea exhibits sweet fruity notes reminiscent of figs, pears, and dried grapes.

Ideal Aging Through Long-Term Maturation

Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong tea is one of the most oxidation-resistant oolong teas. This stability is likely due to its high fermentation level and traditional charcoal roasting. However, over time, oxidation gradually reduces the tea’s fresh flavor. In Chaozhou, the tea’s production region, it has been a long-standing tradition to periodically roast the tea over charcoal (炭焙, tanbei) every few months to restore its freshness. When roasted at approximately 100°C, the tea regains a fresh flavor. However, despite this, the fragrance naturally evolves from floral to fruity, and eventually to dried fruit notes. After multiple roasting cycles, the liquor also deepens from a golden hue to shades of orange or brown.

Alternatively, by using oxygen absorbers and storing the tea in a completely oxygen-free environment, its freshness can be preserved for over a decade. Remarkably, tea aged in this manner develops a rich and sweet flavor similar to that of well-matured wine. The higher the storage temperature, the faster this transformation occurs. In this regard, Malaysia’s consistently warm climate is ideal for aging, with one year of storage in Malaysia equating to approximately 2–3 years of aging under the same conditions in Japan.

The three teas introduced here have been aged long-term in Malaysia, offering the deep, concentrated flavor characteristic of well-matured Phoenix Dan Cong.