2026 Old Bush Mi Lan Xiang 老枞蜜兰香
Tea Profile
Type: Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong 单丛乌龙
Location: Lizi Ping 李仔坪, Wudong 乌岽, Phoenix Mountain, Chaozhou, Guangdong
Altitude: Approx. 1,200 m
Harvest Date: March 26, 2026
Cultivar: Mi Lan Xiang 蜜兰香 (“Honey Orchid Fragrance”)
Age of Tea Bushes: Around 100 years
Roasting Level: Medium roast over traditional litchi charcoal, using a Wuyi-style roasting approach
The Story of This Tea
This Old Bush Mi Lan Xiang comes from Lizi Ping Village in Wudong, one of the core high-altitude tea-growing areas of Phoenix Mountain. The bushes used for this 2026 harvest are around 100 years old and grow at approximately 1,200 metres, giving the finished tea both the high fragrance associated with Mi Lan Xiang and the deeper character of mature old-tree material.
Mi Lan Xiang 蜜兰香, or “Honey Orchid Fragrance,” is one of the best-known fragrance types in Phoenix Dan Cong. In younger or more straightforward examples, the cultivar can be dominated by its obvious floral and honeyed aroma. Here, the century-old bushes add another dimension: a warm, mellow woody quality known as cong wei 枞味, or old-tree character, beneath the flowers and sweetness.
Craftsmanship is especially important with this tea. The oxidation is carefully controlled so that, after brewing, the leaves show roughly 30% reddened oxidation against 70% remaining green. This balance helps preserve fragrance and freshness while developing the body, sweetness and complexity expected from traditionally made Dan Cong.
Phoenix Dan Cong is sometimes assumed to become strongly bitter when brewed for too long, but good raw material and precise processing can make an enormous difference. This tea remains remarkably smooth even with extended steeping, with very little bitterness. Its clarity, full body and persistent fragrance reflect both the quality of the century-old leaf and the control of the tea maker.
The finished tea receives a medium roast over traditional litchi charcoal, using a roasting approach influenced by Wuyi tea-making. The roast adds warmth, integration and depth while allowing Mi Lan Xiang’s natural floral and honeyed fragrance to remain clearly present.
Aroma and Flavour
The aroma combines the unmistakable honeyed floral character of Mi Lan Xiang with the deeper woody fragrance of old bushes. Sweet flowers rise first, followed by honey, ripe fruit and a warm resinous woodiness that becomes increasingly apparent as the leaves open.
The liquor is full and clear, with a thick, exceptionally smooth texture. Despite its concentration, it remains remarkably free from aggressive bitterness. Floral sweetness and ripe fruit sit above a deeper layer of cong wei, while gentle minerality and mountain freshness give the tea structure and prevent the sweetness from becoming heavy.
Through successive infusions, the tea becomes rounder and sweeter. The floral fragrance remains persistent while the old-tree character deepens, creating a long session in which honeyed sweetness, wood, fruit and high-mountain freshness continue to evolve.
- Aroma: Honeyed florals, ripe fruit and warm old-bush cong wei
- Flavour: Naturally sweet and layered, with honey, floral fruit, gentle minerality and woody depth
- Texture: Thick, smooth and exceptionally rounded
- Aftertaste: Long and sweet with persistent old-tree fragrance and high-mountain freshness
- Steeping Endurance: 10–12 infusions or more, developing greater sweetness and depth through the session
Brewing Guidelines
Gong Fu Style
- Teaware: Chaozhou red clay teapot for warmth and concentration, or porcelain gaiwan for greater aromatic clarity
- Ratio: 7–8 g per 100 ml water
- Water: 95–100 °C, ideally soft spring water
- Infusions: Quick rinse; begin with short 3–5 second infusions and gradually extend. The tea can comfortably continue through 10–12 infusions or more
Western Style
- Teaware: Porcelain or glass teapot
- Ratio: 3–4 g per 250 ml water
- Water: Around 95 °C
- Steeping: 2–3 minutes for the first infusion; resteep 2–3 times, extending the brewing time slightly with each infusion
Why Choose This Tea
This 2026 Old Bush Mi Lan Xiang combines one of Phoenix Dan Cong’s most immediately appealing fragrance profiles with the depth of approximately century-old high-mountain bushes. At around 1,200 metres in Lizi Ping, the tea develops both the honeyed floral character expected from Mi Lan Xiang and the warm, woody cong wei that distinguishes mature old-tree material.
Careful oxidation and traditional litchi-charcoal roasting give the tea remarkable balance. It is aromatic and full-bodied without becoming harsh, and even longer infusions remain unusually smooth. The combination of fragrance, thickness, clarity and enduring sweetness makes it both immediately enjoyable and complex enough for experienced Dan Cong drinkers.
This has become one of our most consistently popular Phoenix Dan Cong teas, with stable quality from year to year and an exceptionally high repeat-purchase rate. For anyone wishing to explore Mi Lan Xiang at a higher level, this is one we recommend with complete confidence.