Phoenix Dancong (Duck Shit Scent)

Phoenix Dancong (Duck-Shit Scent) | 鳳凰單欉鴨屎香

Tasting notes: Floral, ripe fruit, brisk

Grown in the mineral-rich soil and biodiverse environment of Phoenix Mountain (鳳凰山 Fenghuang Shan) in Chaozhou, Dancong oolong teas are famous for being dramatically aromatic—so aromatic that they’re often described as “drinkable perfume”. Duck Shit Scent is a double-roasted Dancong with initial notes of charcoal, followed by ripe fruit and an immensely floral aroma, ending in a lingering sweetness.

Don’t worry, it doesn’t smell or taste like duck shit! The story goes that farmers discovered a tea cultivar in Ping Keng Tou village that produced a delicious taste and highly fragrant aroma, and they didn’t want other farmers to exploit it, so they called it “Duck Shit Scent” to prevent other farmers from cultivating it. Their attempt to hide the tea was not successful, clearly, as this tea has in recent years become a rather famous Dancong tea.

Another version of the story is that farmers used duck manure to fertilise the soil as was common practice in those days. You can choose which story you prefer! Duck Shit Scent is one of the 10 signature fragrances of Phoenix Dancong teas. Dancong (單欉) means “single bush”, i.e., teas consisting of leaves from a single cultivar or plant. In essence this means that more or less each fragrance comes from its own cultivar. To clarify, none of the teas are artificially scented. Each cultivar has a naturally occurring fragrance that is accentuated through artisan processing and brewing methods.

We highly recommend you try this one cold-brewed, as the fragrance really is a wow factor!