How does blending coffee relate to Wuyi rock tea and Phoenix Dancong craft?

Wuyi rock tea and Phoenix Dancong are both oolongs with a shared craft lineage, but they diverge in emphasis. Rock tea uses heavy fermentation and heavy roasting, yielding a roast aroma and mellow taste across light, medium, full and high fire levels. Dancong starts from selected single bushes of the Shuixian plant and leans on rich, varied aromas.

Both are curled, strip-shaped teas. Rock tea processing runs picking, withering, leaf shaking, fixation, rolling and drying, then refining with sorting, winnowing, blending and roasting. Dancong follows sun withering, cooling, shaking, fixation, rolling and baking, with single-bush harvesting and assessment. As with blending coffee, the blend of craft choices defines the final cup, including what is mellow in coffee.

Wuyi rock tea and Phoenix Dancong both belong to the oolong tea family, sharing a continuous craft heritage while each possessing distinctive characteristics. The former is renowned for its heavy fermentation and heavy roasting, forming a unique "roasting aroma" and mellow taste; the latter originates from selected single bushes of the Shuixian tea plant, excelling in rich and varied aroma types. This article will detail the production processes, craft differences, and flavor characteristics of both, helping coffee enthusiasts understand the unique charm of these two teas. Whether you prefer the deep mellowness of rock tea or the bright fragrance of Dancong, you will find clear answers in this article.

The production of Wuyi rock tea is mainly divided into two stages: primary processing and refining.

The primary processing steps are, in order: picking, slight withering, leaf shaking, fixation, rolling, and drying.

The refining steps include: rough sorting, sieving, re-sorting, winnowing, blending, and roasting.

The craft of Phoenix Dancong is equally meticulous. Starting from the cultivation of single bushes, it lays the foundation for single-bush harvesting and processing, and the unique method of single-bush harvesting and processing provides a guarantee for single-bush quality assessment.

Its picking and primary processing flow is: sun withering, cooling withering, leaf shaking, fixation, rolling, and baking.

Judging by appearance alone, both teas are curled but not tightly twisted strip-shaped teas. The production craft of Phoenix Dancong actually originates from Wuyi rock tea, and the two share a continuous lineage. Most of the techniques used in Wuyi rock tea can be found in the production of Phoenix Dancong. However, influenced by different tea plant varieties and consumer markets, the emphasis in craftsmanship differs, thus forming their own characteristics.

Wuyi rock tea is a broad tea category concept, covering quite a rich variety of types. Famous ones include the Four Great Famous Bushes: Dahongpao, Tieluohan, Baijiguan, and Shuijingui, as well as famous varieties such as Rougui and Shuixian.

The craft characteristics of Wuyi rock tea lie in heavy fermentation and heavy roasting. According to the degree of roasting, it is divided into light fire, medium fire, full fire, and high fire, forming floral aroma, floral-fruity aroma, fruity aroma, and caramel aroma, with an obvious "roasting aroma." The liquor color is darker, the taste is mellow, and the appearance has the "toad back" characteristic.

Phoenix Dancong, on the other hand, is a selected single bush from the Shuixian tea plant variety, a type within a tea plant variety. Compared with Wuyi rock tea, its outstanding feature lies in the many aroma types, a natural fusion of varietal aroma and craft aroma. Depending on the different single bushes, various aroma types are formed, such as Huangzhi Xiang, Zhilan Xiang, and Yulan Xiang.

Moreover, because they are carefully selected single bushes, more attention is paid to refinement during picking and rolling. The finished tea generally has a sturdier shape and a higher degree of curl, whereas Wuyi rock tea generally has twisted leaf tips. In terms of roasting, Dancong also absorbs the light roasting characteristics of southern Fujian oolong tea, enhancing aroma through repeated roasting, while the roasting of Wuyi rock tea is relatively heavier. Currently, most Dancong on the market is of the light-aroma type, with light yellow leaves tinged with slight green, bright yellow liquor, and a clear, long-lasting aroma, showing an obvious stylistic difference from Wuyi rock tea. Strong-aroma Dancong is favored by veteran tea drinkers.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.