What Can the Coffee Production Process Teach About Dancong Grades?
The coffee production process separates lots by tree age, variety, and handling, and Phoenix Oolong works much the same way. Dancong means tea from trees grown as individual plants rather than blocks; Laocong refers to leaf from very old trees; Danzhu means a single tree picked and processed on its own. Each label reflects a different plucking and production decision.
As with coffee production in world markets, where a single estate lot may sell before harvest, famous Wudong single-tree teas are often booked in advance. Finished Dancong batches usually stay within five to six kilograms, and seed-propagated trees without a distinct aroma are grouped as Shuixian instead of Dancong.
In the classification system of Phoenix Oolong, Laocong and Danzhu are often lumped together, yet in reality they point to different logics of plucking and production. Laocong emphasizes the age of the tea tree, while Danzhu focuses on the independent plucking and production of a single tea tree. Wudong Mountain, as the core production area of Phoenix Oolong, has scarce resources of high-altitude old tea trees, and famous single-tree teas often require advance booking. This article, drawing on tea-buying practices in Phoenix Village, sorts out the actual meanings of the three concepts—Dancong, Laocong, and Danzhu—and shares the experience of purchasing a famous Wudong single-tree tea in 2016, to help tea lovers clarify their purchasing approach.
Every year we travel to Phoenix Village on schedule to select Phoenix Dancong Oolong. In 2016, we successfully purchased a category we had not previously carried—Danzhu Oolong tea.
Literally, "Dancong" originally meant a single, independent tea tree. But in today's Chaozhou tea region, this term has drifted from its original meaning.
Most lower-priced Phoenix Oolong on the market comes from plantation-style tea gardens under block management. Strictly speaking, such tea does not deserve the name Dancong.
What is now called "Dancong" actually means that the tea trees are not planted as a garden, but exist as individual plants. Tea farmers or merchants generally classify tea leaves with consistent genetic characteristics and distinctive floral-fruity aromas as Dancong, and each batch of finished tea is usually kept within five to six kilograms. As for those tea trees propagated from seeds and lacking a prominent aroma profile, they are collectively called Shuixian.
How should Laocong be understood?
Within the category of Dancong Oolong, there is a class called Laocong, referring to Dancong Oolong plucked from very old tea trees. However, there is no hard standard for just how many years makes a tea tree "old." From my observation, this largely depends on the tea maker's judgment. Some call a century-old tree Laocong, while others feel a hundred years is still on the young side. Laocong may come from a single old tree, or from a group of tea trees of similar age, variety, and flavor. In the end, "Laocong" describes tea made from the fresh leaves of older tea trees; it does not define whether the tea comes from one specific tea tree.
Phoenix Oolong tea trees are not grown in plantation style. These long-lived tea trees are called Laocong.
Single-Tree Phoenix Oolong
There is another category in Phoenix Oolong called Danzhu. "Danzhu" refers to tea leaves plucked separately from a single bush. Today, this term appears not only in Phoenix Oolong but is also used in the Pu'er tea world. Strictly speaking, if the fresh leaves of only one tea tree are plucked, processed separately, and sold separately without blending with raw materials from other tea trees, it can technically be called single-tree tea. In practice, however, the common approach under the Danzhu category is that tea makers select only very old tea trees for production.
For Phoenix Oolong, altitude is also key to determining quality. Wudong Mountain is renowned for producing the finest Phoenix Oolong. On Wudong Mountain, the number of old tea trees in high-altitude areas (above 1,000 meters) is very limited. The production area of Phoenix Oolong is inherently small and cannot compare with the large production regions of Pu'er tea. Therefore, those famous single-tree teas must be well-known trees that the whole village knows. Prices are usually not cheap; the bigger issue is that the tea must be reserved before the tea season begins to ensure a certain quantity.
In 2016, we successfully purchased three single-tree Phoenix Oolongs. All three were plucked from famous trees on Wudong Mountain. One was particularly special: the famous tea we bought, "Wenzhong." This tree grows on the mountain in Wudong Village and is owned by the Wen family. It has stood there for an extremely long time, and no one can say exactly how old it is. This tea tree is so famous that it has even been written into the book Phoenix Oolong. It is fair to say it is a representative of the old tea trees of Phoenix Oolong.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
