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Oolong · 2025
2025 Snowflake Dan Cong
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A late-autumn pluck of Ya Shi Xiang dancong — the "Duck Shit Aroma" single-bush oolong from Phoenix Mountain in Guangdong. Concentrated orchid aroma on a soft roasted body.
Estimated delivery Friday, 5 Jun
Why this tea
- 01
Ya Shi Xiang — the "Duck Shit Aroma" dancong
The most famous aroma category in Phoenix Mountain oolong, named to discourage thieves, kept because everyone already knew it.
- 02
Snowflake pluck
A late-autumn pick from the same bushes, with smaller leaves and a more concentrated cup than the spring pluck most people have tasted abroad.
- 03
From Pingkengtou Village
Picked and processed in the small Fenghuang-area village in Chao'an, Guangdong, where Ya Shi Xiang originally comes from.
What is Snowflake Dan Cong?
Dancong means "single-bush": Phoenix Mountain oolong picked from one tree rather than blended across a plot. Dancongs are organised by aroma category instead of cultivar, and the most famous category is Ya Shi Xiang, the "Duck Shit Aroma." The name was kept deliberately ugly to stop people stealing the bushes, and it stuck.
Snowflake, or Xue Pian, refers to the pluck. Most dancong is picked in spring. The Snowflake pluck comes off the same bushes in late autumn after the first frost, when the leaves are smaller and the aroma concentrates. The cup is more intense than the spring pluck and the finish is longer.
Oxidation
Stimulation
Fermentation
Body
Tasting Notes
Pale amber in the cup, almost gold. Orchid and ripe lychee come off the dry leaf, with a gardenia note underneath. Sweet body, soft roast, a long aromatic finish — the aroma stays in the empty cup for a few minutes after you've drunk it.
Brewing Instructions
Amount
5g per 200ml
Temperature
90-95°C / 194-203°F
Infusions
Up to 10
Infusion Time
5 seconds (+5 sec every new infusion)
Needs Rinsing
Yes
Origin
Origin
Pingkengtou Village
Cultivar
Wu Ye
Elevation
900 meters
In March 2026 we drove out to Pingkengtou Village in Phoenix town (Fenghuang), where Ya Shi Xiang dancong originally comes from. The category had been on our list for a while: there's nothing else in Chinese tea that tastes quite like it. Most of what's sold abroad as Duck Shit is either spring-pluck (less aromatic) or grown well outside Phoenix proper.
We tasted dozens of dancongs over the visit, most of them spring-pluck Ya Shi Xiang, which is what usually gets exported. The Snowflake came off the same bushes later in the season. It was sweeter than the spring pluck, with less of the bitter edge dancongs get when they're pushed, and the aroma sat on top of the cup instead of fighting it. We bought it at the table.
Aging & Storage
Keep sealed in a cool dark cupboard, away from heat, light, and anything strong-smelling. The aroma is the most fragile part of the cup, so a tight seal matters more here than for a heavier-roast Wuyi rock tea.
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