Dong Fang Hong

Perhaps the apogee of the Fenghuang Dancong style, the infusion washes through the mouth with a sumptuous bouquet. The warbling but insistent scent of jasmine, with a touch of cream, reaches into the nose while a slightly darker flavor, like viscous orange liqueur, remains on the tongue. It may not be surprising, then, that it bears a refined pedigree, the cultivar coming from a line of Song Zhong trees—ones allegedly dating back to the Song Dynasty—and named by Chairman Mao after the title of a revolutionary song; as a consequence, it shares its name with an equally rarified endeavor, the first Chinese satellite program. It may be in its groundedness, however, the persistence of florality and just the right tinge of bitterness long after the tea's minerality has cleaned other elements away, that Dong Fang Hong really shines brightly.