Phoenix Single Bush Oolong or Fenghuang Dancong Wulong (凤凰单枞乌龙) has many different names for different bushes. As confusing and sometimes frustrating for the new connoisseur, this is inevitable because of the very nature of the tea. The goal is to get a tea from a single bush, so logic follows that types of fragrances and then specific bushes should be named. It is mostly for my own edification that I attempt to organize a list of names and translations. I found a list in a book about Dancong Oolong, which I duplicate below with my own translations of the names.
壹 - 黄枝香（栀子花香）型 Gardenia fragrance type
1. 宋种黄枝香 Song variety gardenia fragrance
2. 宋种黄茶香 Song variety yellow tea fragrance
3. 大白叶 Large White Leaf
4. 黄茶香 Yellow tea fragrance
5. 老仙翁 Old fey gaffer
6. 宋种2号 Song variety No. 2
7. 佳常种 Always fine variety
8. 棕蓑挟 palm frond coir clasped under the arm
9. 特选黄枝香 Special selection gardenia fragrance
贰 - 芝兰香型 herbal fragrance type (literally, the glossy ganoderma and the fragrant thoroughwort fragrance type)
1. 八仙 Eight immortals
2. 宋种芝兰香 Song variety herbal fragrance
3. 竹叶 Bamboo leaf
4. 鸡笼刊 Chicken cage
5. 芝兰香 Herbal fragrance
叁 - 蜜兰香型 Honey orchid fragrance type
1. 蜜兰香 Honey Orchid fragrance
2. 白叶单枞 White leaf dancong
3. 香番薯 Fragrant sweet potato
肆 - 桂花香型 Osmanthus flower fragrance type
伍 - 玉兰香型 Jade Orchid fragrance type
陆 - 姜花香型 Ginger flower fragrance type
1. 柚叶 Pomelo leaf
2. 杨梅叶 Waxberry Leaf
3. 姜母香 Ginger root fragrance
4. 火辣茶 Fiery spice tea
柒 - 夜来香型 Fragrance which comes in the night type
捌 - 茉莉香型 Jasmine fragrance type
玖 - 杏仁香型 Almond fragrance type
1. 锯剁仔 Saw cut seed
2. 杏仁香 Almond fragrance
拾 - 肉桂香型 Cassia fragrance type
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Wow, impressive list. I totally despair at learning all the names, which is what makes a knowledgeable vendor like Imen so valuable.
Thanks for the comment, Salsero. I also find the names daunting, when you couple that with many different translations, it can make it even worse. Of course, there are many more names than this, and new names are made up as new bushes produce their first teas. I know of no resource in English where one can see lots of names in the same place and they are all grouped into their fragrance types. I thought this would be a good exercise for me, and others who are taking the perhaps inadvisable step of buying from vendors other than Imen. If one(meaning myself) is familiar with all of the most common names, it can be more difficult to be confused by vendors who speak quickly and toss lots of names around. By the way, Imen announced a translation of a Chinese book that will be published in October. I can't find it on Chinese Amazon.com yet, but I can't wait to get it.(Can't wait for the translation either!) Hope she posts the name of the book in Chinese!
W, have you any idea which fragrance group, "Huang Jing / Yellow Leaf" would best be suited to?
Same question for "Da Yu Qi / Big Leech", and "Da Wu Ye / Big Dark Leaf / Big Grey Leaf"
I noticed in Tea Obsession
http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/2008/01/current-stocks-of-phoenix-dan-cong.html
That Imen was describing 2 different teas as 'Da Yu We' and translating them differently to either Ginger Flower fragrance or as Big Dark Leaf.
I posted a comment asking her if she could explain, and she has posted a reply which may be of interest to you. Perhaps the Ginger Flower Fragrance group is called Da Yu We, and if the tea is given this name then one cannot be sure of which individual varietal is used.
Thanks a lot for your comments. I am in Yixing at the moment, and will comment when I get home. I think that Big dark leaf has a lot of meanings. Historically I think it refers to something different, but farmers in many tea areas take old names no longer in use and apply them to new things.
I see that Imen has some new DanCongs available at TeaHabitat, I don't know if any of these names are additions to your list!
Post a Comment