Phoenix dancong masterclass

What you get

• Tasting of five to seven single-trunk Phoenix dancong cultivars side-by-side, covering the fragrance spectrum from light florals to deeper roasted expressions.

• Guided aroma detection: mì lán xiāng (蜜兰香 — honey orchid), huáng zhī xiāng (黄枝香 — yellow gardenia), yù lán xiāng (玉兰香 — magnolia), and more.

• Introduction to traditional Chaozhou gongfu brewing with a three-cup setup and porcelain gài wǎn.

• Practice with the aroma cup (wén xiāng bēi 闻香杯) to capture and compare high notes of each infusion.

• Personal tasting note card for recording dry leaf, wet leaf, liquor colour, mouthfeel, and aftertaste.

• Charcoal-roast side-by-side: two versions of the same cultivar — progressive roast and finish.

• Small-group format (maximum eight guests) ensuring unhurried conversation and individual questions.

How the session unfolds

You arrive to a long wooden table set with white porcelain — a gài wǎn, three tasting cups, an aroma cup, and a glass pitcher for each seat. A copper kettle rumbles on a charcoal brazier, the room already carrying a whisper of baking leaves. This is the old Chaozhou way, stripped of ceremony trappings and focused on the tea itself.

The session opens with a handful of dry leaf on a warm plate. You’ll notice the wiry, twisted strips, uneven and single-stem — true dancong from old bushes in Wudong Village, Phoenix Mountain, Guangdong. The master, often Mei Yang, will ask you to smell the dry leaf cold, then warm. Immediately the aromatic vocabulary begins: yù lán xiāng brings sweet white magnolia with a pear-skin edge; xìng rén xiāng (apricot kernel) gives a creamy, nutty lift. The first brew is a light-fragrance mì lán xiāng — its honey-orchid sweetness opening like a slow sunrise in the cup.

Over the next ninety minutes you’ll move through five to seven cultivars, each with a short, repeated steeping rhythm: rinse, 20-second brew, pour, share. The infusion colour shifts from pale gold to deep amber as the roasts deepen. You’ll learn to read the tea’s energy — the cooling sensation on the palate that marks a high-mountain dancong, the silky mouthfeel and the crisp mineral tap that arrives at the back of the throat. Between flights, plain crackers and water reset the palate.

Halfway through, the master presents two samples of the same yù lán xiāng cultivar: one charcoal-roasted to a medium finish, the other taken to a darker, warmer tone. You’ll smell the dry leaves again, but now the roast has layered roasted nuts and a faint caramel over the florals. This moment often shifts the room’s understanding of craft — how fire can transform without overwhelming.

The final tea is usually a late-spring huáng zhī xiāng that has rested a year. Its wet leaf, after the last steep, smells of sun-warmed gardenia petals and damp stone. You’ll be invited to pour the spent leaves onto a plate and share observations — about the thickness of the leaf, the evenness of the roast, the lingering mineral aftertaste.

The session closes with a bowl of clear hot water, served as a palate cleanser and a discreet chance to let the experience settle. No certificates, no sales pitch — just a moment when the room falls quiet and someone inevitably says, “The next time I brew oolong, I’ll do it differently.”

After the masterclass, members of tea.community can access a shared notes thread where participants post their tasting cards and continue the aroma conversation. For those who want a deeper dive, tea.school offers a dedicated dancong module with structured sensory training and production travel footage. Tea.events also runs a quarterly public dancong cupping in Saint Petersburg — a natural follow‑up for anyone who wants to test their nose against a blind lineup.

Led by Mei Yang, with Fang Ting in Berlin

• Mei Yang — Dancong specialist who visits Phoenix Mountain annually; her class centres on single-trunk aromatic profiles.

• Fang Ting — Oolong-leaning master with gongfu and Wuyi training — leads the Berlin sessions under the same curriculum.

Practical details

• Location — Saint Petersburg studio (19 Liniya 34) or Berlin partner venue — confirmed at booking.

• Duration — 120 minutes, please arrive ten minutes early.

• Group size — Maximum eight guests.

• Language — Conducted in English with Russian assistance where needed.

• Dress — Comfortable clothing; avoid fragrance — it masks the tea aroma.

• Food — Plain crackers and filtered water provided; inform us of any allergies.

• Cancellation — Free with 48 hours notice.