Spring hills brim with subtle charm, as the new year unfolds fresh tea fragrance. The first collector-grade tea of 2026 from Tongxin Teahouse hails from Lizaiping, a hidden prime plot atop Wudong Mountain. This authentic 80-year-old Laocong Jasmine Aroma Phoenix Dancong arrives carrying the misty essence of Phoenix Mountain highlands. Blessed with one-of-a-kind mountain terroir and the seasoned character of ancient tea trees forged by decades of time, it embodies an elegant, refined flavour profile unmatched among Dancong varieties.
We select spring buds plucked from native eighty-year-old ancient tea bushes growing in the heart of Lizaiping, Wudong Mountain. These fine old shrubs feature tall, graceful trunks with semi-spreading canopies, dense flourishing branches and leaves that grow diagonally upward along the stems. Left to thrive semi-wild for generations, they boast weathered, time-honoured forms brimming with restrained vitality. Nurtured by eighty years of mountain wind and rain, each tree holds an exceptionally deep reservoir of natural nutrients.
The tea bushes root amid mist-shrouded highlands ranging from 800 to over 1100 metres above sea level. Swirling mountain breezes and persistent cloud cover define this microclimate, paired with dramatic day-night temperature swings and loose, fertile soil abundant in natural minerals. This exceptional growing environment allows the tea plants to slowly and steadily build up aromatic compounds and rich internal substances, forming the profound, distinctive mountain terroir unique to Lizaiping — an innate quality impossible to replicate in low-altitude plantations or younger tea bushes.
What makes this Laocong Jasmine Aroma truly extraordinary is its entirely natural floral scent, native to the tea cultivar itself, with no artificial flower-scenting or synthetic fragrances added. The dry tea presents dark, tight, glossy strips; upon opening the tea caddy, delicate, vivid jasmine notes drift out, interwoven with the calm, mild woody undertones characteristic of ancient tea trees, understated yet endlessly inviting. Once boiling water hits the leaves, the floral aroma unfolds gently, cool, rich and multi-layered. The scent fully dissolves into the tea liquor — a coveted "liquor-bound fragrance" that never floats superficially above the cup. With every sip and breath, you taste the pure, unadulterated scent of mountain wilderness.
The advanced genetics of these ancient bushes deliver an outstanding liquor experience: silky, smooth and rich on the palate, cleanly sweet with zero astringency. The aged shrubs carry a singular calm woody aroma and lingering profound highland terroir, grounded and gracefully balanced. Its natural cool jasmine fragrance endures from the first infusion to the last, intricate and persistent. The tea boasts remarkable brewing endurance, retaining consistent, full-bodied flavour and aroma through many steepings.
What renders this tea incredibly rare is its minuscule annual yield: only 5 kilograms of finished tea are produced each year from these prime Lizaiping ancient trees. Premium aged tea resources on Wudong Mountain grow scarcer by the year. Combining three coveted merits — eighty-year-old highland ancient bushes, authentic Lizaiping terroir, and naturally cool jasmine floral notes — this Dancong stands as a rare collector’s treasure for the year, a precious find worthy of preservation by discerning tea lovers.
Crafted following time-honoured traditional charcoal roasting techniques for Phoenix Dancong, the tea undergoes gentle, restrained roasting to mellow its character, fully preserving the original floral notes and wild mountain spirit of the highland bushes. The roast is clean and balanced, never overpowering the mountain essence or masking the floral aroma. The finished tea carries a mild, approachable nature, perfect for quiet solo sipping to soothe the mind or refined gatherings with fellow tea enthusiasts. It also offers excellent ageing potential: with proper storage, its woody ancient-shrub character softens into velvety warmth, while the bright floral notes gradually transform into smooth honeyed sweetness, growing more elegant and rounded with each passing year.
Mist from a single mountain nurtures one ancient tea bush; eighty years of time condense into one cup of unadulterated natural aroma.
The 2026 debut offering from Tongxin Teahouse — Wudong Lizaiping Ancient Bush Jasmine Aroma Dancong. Cool floral fragrance sinks deep into every sip, rich mountain terroir settles gently in the heart. A rare annual treasure no true tea connoisseur should miss.