Canton Tea Club Week 10: Mi Lan Dan Cong

As you’ve probably guessed by now, we all love Mi Lan Dan Cong. Alongside Week 2′s tea (Pouchong), Mi Lan has been a staple at Canton since the beginning. We drink it at elevenses with a home-made flapjack. We drink it in the afternoon to refresh after a hard day’s work, and we drink it after dinner to show it off to our non-whole-leaf-initiated friends. In short, it's an all-round winner, and each member of team Canton has their own reasons for loving it: 

Jen: This was one of the first teas we ever stocked at Canton. It's one of the most naturally aromatic oolong teas you will ever drink. The scent of orchid and the flavour of honey with a long, sweet aftertaste that lingers in the mouth is like sitting in a hayfield, surrounded by spring flowers.

Edgar: This could be my favourite tea – it's slightly floral but with a good, proper ‘tea’ taste. You have to get the brewing right though – I’d always recommend using a gaiwan and washing the tea at 100 to wake up the leaves before infusing at 90 to get the most flavour.

Anishka: I’m relatively new to tea but I do really love this one. The dark leaves are pretty and the sweet honey taste is really lovely. Not so much a morning tea for me – better in the afternoon.

Kate: I didn’t actually like Mi Lan the first time I tasted it – but I put that down to a brewing error. The second time I tasted it was a revelation – the tea bursts with fruit and flowers and the smell of the gaiwan lid after infusion is pure heaven. This is the tea I brew for my friends who’ve never drunk leaf tea before and the response is total amazement. The next time they come round they always ask for the ‘peachy tea’.

Dan: Mi Lan was the first proper whole leaf tea I ever tried, and what a way to start. The explosion of flavours totally blew my mind.

Ali: One of the first ‘exotic’ teas I tasted when I started at Canton – it really opened my eyes to the extreme variety of tea flavours, it was so different from any other tea I had tasted. And, it's great with a slice of cake.

James: mmm….fruity.