Is that a Whiff of Honeysuckle We're Catching? Must Be Phoenix Ya Sai...

Last week we took a look at our new harvest Phoenix Honey teas and the single grove “dan cong” trees they come from. These trees require tea pickers to climb up the trees to harvest the leaves, just as Teance founder Winnie is doing in the photo below!

This week we shift our focus to Phoenix Ya Sai Old Grove High Mountain in honor of the new harvest arrival. Another tea made from Phoenix "dan cong" trees, Phoenix Ya Sai Old Grove is similar to other Phoenix teas with its twisted leaf shape and distinct fruity and floral aroma. Also known as Phoenix Honeysuckle Ya Sai, this tea emits a sweet honeysuckle aroma alongside a slight almond creaminess with notes of papaya. “Old Grove” refers to the trees being more than 25 years old and less than 100 years old. (“Ancient Tree” refers to 100+ year old trees.) 

We especially love this tea for its beautiful aroma. Like our Phoenix Honey teas, Phoenix Ya Sai Old Grove goes through a lighter roasting process than is typical for Phoenix teas, highlighting its natural sweet fragrance. As some of you may recall, some of our favorite recent memories of Phoenix Ya Sai Old Grove go back to 2022. That year in particular yielded an incredibly flavorful, complex tea that delighted us with its fragrant, creamy aroma and changing notes from steep to steep. This year’s harvest retains the characteristics we love (honeysuckle, creamy almond, papaya); however, we still feel this year’s harvest is falling a bit short of the memories we have from 2022! Perhaps this is connected with this year's harvest time having intermittent rain, therefore extending the harvest period and resulting in leaves are slightly larger than previous years. Despite the year-to-year changes, this continues to be one of our beloved Teance teas that we are excited to offer each year for you!

Just like the changing seasons, weather conditions shift from year to year to bring us different teas. Tea teaches us to remember and cherish good memories of the past, savor what is present, and be open to receive whatever is emerging with a new day, season, or year.