Dancong: Song Zhong
Song Zhong ('Song variety') is one of the most prestigious tiers of Phoenix Dancong, referring not to a single aroma type but to tea from the oldest lineage of Phoenix bushes, traced by tradition back to the Song dynasty. In practice many Song Zhong teas fall within the honey-orchid (mi lan xiang) family and come from very old trees, giving a deep, layered, intensely aromatic cup. The variable that matters most is authenticity and tree age: 'Song Zhong' is a heavily used prestige label, so traceable sourcing is everything.
Long, dark, twisted strip-style dancong leaf, charcoal-roasted in the usual Phoenix way. The aroma from the wet leaf is the headline: a true Song Zhong should be deep, complex and long-lasting, typically in the honey-orchid register, with a thick, sweet body and a persistent aftertaste (hui gan) rather than a single bright top note. Because the name carries huge prestige, it is also heavily inflated; without a credible source and price, assume an ordinary dancong wearing a famous label. Old-tree material shows its age in body, depth and longevity across many infusions, not just in marketing. As with all roasted dancong, a few weeks of rest after firing settles the cup.
Phoenix (Fenghuang) mountain in Chaozhou, Guangdong, the home of dancong. Song Zhong denotes tea from the oldest tree lineage in the area, descendants of bushes traditionally said to date to the Song dynasty, and the most famous individual ancient trees (tracked and named) sit at the very top of the Phoenix hierarchy. The highest-elevation Wudong gardens are the benchmark sources. Processing is standard dancong: relatively high oxidation for an oolong, strip-rolled and charcoal-roasted.
Gongfu is the way to drink this. Gaiwan or clay: 6-8 g per 100 ml, 95-100°C, a brief rinse, then very short steeps of 10-20 seconds to start, ascending carefully; good leaf gives 8-12 infusions. Short steeps are essential, since dancong releases fast and tips into bitterness if pushed. Western: 3-4 g per 200 ml, 95°C, about 2 minutes, though this flattens the per-infusion evolution that is the whole point.
Genuine old-lineage Song Zhong is expensive: traceable named material commonly runs €60-150 (about $65-162) per 100 g, and old single-tree lots from documented sources climb well past €200 (about $216) per 100 g. Cheap 'Song Zhong' is almost always ordinary dancong using the name.
Prices reviewed June 2026
Dancong: Mi Lan Xiang (Honey Orchid)
Many Song Zhong trees are honey-orchid types; mi lan xiang is the accessible expression, Song Zhong the old-lineage prestige tier.
Phoenix Dancong
The parent style page explaining the xiang aroma-type system and the elevation-plus-tree-age logic that Song Zhong sits at the top of.
Dancong: Ya Shi Xiang (Duck Shit)
The most-hyped individual dancong type; both reward the same short-steep gongfu discipline and traceable sourcing.
Dancong: Zhi Lan Xiang (Orchid)
Another premium orchid-leaning dancong; Song Zhong refers to tree age and lineage rather than a single named aroma.
Song Zhong refers to a tree lineage rather than a flavor, descendants of Phoenix bushes that local tradition dates to the Song dynasty roughly 800 years ago. The most famous surviving ancient trees in the Phoenix range are individually named, fenced and harvested separately, and tea from them is among the most expensive oolong in the world.