DC is a high mountain tea. Cut back on the brewing times to reduce
the harshness. At altitude the leaf is anemic fighting for every
nutrient it can get and the soil is notably acidic. It is in the same
category as Rock teas where your your tongue feels like it was scraped
raw. Its a learned taste like a roasted TGY. There are teas I dont
drink on a regular basis but on some days nothing taste better.

Jim

Rainy wrote:
> Are Dan Congs always a little bitter? I tried maybe 5-6 of them and
> they've always had bitter aftertaste for me. It tastes a bit like if
> you add a few drops of alcohol to a glass of water. At the same time,
> I am very sensitive to bitter taste, I can't stand dark chocolate,
> endives, kirby cucumber skin, dark coffee (unless very well light-
> roasted and really fresh and I'm in the mood for it). I don't like
> bitter teas such as Assam or Ceylon unless it's got milk in it. All
> because of bitterness.
>
> Is that something that's true for all dan congs, or for most of them,
> or maybe there's some trick to brewing them without bitterness? I love
> the aroma of dan congs, and I like the peach/apricot taste.. but the
> aftertaste turns me away every time. Today I tried to finally sit down
> and experiment with gong-fu and dan cong and no matter what I tried,
> the bitterness is still there.