Fenghuang Shui Xian vs Mi Lan Xiang
The population and the selection. Every named Dan Cong aroma type is a propagated cutting from a bush found within the Fenghuang Shui Xian population, so comparing the two is comparing a varied seed-grown stock with one line pulled out of it.
What is being compared
Why these get confused
The name Shui Xian is doing double duty: Fenghuang Shui Xian in Guangdong and Wuyi Shui Xian in Fujian are different plants in different provinces making different tea, and only the name is shared.
Point by point
| Aspect | Fenghuang Shui Xian | Mi Lan Xiang |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A seed-grown, genetically varied population of tall long-lived trees. | A clonal line selected from that population and propagated by cutting. |
| Consistency | Low by design. Two trees beside each other give different tea. | High. The point of the selection was to fix a character. |
| How it is sold | As Fenghuang Shui Xian, and frequently as the base of blended Dan Cong. | As a named aroma type, at a premium the name carries. |
| Price | The affordable end of Phoenix Mountain tea. | Considerably higher, and higher again for old or single-tree material. |
| What variability gives you | Complexity in a blend, and unpredictability in a single lot. | Reliability, and a narrower aromatic range than the population it came from. |
| Age of the plants | Includes genuinely old trees, since the population predates the selections. | Younger on average, because propagation of the named lines is more recent. |
The short answer
Neither is a lesser version of the other, and a good Fenghuang Shui Xian is a better buy than a mediocre Mi Lan Xiang. The selections exist because buyers wanted a repeatable aroma; the population exists because that is what the mountain is planted with, and it still produces the outliers the next selection will come from.
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