TeaHQ

Ya Shi Xiang

A Phoenix Dan Cong type whose crude name is, by the usual account, a deliberate deterrent invented by a grower who did not want the bush copied — the polite trade name Yin Hua Xiang is now used alongside it. The aroma is a high, cool, gardenia-and-lily note with a distinctly mineral finish, and it is one of the most sought-after Dan Cong types despite, or because of, the name.

鴨屎香Camellia sinensis var. sinensisChinaAlso called Duck Shit AromaAlso called Yin Hua XiangAlso called Silver Flower Aroma

Where it sits in the botany

Ya Shi Xiang is recorded under Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, the variety group one level above cultivar. It is associated with China, which is where it was selected or is most widely planted rather than the only place it grows.

Also transliterated as: ya shi xiang, yashixiang.

What the plant is like

High floral aroma over a mineral base, with a cooling finish. Grown on greyish soil that the name is sometimes also said to describe.

What it is usually made into

The categories this cultivar is typically processed into. It is a statement about common practice, not a limit — processing decides the category, and a cultivar can be taken down more than one route.

  • Oolong — Partially oxidised teas, bruised deliberately and often roasted — the widest-ranging category in tea.

Teas in the catalogue made from Ya Shi Xiang

Other cultivars in Camellia sinensis var. sinensis

Sources

  • TeaHQ editorial synthesis — TeaHQ

This page is TeaHQ’s own synthesis throughout. No breeding register or institutional record stands behind the account above, which is why the origin note carries its confidence in the open rather than reading as a citation.

How TeaHQ handles sources