Second Generation Mother Bush Duckshit Oolong

Duckshit Oolong—鸭屎香 (Yāshǐxiāng)—is one of the most famous types of Phoenix Dancong Oolongs. Despite the unusual name, this is an exceptionally aromatic oolong traditionally known for honeysuckle-like florals, natural sweetness, nutty depth, lingering fragrance, and a distinctive mountain character.

The Problem With Duckshit Oolong

The original mother bush was the source of the lineage. Over time, growers propagated it through cuttings and grafting, creating successive generations of descendants.

As the plants were propagated further—and grown in different environments—their characteristics began to diverge. One Duckshit might be incredibly floral but lack sweetness. Another might have beautiful sweetness but little depth. Another might be intensely aromatic but miss the distinctive tea drunk feeling that makes the tea so compelling. After tasting countless Duckshit oolongs, Leo kept running into the same problem: Each tea had part of the puzzle, but rarely all of it.

Then he found this, which for the first time, checked off every box of what duckshit oolong is supposed to taste like.

The floral fragrance, the sweetness, the depth, lingering finish, and that pleasant tea drunk effect. Everything was there—and everything was remarkably pronounced and balanced.

The aroma is immediately captivating: very sweet honeysuckle and sweet chestnut cream, followed by delicate ripe apricot fruitiness and a subtle creamy nuttiness. The tea is silky, oily, and thick, with tea oils coating the entire tongue. It goes down incredibly easily, with zero scratchiness or astringency. Then a long, long wave of sweetness and aroma lingers in the mouth, in a similar way that exceptional high-mountain Taiwanese oolong does. Even long after the sip, the aroma continues to return.

The experience is remarkably relaxing. The combination of silky texture, sweetness, and lingering fragrance gradually washes over you, gently lulling you into a calm state.

This tea comes from a second-generation mother bush.

If the original mother bush is Generation 1, a plant propagated directly from it represents the second generation—母树 → 二代 → 三代. The significance isn't simply that the tree is old, but it's lineage.

A second-generation mother-bush tea carries a direct connection to the original exceptional Duckshit tea plant, rather than being a much later propagation that has spread throughout the region.

How We Recommend Brewing It

This is one tea where smaller is better. In Chaozou, this is how they brew all of their dancong oolongs, in tiny 60ml teapots and 10 ml teacups, to get super concentrated and complex tea.

Chaozou Style

Use a small gaiwan or teapot no larger than 80ml, with 5g of leaves. The goal is to have the leaves fill the entire vessel.

• 5g tea
• 60-80ml gaiwan or teapot
• 200°F / 93°C water
• Quickly rinse the leaves
• For every infusion, pour the water in and immediately pour it out—about 1 second

The leaves are incredibly aromatic, and even the rinse is fragrant enough to drink. The extremely short infusions allow you to pull out the tea's remarkable sweetness and aroma without overwhelming the delicate balance.

For the best experience, use a small, tall aroma cup with a narrow opening. It concentrates the fragrance toward your nose rather than allowing it to disperse into the air.

Take a sip, then pause, and let the fragrance build. Allow the oils coat your tongue, and wait for the sweetness to come back before going back for another sip.

Regular Gongfu Style for Maximum Sweetness

Use a small gaiwan or teapot between 90ml-100ml, with 4g of leaves. 

• 5g tea
• 60-80ml gaiwan or teapot
• 185-190°F / 85-87°C water
• Quickly rinse the leaves
• Steep for 15-17 seconds per infusion
• Add 2-3 more second to each subsequent steep after the 6th infusion

This is the closest we've come to finding a Duck Shit Aroma that expresses everything this legendary Phoenix Dancong is supposed to be.