Golden Snail Yunnan Black Tea

Another lovely sample thanks to Nichole!

I liked this one. Did this one exactly as instructed on the Whispering Pines Site. First brew, there was a creamy mouthfeel and it kinda reminded me of a really light milk chocolate. There was some caramel and honey to me, but then it became very malty, then broth like. I’m guessing the broth is the morel note. Steep two again had malt and broth. Three, there was a weird, fruity character that reminded me of the grape in North Winds, but different and very faint compared to the malt. Four, more like a raisin. Five, it starts to taste like any other golden tea in the later steep, with the same faint malt but again, a little bit of raisin.

This was good, but I agree with Liquid Proust and like the Imperial Bud more. To me, it wasn’t quite as sweet and I don’t like the raisin quality too much. More of an experienced drinker’s tea, or one that you’d introduce golden teas to a newbie with. I also think that people who like Darjeelings might appreciate it a little bit.

Good solid tasty tea. Predominantly malt and carb with a wisp of cocoa, nice combo. Western brewed, had a brief astringency in the post-sip. Thanks to WP for the lovely sample!

This tea reminds me of chocolate covered raisins. It’s sweet and chocolaty with a subtle dried fruit flavour. Love it!!

After seeing the rave reviews this tea’s been getting on Steepster, I just had to order an ounce for myself. It’s delicious! The first steeping gave me notes of caramel and honey, with a thick and smooth mouthfeel. I’m hooked.

This tea is quite delicious!

Finally reviewing this tea now that I finished it off.
The reviews for this tea are great so I saved it until I had time to really evaluate it. After three different sessions with this tea I found that I was rather disappointed. While this brews a nice cup, the Imperial Gold Bud Dian Hong was absolutely superior and I cannot forget how good it was so now all other golden teas have a higher bar to reach. This isn’t to say that this tea is bad, its just my standard is rather high now.

Amazing. I’m used to black teas from India or Nepal so this one was a surprise. It’s tasty and complex. The sweet flavour is really complemented with some rock sugar (and even milk, why not?). I think I’ll need to buy more of it because the pouch I got is so tiny… I was not overwhelmed by the Jabberwocky but this one is a win!

The first thing I have to say about this tea is whattttt thhhheee haiiiillllllll this is so goooodddd!!!! This tea is unbelievable I can’t even begin to describe it. So many complex flavors going on. The one that really stands out to me is how incredibly floral it is. On the Whispering Pines website there is a description of gardenia…. That could not be anymore accurate I seriously thought that I had accidentally poured my scented oil into my cup (oil burner sits very close to my tea cups) but I didn’t, trust me! But wait, it gets better. On the initial sip my mouth is happily greeted by a smooth mouth feel and intensely sweet honey and malty flavor. Incredible. So good that the flavor is giving me euphoria and setting off endorphins in my brain! Whispering Pines deserves a trophy for this one. Like every tea I have ever order from them is another amazingly delicious, flavorful, and high quality tea from Whispering Pines… Oh yeah, and did I mention how beautifully gold the tea is?

Thank you blodeuyn for this beautiful tea!

This is a strange (in a good way) brew for me. I saw these gorgeous curls on the website and knew I wanted them. I love Yunnan Blacks! I especially love the golden ones. I was lucky to have been given this, so I brewed with anticipation.

I opened the package to take in the scent of these snails. I was hit with a whiff of an anise sugar cookie, or an italian cookie for those that know what I’m talking about. It reminded me of the ones my nannie used to make when I was younger. I used my mini gaiwan for these little guys. I washed the leaves and then brewed in 15, 30 alternating second intervals (5,15,30,60,75…). The aroma of these critters was amazing! I was surrounded by sweet maple and malt syrup. I poured out my cups and drank it in. The initial sip was surprising. I expected a Yunnan malt and with a background of sugarcane sweetness. Instead, I was greeted with a crystallized honey mouthfeel and slight undertone of maplewood. This brew was incredibly light and fluffy. I expected the malt to come out in later brews, or I thought even the baked bread flavor would show. I never experienced these classic Yunnan flavors. I loved the atmosphere this tea created. This is why this brew was strange to me. I am in no way complaining haha. I actually added more leaves in my gaiwan in mid brew. I thought I might have underscored it the first time. I guess thats just how this brew is. The wet leaves gave me my dose of malt that I needed. The malt and bold flavors must of been trapped in the steam; because my tea room had a heavy mood. I love this tea, and I think it would be a perfect crowd pleaser. I’ll have to break this out at the next gathering :)

I should preface my review by saying that I have a nostalgia and a soft spot for Golden Snails (Bi Luo). A hero of mine introduced me to the tea and sourced a particularly delicious batch. I drank it all summer during my first year of becoming a teacher.

That being said Whispering Pines’ offering here is delicious. The batch is aromatic and flavorful and stacks up well against other Yunnan Blacks of similar varieties and production. It’s hearty and well balanced without being too strong. I was quite comfortable with the price, knowing the freshness and quality that I could expect from WP and Brenden. I’ve paid $.50 more an ounce for comparable Yunnans that were not as fresh or whose taste was less dramatic.