Guuuuuuuuh!!! This is so amazing! How much is this? Is it a lot? I need to a buy a giant tin of this, and then another tin so the first tin can have a friend! Oh, it’s somewhat expensive… Maybe just one tin, then.
After trying the Kenyan Tinderet tonight, I was wary of getting kicked in the butt by another straight black tea so I steeped it at exactly three minutes. I needn’t have worried, however, as this tea seems much more user friendly.
First impression: hot wet leaves smell even more horrifying than Tinderet or Nepal Black. They’re like dirt, and fallen leaves, and dampness, and strong beer, and (vegetarian) Fenrir’s breath, and… they’re immense! When they’ve cooled down the leaves have a decadently sweet aroma. Very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde- or maybe I’m just crazy.
Second Impression: That is the most amazing creamy sweet finish in the entire solar system!!! The tea is jam-packed with floral honey awesomeness with a dash of something peppery. It also has a bit of that typical black earthy body but I’m too distracted by that end bit to really dissect what’s happening in the first part right now.
I know the list may be short but this has now become my top black tea. That it’s 3:40am right now may be the cause of this reaction but this may be one of the best things to happen to me, tea-wise.
I’m so very glad I ordered some more Yunnan from Verdant the other day. Since I don’t know my straights very well I just picked a bunch of things at random. If the Zhu Rong Yunnan Black, or even the Yunnan White Jasmine, are anything like this one it will be a very good time. I’ll likely be speechless.
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I had recently another tea a bit like that – I do not like the smell, oh no indeed, it was a mistake. But as soon as it got even the hint of water (the steam from the pot) it became magic! I usually decide to buy using my nose, and it was humbling that some of the best things I ever had I would not have bought if I had trusted only nose! I got to keep that in mind in the future.
And Yunnan can be so good indeed!
It’s something I need to keep in mind too. I never would have bought this tea, and many others, based on aroma. The dry leaves smell like an average black tea and the hot damp ones are appalling!
I might be jumping to conclusions with this first impression of Yunnan, ever, but I think I’m in love. I don’t know if this particular Yunnan will be the one to have a final place in my cupboards but there will definitely always be some kind of Yunnan now.
The creamy aftertaste is still there after finishing my cup an hour ago.
It sounds like a winner! And you are so right about the scent. I am just having something which is oh so lovely (the white peony from peony Tea S) and where the dry leaf smells wonderfully and each steep is great – but oh my, some of the infusions did not smell nice while it was steeping, way too grassy or harsh. It did not pass to the liquor though! Magic. Tea is really not obvious.
Added to shopping list! I’d better try at least 20g of this because you make it sound so good!
I hope you experience even half the joy that I got out of this tea if you end up getting some! Even if you don’t, I felt like it was an eye-opener to try a Yunnan; it has a quirky taste profile :)
I had recently another tea a bit like that – I do not like the smell, oh no indeed, it was a mistake. But as soon as it got even the hint of water (the steam from the pot) it became magic! I usually decide to buy using my nose, and it was humbling that some of the best things I ever had I would not have bought if I had trusted only nose! I got to keep that in mind in the future.
And Yunnan can be so good indeed!
It’s something I need to keep in mind too. I never would have bought this tea, and many others, based on aroma. The dry leaves smell like an average black tea and the hot damp ones are appalling!
I might be jumping to conclusions with this first impression of Yunnan, ever, but I think I’m in love. I don’t know if this particular Yunnan will be the one to have a final place in my cupboards but there will definitely always be some kind of Yunnan now.
The creamy aftertaste is still there after finishing my cup an hour ago.
It sounds like a winner! And you are so right about the scent. I am just having something which is oh so lovely (the white peony from peony Tea S) and where the dry leaf smells wonderfully and each steep is great – but oh my, some of the infusions did not smell nice while it was steeping, way too grassy or harsh. It did not pass to the liquor though! Magic. Tea is really not obvious.
Added to shopping list! I’d better try at least 20g of this because you make it sound so good!
I hope you experience even half the joy that I got out of this tea if you end up getting some! Even if you don’t, I felt like it was an eye-opener to try a Yunnan; it has a quirky taste profile :)