With the growing prices of pu’er, huang pian has been gaining popularity over the past few years. Most western-facing vendors have been focusing on offering much more affordable versions of material coming from highly revered areas and old tree material, but Go Big or Go Home while hailing from Yiwu breaks this trend by being an even more affordable alternative to an already very affordable tea.
I received a free sample of this with an order and now having finished the bag I can say that I’m a fan. As you’d expect from an Yiwu, the tea is sweet, honied, maybe a bit fruity, with perhaps hints of vanilla and a woodiness that appears in the later steeps. Bitterness is virtually nonexistent. Depending on the water you’re using, brewing temperature, how broken your leaf is and how hard you’re pushing the tea, you can start to get some dryness and astringency in the later infusions, but overall the tea is very forgiving to brew.
While simple and easygoing, the tea is not lacking in strength, body or longevity, nor did I find it boring. I think for the price Go Big or Go Home performs really well; better than many teas costing several times more that I’ve tried. Ultimately a daily drinker as you’d expect, but I liked it enough to buy two bricks as presents.
Flavors: Drying, Fruity, Honey, Sweet, Vanilla, Wood
