Yunnan Sourcing

I really liked this one. Brewed up strong, earthy, and and almost sticky sweet, but with a bite to it. It does get milder as it goes, but is enjoyable the whole time.

This was an interesting tea to try. The first cup was warm and earthy, with an almost grassy hint and slightly sweet. With more brews, the sweetness dissipates to an after thought, and the grassy notes also fade. Some bitterness starts to appear, but is not overpowering (but I imagine you could over brew this one!)
All in all, a good tea and a fun first “real” puerh to try!

So this time, I didn’t “choose” a tea out of my Terri box. Tonight, I just put my hand in it and grabbed one the zillion bags that’s in there. Abracadabra! This one showed up.

Yay, my first Yunnan Sourcing tea ever! I’ve heard so many good things about their teas, my mouth is watering!

Oh, oh, is this one of those medium bodied sweet Yunnan I am so fond of?

But, uh, wait…this also reminds me of Oriental Beauty Oolong! I’m confused, this feels like a fusion of the two.

Whatever this is, (I obviously know nothing about it), it is absolutely scrumptious!

Just like Oriental Beauty, I get super sweet honey notes, with a floral finish and that little je ne sais quoi I always find in OB that resemble muscatel but is not.

Though it reminds me of OB, it’s clearly not cause it’s very chocolaty, something you just don’t find in OB.

It’s so aromatic and tasty.

Such a beautiful tea, right up my alley, and the good news is I have enough for another cup, maybe two!!

Thank you so much Terri , another hit :-)

A while back I e-mailed my long lost brother Scott at Yunnan Sourcing asking him for some recommendations. This Shou is one that he suggested. The color of the soup is a deep mahogany that borderlines on red wine. The best way to describe the taste is a sweet and earthy combination. I really liked the “Hui Run” which the website refers to as “the sweet, slippery and soothing feeling that lingers in the mouth and throat even after the tea drinking session has ended.” I tend to like my Shou pu’er a little more earthy, but I will definitely enjoy drinking this excellent Shou. This would be a great tea for someone who is new pu’er teas and might be afraid of being overwhelmed be a really earthy tasting Shou. Also, at $27 for 357g, I almost feel like I stole it!!!!

Working this one up tonight.
After reading the vendor description I think I am ready to go. I picked off 9 grams and broke out the Yixing for this one. dry leaf looks nice and there is no “heavy” compression on this one which means it will age faster. A 5 second rinse and an almost damp hay aroma to it. First steep 10 seconds and it brews a nice darker yellow brew. It has a bit of an edge to it without being too harsh. It has a light floral semi-sweet note that coats the mouth and tongue with some viscosity to it. It does bring for a sweet honey plum note at the end. I still think it has room to grow but should turn out well.

Good morning steepster!
I hope everyone is enjoying this 3 day weekend. I’ve been knitting on a project that I’d like to complete for fall, Tony & I have been watching a mix of Cardinals baseball & Penny Dreadful, we’re enjoying good food, and of course tea :)
I’m even starting the morning with a sipdown! This is an interesting tea, fruity, tart even, with a lingering after aroma that feels oolong-like. It’s not a favorite, but enjoyable nonetheless.

A nice contrast to the bolder teas I’ve been drinking this morning, this cup is more on the sweet & fruity side of things.

This is a sweet cup, not particularly bold, but tasty nonetheless. It reminds me of some of the taiwanese blacks I’ve had, with it’s sweet aroma & juiciness, but flavor-wise, it has a lighter kind of taste, with a clarity to it. It’s more of an afternoon tea, with a smooth tanginess & a fruity aftertaste reminiscent of lychee that lingers on.

I thought perhaps that this high mountain red & whispering pines ailaoshan red were the same tea, so yesterday I made a cup of each (thanks to a sample from our dear TeaFairy) & attempted to drink them side by side. But I was also trying to fix breakfast in between painting sessions, operating on very little sleep, & honestly, l didn’t do a very good job of comparing the 2, although I know I enjoyed both cups. They do look very similar, both dry & steeped, although I think the whispering pine version might be a little thicker & sweeter, & I have enough of both to try again when things slow down a bit.

So for this tea: I’m still working out the steeping parameters I prefer. I tried it using 1 tsp + 8oz X 3min, & it was nice, but a little thin. So I tried the same parameters, using 1 Tb of tea, & that was much more satisfying. I’ve been outside a lot painting, & so allergies are muting my tastes a bit, but it’s a very pleasant cup with a sweet fruity taste. More of an afternoon tea, not particularly bold, or thick, & it has a kind of crystal clear quality to it .
What does that mean?
Heck, I don’t know…kind of like the water from a sweet spring, I guess.
little terri told me to say it.
Now her & Ms Theresa are laughing, like it’s some kind of private joke.

Today’s first GOD (green of the day) was Yunnan Sourcing Premium Mao Feng. The liquor was peachy green. I noticed that the infused leaves look a lot like yellow tea leaves—lighter greenish yellow in color. They smell more like Mao Feng, however, logically enough. The taste is classic Mao Feng—not over cooked but lightly steamed vegetables. Looking forward to the second infusion…

Today I was craving Mao Feng, so I decided to brew up a small tetsubin of this selection from Yunnan Sourcing. It is good! I’m finding that texture is as important as taste with many green teas… This one is smooth and silky.

My very first order from Yunnan Sourcing arrived, and among the enticing items was a big bag of Premium Mao Feng from 2012. The price was slashed—I presume because it is now two years old—but I am happy to report that the dried leaves are still extremely fragrant and beautiful, with tons of light and shadows produced by the impressive silver tips!

The liquor is pale peachy green and tastes smooth and satisfying—a fine example of this genre of tea and not old-tasting in the least!

(Blazing New Rating #74)

Another Shou Menghai snob alert. I had never heard of a Cha Tou which is “a kind of tea nugget that forms naturally from the pressures of compression and heat that occurs during the fermentation process”. My interest was peaked so I ordered a 250g brick. For $22, this tea is a steal!!! The soup is a beautiful mahogany color. The taste is not only a wonderful earthy flavor that is a joy to the taste buds, it stays with you long after you have drunk the tea. This is another very consistent tea. I am on steeping six and it really does taste like the first steeping. Shou, Menghai, delicious, I see a trend here.

Another lovely tea from Terri :D

Had another crazy busy weekend! Back at work now and very glad for strong teas to drink…

This one I did a real long steep on…OMG SO rich and dark and cocoa-licious. No astringency. It reminds me of Laoshan Black without the creamy/beany element. Very tasty! Hoping I can get a 2nd and maybe 3rd steep despite my long first steep :)

Thanks Terri!

This was the free sample Yunnan Sourcing put in. Quite a substantial sample! Thank you Yunnan Sourcing!

The leaves are long spindly and grey. A smell almost like Bi Lo chun but very muted. I brewed at 185F for 2 min. Very light, nutty with a fruity mouth feel and scent. A wonderful tea but there was only a slight bitter edge to it. For the second infusion, I only steeped 1 min but the second steep was a bit too weak. Some of the fruity scent was not too prominent in the second cup. Overall a great tea

This is quite a visually appealing tea appearing assilvery corkscrews of downy white tea that has occasional sneak previews of the spruce green blades thee leaves would of been if they had been allowed to fully open. The tea is beautiful to look at while brewing especially during the first few steeps while the tea is unwinding and the leaves appear to be dancing in the liquid while shimmering as though reflecting light.

The dry leaf smells of light roasted/ smoke insence note from processing, cucumber, something sweet and honey like, perhaps a white peach tone, and clover.

The first steep yielded a pale green tinged broth that had a strong floral scent of gardenia mixed with rose, and a light green scent llike sweet pea sprouts, a soft fruity plum like sweetness lay underneath.

It tasted of a green floral, over sweet plum with hint of roasted notes and a reference to sprouted sweet greens.aftertaste is a lingering sweet honey note. The flavour is light but pleasant. As it cools the green cool floral note mixes with a bit of cucumber with the more rounded sweetness remaining muted underneath.

The next two steeps were brighter and more intense with the plum tone more intense and the floral scent heading to freesia, the green sprout note and honey were still present.

The flavour was of freesia, clover, light pea sprout, cucumber, light plum, and had a more delicate sweetness. They were very floral, and slightly spicy on the tongue. There was a slightly thicker broth that developed more creaminess. Once again sweetness intensified in the aftertaste.

At 100s. the broth took on more of a yellow tone. The scent reminded me a little of a sunscreen I’ve had with freesia and a cooler green orchid, over plum, and a cream note. It was soft and floral with a touch of sweetness.

The flavour was of green sprouts, cucumber a faint hint of freesia and sweet plum.

The following steeps consisted of a blend of fading cool floral notes, cucumber and plum, with the introduction and then rapid loss of an artichoke note. By the last steep the flavour was quite faint and was more of an impression.

The finished leaves are thickened straightened buds.

This is a tea that may be appreciated by lovers of green floral Oolong’s, as it has a similar bite in the mouth and a lasting lingering floral taste.

Thanks boychik this tea is certainly beautiful to look at and I quite enjoyed it.

Tried this one out today. After a quick rinse did a 10 sec steep and added a bit more for the next steeps. I could definitely smell hay and honey from this tea. I could taste mushroomy notes with a honey sweetness and it didn’t fade much with each infusion. It was a pleasant cup but after 4 infusions I was tired of the tea and wanted a change. I put the leaves aside to see if I can do a steep on them tomorrow.

Today I tried the spring harvest of this tea using short steeps and boiling water, covering the bottom of my 150ml Gaiwan with leaves. My timings were 15,20,40,65,100,120s.

This is the spring harvest of this tea and I am not sure whether the differences I found in flavour are the result of using different techniques or a different season.

I found that this time the cocoa notes were intensified over my previous tasting. The fruit notes found were longan and blackcurrant. Cashew butter and cream notes were also present. The caramel notes were present but not as distinct and I did not find the grainy notes of the last steeping. I’ll have to try my longer steeps and lower temperatures to do a true comparison with the previous season, but I did really enjoy it this way.