Yunnan Sourcing

I am reviewing the Spring 2012 harvest.

This is one of the few Yunnan blacks that I will gladly steep Western when in a hurry, and is a favorite when working at my desk in the afternoon.

I use 4 grams to 236 ml of 190 F water at 1/2/3/4 minutes, with the last steep reduced to 177 ml. The leaf responds quite well to this treatment. I get aromas of cocoa, honey, malt and occasional hints of vanilla. Although the cocoa does not translate into the cup the sweetness does, especially in the later steeps, accompanied by pleasant citrus notes and a hint of ginger over a medium black tea base. I find myself going “Mmmm” out loud without thinking about it.

Today instead of a hint of citrus I got significant Meyer lemon notes, which was extremely tasty. I’m not sure if it’s because this tea is changing as it ages or if I did something different and did not notice. I’ll pay attention to the next few sessions to see if that is a trend. If so, no complaints!

I’ve already got the spring 2014 harvest on my wish list for my next YS order, and am looking forward to comparing harvests two years apart.

Enjoying more of this interesting tea from Boychik since she sent me such a generous sample :)

Good for when I’m unsure if I am in the mood for black or puerh.

ohhhh, I’m really not the best person to be writing the first note on this tea, haha. Welp, here goes nothing!

First off, thanks very much to boychik for the sample! I’m a moron and forgot to do a rinse before my first steep, which I did in my semi-western style. 1 min steep. I have never had a shu this sweet! I am assuming it is a shu?? I’m not even sure, it tastes so different…no dark woodsy musty notes, but definitely a fermented taste here. There is a faint taste of bamboo shoots…perhaps from the basket?

I’m not sure if this is something I’d want to drink regularly, but I’m enjoying it this morning and just appreciating how DIFFERENT it is. I will be interested to see if the next steeps change much flavor-wise.

i got this with my recent YS order. made this after H&S Queen – Rose Scented combo. Nice, rich, leather, dried fruits and rose very faint. I was sipping and watching Orange is the New Black. One more episode of season2 left. Very intense. its not that funny anymore.

It’s a sample from my recent order fr Angelina’s Tea. This company has top service. They were out of stock of some tea so they refunded the money and gave me lotsa free samples.
This mini tuo is so cute . Doesn’t have a strong smell of rosé which is a plus for me. Very strong floral teas make me sick. It is there on a background complements nicely strong prune and leather notes. I really like Haiwan recipe. Recently I read on tea chat that mini tuo are all gross. The best thing you can do is to flush it down the drain. Politely disagree. Some are very nice and super convenient on the go

Wow, this is something really special and unique. It’s like… fresh cut hay and dried wildflowers, I think. Very strong in both aroma and flavor, and impossibly sweet. Smooth and thick in the mouth, and did i mention sweet? Fresh and crisp yes, but if fresh floral green teas taste like spring, this tastes more like a warm breezy afternoon in mid-summer. Very lovely and powerful.

it is truly Spring in a cup. pale green, sweet nutty and so refreshing. like sugar peas
165F 1tsp 8oz could be brewed many times. Steeped only for 1min. As cools doesnt get bitter.
i’m not green tea person but I love it.

This is a really excellent first flush spring green, super fresh, perfectly smooth, and deliciously sweet. The tea is very tippy (like 2/3 buds) and the dry appearance looks sort of like a Bai Mu Dan, but larger leafed and much much greener. It starts off light, thick, and smooth, with a crisp green sparkling sweetness a bit like a pre-ming dragonwell, and as the leaves unfold in later infusions more of the traditional yunnan green nuttiness comes out. It also seems to last forever, going on and on for way way more infusions than green tea has any right to, even compared to other yunnan greens. A really stunning super fresh spring green and ridiculously good value. The soft fuzzy sweetness that fills and coats the mouth lingers for hours long after the tea is gone.

I got it yesterday from YS US site. It took only 4 days. I’m still awaiting my order fr China which I placed a month ago. Sigh
Anyway this tea is awesome. Never thought, just gave it a shot. The brew is deep red. Wet leaves smell of prunes. The brew tastes like prunes and some leather. It’s smooth and creamy. Yum. I think I should get more of it.
2 rinses 5/10/15/30 etc

-Review
Best I have had to date a little anxious that I accidentally tried my two most expensive cake samples in the last few days, zero smokiness, zero bitterness, zero petrol taste, can not comment on qi or aftertaste as I have a huge caffiene/theanine tolerance and I took flavored fish oil which have their own orange flavored aftertaste lol. Started out herby then sweet like a melon and finally I am getting a mild fruitiness with a slight bite like a meyer lemon or blood orange.

-Take-away
I am finally starting to understand sheng and it’s appeal. Reading something a while back only now just hit me because this tea reminded me of a white tea, something along the lines of "Pu’er starts out tasting like green tea(bitter and astringent just like a green tea would be if you were to throw boiling water on it), later they taste like white tea(slightly fruity with a little astringency, more adept to higher temperatures as technically you can use near boiling water on them), after like an darker oolong (Have not tasted anything this “old” yet), and supposedly finally smooth like a black tea or ripened pu’er(smooth as possible and complex sweet flavors).

This makes sense if you think it existentially and how all types of tea come from one plant so theoretically it is slowly oxidizing itself through the stages of different types of tea. I am pretty jacked on tea at the moment so maybe I am just rambling but whether correct or not I feel a moment of clarity and understanding.

Excuse the simile but this felt like the cadillac of raw Pu Er. I have not had very many raw and sadly this is my “oldest” raw pu er, sad I know but I am still learning. I was so used to super young bitter, smoky, sharp petrol flavor, with a mouth drying after taste but this tea had a heavy mouth feel, it was quenching instead of throat drying, after taste was a little light but had a pleasant sweetness, also the slight smokiness disappeared after the first steeping. I was so cautious because I was used to the super bitter/smoky young sheng that after bracing myself and tasting this tame sheng I upped the steeping times to 30 seconds then a minute then two minutes at which point it of course it got a little bitter but I was stunned a sheng was drinkable with longer than flash steepings.

This is my first youngish sheng and I look forward to trying older and older through the years. This tea had a great qi and a very pleasant soothing brew, it was such a comfort after drinking the fast and hard super young shengs I was accustomed to that felt like a bare bones two seater fun to drive on certain occasions but you feel every bump from hard suspension and not suited for everyday practical driving, this felt like an old caddy boat with the numb suspension and cornering of a semi. An eye opening experience for me and it makes me excited for all like aged samples I have accrued recently.

Great tea but not what I was expecting, it had Mi Lax Xiang for sure but I was expecting more roasted flavor.

I will admit this is my first Mi Lan Xiang but I envisioned it being a roasted flavor with honey overtones instead I got just the honey sweetness. Don’t get me wrong it was pleasant and a great taste I just was not expecting it to be so “light” almost along the lines of a green oolong, in fact all I could think of was similarites between this and the Jin Xuan I tried a few days prior but this had less of the creaminess, body and none of the floralness of that greener oolong.

I will keep tinkering away this is my first interaction with it but maybe letting it go for the full 30 seconds first steeping and increasing from there rather than starting at 15 seconds.

Overall great flavor, high quality just super light and sweeter than I was expecting.

I received this as a sample from Scott in my last YS order. After reading the description, I’m definitely excited about sampling this tea. I begin by breaking apart 5 grams from the sample chunk. I immediately note the number of white silvery buds – very nice. The wet leaves are of a green/yellow colour with some tints of red. There is a smoky, fruity aroma emanating from the beautiful leaves. The resulting soup is of a golden amber colour which turns out to be very clean. I find the prominent feature of this tea is its mouthfeel. It leaves a pleasant dry mouthfeel in the mouth with a subtle sweet hui gan rising up from the throat. For those who enjoy some astringency, this te ais definitely drinkable. However, some may find this tea requires some aging – which, of course, the tea will definitely benefit from. 81/100

I picked this one up when Yunnan Sourcing was having a sale, I believe it was in December, but hadn’t tried it until tonight. So, so, so good. It tasted like Cheerios and chocolate, both in the best ways imaginable. I’m glad I finally tried this tea. It will be difficult not to drink it up fast!

(While searching for when the sale was, I noticed that Yunnan Sourcing sells tea via Amazon??? Has anyone here ever purchased tea from them that way?)

This raw puerh comes from a trade with Tea Explorer.
The dry leave is brown with occasional streaks of green, very compressed like old adobe bricks, with a horse barn aroma that lingers in the sinuses, & I like it.
Warms, the leaf is less barn like & gives of a slightly sweet & marine aroma.
After a couple of rinses, the tea isn’t horsy or barnlike at all, more like fresh bread & greens, but in a subtle way. The leaf opens quickly & becomes a deep green, like steamed Kale.
I’ve been drinking it for awhile now, & its satisfying & smooth, with elements of roasted barley, butter, & light smoke. I used 4 G to a 5oz Yixing, but I think next time I need to up it, as I’d like it to be a little more robust.

Tea Explorer sent me a generous sample of this one! The pieces of brick are very sturdy, like compost that has been pressed & aged, or like those old style adobe bricks, dried in the sun. I put a 4G chunk in my Yixing that is dedicated to shengs, gave it a couple of rinses, & off we go!

I’ve been sipping it for several hours, & I can see why it might go well will yak butter, as it is traditionally served, as it is a more robust but smooth tea, with a nice deep color of those chewy brown caramels you can buy, & a flavor that is smooth & kind of buttery on it’s own, & a little sweet. I’m a little short of Yak Butter, so I’m just drinking it plain. There is a taste to it that almost reminds me of roasted barley, & a light smoke. That’s all I’ve got for now!

2nd sipdown of the day, this one was a generous share from Tea Explorer.
Delicious with malt & the essence of honey.

I warmed up my 4oz teapot & dropped 5G of this tea into it, just to let the leaf warm up, & I was rewarded with the aroma of milk chocolate & honey!
Then I steeped it for 15/30/45/60 seconds, etc & every cup was delicious, starting with cream & honey, then malto-meal & honey. Thanks to Tea Explorer for sharing this one with me!

I agree with the vendor description on this. It is the most “delicate” purple bud tea I have tried. they are mostly very bitter and harsh to drink even with aging.
This tea brews nicely aromatic with a buttery asparagus and slightly wet hay aroma. It is floral and fruity with just the slightest hint of smoke( I actually had a hard time finding this flavor). It has a touch of sweet on the back end and is a very drinkable young tea.
I went through two separate days trying this to be able to give a decent review of it.
It is nice , sweet and fruity florally tasting and a very nice with the butter hints coming in after the second steep. very nice warm and relaxing to drink.
brewing parameters were 12 grams loose tea into a 8 oz. yixing. Short steeps to bring the flavor out nicely.
I actually pushed this one hard with an extended steep to see if it became bitter. It ended up being only slightly bitter on extended steeps.
Nice tea simply said.

One of the best black teas I’ve ever tasted. The dry leaves are a sight to behold: large, wirey and radiantly golden. Smelling the dry leaves, one detects an intoxicating caramel aroma – the sum total of the simultaneous chocolate and floral notes. Tasting the tea, the immediate first note is malty – like fresh bread, but it soon gives way to a lingering floral or honey aroma that stays on the tongue. There is a subtle milk chocolate flavor throughout as well. Smooth, fresh, stimulating and complex. A real winner.

This is another solid black tea from Yunnan Sourcing. Because of how much I love the other one, this pales a bit in comparison. This is still really good, I would be more than happy to have more of this – but not sure I want to buy 50g of it. Decent black tea. I liked it.
Thanks Sil for another good one.