Yunnan Sourcing

Even the rain couldn’t stop me today, to get some of my favorite Sheng and this is one of them.

I’ve been drinking this tea all evening, ever since I got home from the college. I wish I had more to say about it, I’m still sipping it, & all I can say is I like it, & nice Chaqi. There is a little bitter edge, & I’m getting a nice tingle tongue. I’ll say more next time.
3 G X Gaiwan X short steepings 5/10/15/20/etc. I made it to 50!
I’d steep it some more, but I have to leave now!

I love the aroma of this wet leaf! It has a tangy fruity apricot or plum smell, & it also smells kind of like beer, well, more like Hops really. The tea is a lovely brew, very smooth & sweet, a little hoppy, a touch of tang to it, & a shiny kind of feeling in the mouth, like polished stone or maybe metal. That was around steep 5 or 6.

I’m maybe at steeping number 11 or so now. I’m working on creating promo materials for my upcoming annual birthday gig, & kind of lost track of the count, but I just keep going back for more. Now it’s a light buttery creamy mushroom broth, more or less. This really is a nice Sheng, & although in some ways it seems absurd for me to keep buying cakes of puerh, as I already probably have enough tea to last the rest of my life, I still would like to add this one to my collection at some point.

I’m really grateful for Yunnan Sourcing’s sample sizes, as they give you enough to try a tea out several times.

It’s hot in St. Louis. It hasn’t rained in weeks. I just got home from playing at a wedding, & I’m just chilling out, being grateful for air conditioning. I’d like to take a nap, but there are things to do.
So I’m sampling this Sheng. Again, the word “Restorative”, comes to mind. I’m on the 6th or 7th steep, & all I want to do is sit her & breath. Breath & sip. This is another Sheng that is fairly young, but not harsh in any way or form. It’s like the waters of a sweet spring, with a mild sourdough bread to it, a light fruitiness (peach?), a clean mineral taste, a delicate vegetal taste, and a creamy thick sensation.
So soothing, so ‘clean’, like fresh linens.
I changed up my steeping parameters for this one, just kind of following my intuition. I went with 3 Grams of tea in the Gaiwan. The first round of 4 steeps (1st one alone, next 3 combined in a pitcher) was 4/6/8/10. 2nd round 15/20/25/30. 3rd round 35/40/45/50
Now I’m in the later steepings. My tongue is tingling, & I feel like I’m drinking a very creamy mushroom broth. How can something be clean & creamy at the same time, you ask? Only in the world of tea, my friends.
A very nice Sheng!

Looking forward to a quiet day of tea drinking, knitting, & couch potato-ing with Tony.
First thing of the day: sipping tea in bed with our iPads, & a chance to see what my Steepster friends have been up to :)
Next up: breakfast!

There is something comforting about this tea, & it felt good to relax with it this afternoon.
I’m in the middle of 2 things from my to do list:
1 – start a batch of cultured green beans, loaded with garlic & dill. This is slow food at it’s finest, as it will take a month or so before they are ready to eat
2 – start a batch of cultured cucumbers, with pretty much the same flavor profile
I also need to braid a ton of garlic & hang it up in the basement to cure!
AND weed my garden…
AND And and….

I drank a cup of this in bed, & now I’m having it again. My taste buds are wonky, due to allergies, so it’s not quite as delicious & a little more bitter than usual, with a sour quality, but that’s not the tea’s fault. I hate allergies.

Sitting in bed, enjoying a cup of this yumminess. Next on my agenda, some kind of breakfast, or maybe I should call it brunch.
Not much to say about this tea that I haven’t already said.

One of the things I love about Chinese teas is the fact that I can drink most them on an empty stomach, & this one is no exception. I love qimens, I love Yunnans, but there is something about the aroma & taste of Fujians that always causes a voice in my head to whisper, “yes”.

There’s something primordial about them, for me at least, a nurturing nourishing quality.
An invitation: “Savor me”.
I bow to the cup, breath in her fragrance, & sip.

I stayed up late filing a box of samples for my sister, MsWhatsit. There are a few other people I promised tea to (if you’re one of them, you might want to send me a reminder, LOL).
My goal is to get to the post office today, either in the morning or the afternoon, but it’s looking more like afternoon, since I have to be somewhere in an hour. Thus is my life, floating from one activity to another, teacup in hand.

This would be a sipdown, except I already have a refill in the attic (the attic being my bedroom). I love this tea: sweet, malty, slightly floral, a little pepper. The aroma of the dry leaf is hay that’s been trampled a little & warmed by the sun, perhaps along the path at the rennaisance faire. It’s a delicious middle of the staff tea, no heavy bass notes, no shrill instruments, a string quartet of cello, viola, & 2 violins. Smooth & flowing, & easy on the tummy before breakfast.

I love Jin Jun Mei teas. I’ve never met one I didn’t like, I love them all, this one included.

I’m taking a little time for myself this morning. A nice quiet pot of tea. A nice quiet breakfast alone. And now more tea. I love Jin Jun Mei teas. I haven’t counted lately, but I have several in my collection, & whenever I see one, I want to try it. Today I’m giving this one the gongfu treatment, using my little 4oz blue lotus porcelain teapot, which I love so much that it’s become my dedicated black tea gongfu pot. I have separate yixings for roasty oolongs, shengs, & shus, & had planned on getting one for blacks, but for now at least, I’ve decided not to. This little teapot is the epitome of beauty, at least in my mind. The lotuses on it are so perfectly done that I want them tattooed on my arm. LOL.

So…5G in 10 second intervals (10,20,30, etc)
I’m at a minute right now. A lovely malty cup, in some ways similar to the Golden monkey I just drank, with it’s ‘middle’ flavor. Not bassy or shrill, but so soothing. Malty, rich, & sweet, but with a slight floral taste & a little bit of a peppery bite at the end of the sip.

Time to move into action. I have to leave in 2 hours for a wedding in Lebanon, IL. It’s a gorgeous sunny winter day!

I’ve really enjoyed my teas from Yunnan Sourcing, & this one is no exception.
I also have a love of Jin jun mei, & again, this one is no exception. It’s a sweet, malty, & savory cup, with a nice thickness to the tongue, a ‘buttered toast’ taste to it, & the bee pollen texture that I love. It also makes my mouth water nicely. I’m smiling!

I’ve been enjoying this final tasty malty cup. Now I need to load up to go play a gig, a christmas concert at the library.
BTW, I know this is shameless self promotion, but if you are a fan of Holidaze music & lullabies, with elements of new age, classical, & jazz, stop by my website & check out my Christmas CD, MidWinter’s Canon. CDs also make great gifts!
http://harpsinger.net/Terri_Langerak/Midwinters_Canon.html

I am a fan of Fujian Blacks, especially Jin Jun Mei.
That’s all I can say right now. I’m suppose to be working on my NaNoWriMo project, which I’m painfully behind on…

Yum!
Yeah, I’ve realized that I love Fujian Blacks (& Oolongs).
This is thick, malty, a little peppery, & I love it!
’nuf said.

Last week I went on the Yunnan Sourcing website. I’ve been haunting that site for awhile, reading about the various Puerhs they offer, but on this particular evening I was looking for something interesting to share with the ‘Babes’ (BBBB). Since we’re all lovers of the dark side, we’ve more or less committed our box to mostly unflavored black teas, along with some puerh, so I had been checking out their black tea offerings, & I knew which ones I wanted. I started filling out my shopping cart, of course I was only gonna get 2 teas, but then I saw this. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a Jin Jun Mei, & what can I say? Rich malty goodness, a little sweet, a little peppery. Anyone who has read my post over the last 2 days knows that I went a little overboard in the ordering department, but all the teas I ordered sounded SO GOOD, and they ARE! I still have 2 sheng samples to try out, but I’ve been pleased with my order, AND it didn’t break the bank either!
So now I have enough tea to share with my Black Box Buddies for the next couple of months!

My new friend Scott sent me a sample of this with my order. I drank many many steepings all evening. Before I started I was pretty drowsy, but that changed nicely. The dry aroma was so soothing, the tea itself was so restorative. I used to prefer Shu over sheng, but now I love them both.

Thank you Scott!

Always a pleasure to unwrap this brick. Heavily compressed, rough cut; black as coal, but still an elegant taste. Dehong tea factory, definitely, knows how to make a good Pu Erh.

Dark, complex tea. Gong fu style, 10gr, 1 minute, etc. Eskimos love it. Me too.

Enjoying multiple steeping of this beloved tea this morning. I keep thinking I’m going out in the garden, & overtime I set foot outside, it starts raining. Then when I come in it stops. LOL
This tea is kind of like LB, but without the bean taste.

This is one of those teas where the first couple of sips don’t seem like much, but every subsequent sip adds a layer of flavor & texture, until your mouth is thick with roasted barley, molasses, & chocolate. It’s awesome & it’s delicious. It’s like LB, only without the beans taste. I love it.

Still delicious! (see previous reviews if you’re looking for one)
This morning this tea came with me into the city to the school, where I visited with the awesome new principal, & I got to select my classroom: I actually get a real classroom! Previously, it was a closet & we had to drag the harps out onto the stage to practice), & my classroom has windows! I never had those before! And shelves, & everything (such as electrical outlet for teapot…).
So it looks like I’m actually really doing this! I’ve been self-employed, living the pajama lifestyle, for years, so it will take some adjustment, but it’s only Mon, Wed, & Fri, and I’m actually kind of excited.
Tomorrow I have to go to a meeting, Friday I get to set up my classroom (I’ve never actually done that before).
Monday school starts!

I woke up early & immediately started getting ready for my trip. Last night I stayed up & started 2 crocks of cultured cucumbers (think “awesome garlic dills, the old sour kind”), & a crock of cultured dilly beans (same recipe, using green beans instead of cucumbers).

Today I have a lot to do, & so far I’ve lined up my clothes for packing, watered all of the houseplants, & enjoyed 2 steepings of this tea! It’s time to get back to work, & to pick out another tea to drink :)