Yunnan Sourcing

I tried this one yesterday as it seemed like the lightest tea in the BBBB and it was after 5pm. I enjoyed it. Didn’t love it. Most Yunnans are kind of just ok for me. It didn’t have the deepness that some of them (zhu rong) have, but it was still ok. I’ll try it gongfu next time and see if I can wrangle up some more complexity out of it. Thanks Terri Harplady!

Young potential. Very articulate aroma, not too smoky for me, strong cha qi.

Pretty yummy green oolong, very light and super floral, pretty similar to a green tieguanyin though missing good TGY’s great butteryness (instead it’s got a bit of a fuzzyish texture). It’s a LOT closer to the modern green end of the oolong spectrum than I was expecting from the pictures, I do enjoy the super green floral ones, but they’re not my favorite. It’s also impressively tightly rolled, the tiny little balls each unroll into whole intact bud systems with several large leaves and stems.

Most people have never tasted Yak Butter Tea made with REAL Yak milk, myself included. So I was very interested when my Steepster friend ‘Roughage’ (who lives in England) sent me a notice that Yunnan Sourcing had just added a salty and sweet versions of real Yak Butter Tea! We had discussed the real taste before, because he had some on a visit to China.
One problem for me is that Yunnan Sourcing has huge shipping costs.
There is however, a Yunnan Sourcing US website that’s way less expensive to order from, so I checked to see if the new tea was available there.

No

I emailed a note…and received a prompt reply from Scott Wilson:

OK… I will eventually offer it on the US site. Thanks for your feedback!
- Scott

Hooray!!

No review of Yak Butter tea on Steepster yet, but an encouraging note that a vendor is willing to supply customers with the tea they want to drink because we ask. This is good to remember.

If you’re in Europe, these two varieties are available now, sweet and salty, for $6.50 a box U.S. Let us know if you try it!

I’ll be waiting for a note from Yunnan U.S. when it’s available!

Wanted to update this tea. I bought 250g and have been drinking this at work every day having a break on the weekend to taste my samples. I have refined my setup a bit by using the Hamilton Beach Kettle and using less water to steep the tea, just barely covering the leaves as they unfurl in the Teavana Perfect II. This is a a super buttery vegetal TGY that will be missed when gone.

Received this mid week with the Xue Ju Shu Pu and the Imperial Mojiang Golden Bud both 2013. Two yixing pots also came with my order and pictures will follow once I’ve broken them in. I’ve never tried an autumn TGY before but I’ve read that they are not as delicate as the spring but then again neither am I.
Being midweek I could not wait till the weekend to enjoy this gongfu style, it had to be done at work. I used my Teavana Perfect TeaMaker. This device has served me well in the past, but I was hesitant to use it because it is usually red teas that I drink at work and I was afraid of lingering aromas and tastes. I cleaned it out as best as I could and hoped for the best.
The tea comes in individual 7gm foil packets, so into the TeaMaker it went and had a quick first rinse. I waited 2 minutes before I did my 1ststp to let the leave open a little.
1ststp was with 300ml @ 185 degrees for 30 seconds. The aroma when I opened the lid was amazing, the usual tea smells but this one has a pronounced boiled artichoke bloom. The taste is again just as described not as light as the spring tea but more structured with the gardenia and honeysuckle.
2ndstp was for 20 seconds and the mother load was delivered. Just as an artichoke gives you that faint sweetness as an after taste this tea too has the same effect on me. The florals are more pronounced and it borders on a near perfect tea (perfect I’m sure in my new yixing, oh I can’t wait).
3rd through 6thstp were same in comparison just a slight bit less nuanced. Adding 5 seconds to each steep.
7th through 10th, yes 10, were just as pleasing. I stopped there for lunch and I’m sure I could get even more out of these leaves.
The leaves themselves are still bright green all uniform in size unfurled in there splendor, not a ragged one in the bunch or any stem or broken pieces. Hats of to Yunnan Sourcing for this beautiful tea.

Rainy day today. Sipping on some pu erh in the morning somehow makes it all better. Its quite smooth, light and crisp, dark amber liquor but lacks in flavor and aroma. I taste some creamy notes there but still I was expecting a bit more.

Very Nice :)

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…