Yunnan Sourcing

I need to be a bit more careful when I brew this tea. Usually when I short steep a black tea, I try and estimate 2 tsp of leaves into a gaiwan or small teapot. But this black tea is very compact, and 1 tsp of leaves totally fills up my purion teapot.

Moving onto the tasting notes;
Nothing really stood out too much flavourwise. It’s very malty, earthy, Yunnan-y(?). The tea liquor comes out pretty dark for a short steep, but it’s not too dark or heavy for me to enjoy in the summer.
Initially it seems pretty standard, but I don’t mind that at all.

100ml purion teapot, 1 tsp, 6 short steeps

(Going to hold off rating this until I try it a few more times)

Tea of the afternoon……

This was one of three free samples that came along with my gaiwan and cups…..all pu’erhs. I guess it is time to get my feet wet on these. Dry it smells pretty good. Earthy, but not in a scary way. (Yes, this is the review of a pu’erh novice, so you might not really want to put a whole lot of stock in my review if this is your usual type of tea…) I rinsed the leaves first, and then brewed for about 30 seconds. This really reminds me of coffee. It is a little more earthy than coffee, but far from the dirt taste I remember from my first experience with a tuo cha. I am thinking the right tools to enjoy this will make the difference. I am not saying pu’erh is something I will reach for regularly as I am more an oolong in the gaiwan type, but it is a nice experience. There is something to be said for the short steeps for certain. It helps that the brew is not so thick as attempting to brew this western style.

As for the teaware, I love my little gaiwan and cups from this vendor. Everything was well wrapped and arrived safely. I even asked for a change in color of the cups (my gaiwain is light blue, but rather than matching cups I originally ordered, I asked for the white instead to see colors better..) and Scott was more than accommodating to see that I got what I wanted. I will order there again at some point, but I think I will go for the less expensive shipping. With EMS my order was here in less than a week.

How can this tea be so good at such a young age? It’s like when you meet a young person who is mature beyond her years—an old soul. The first 30-second infusion blew me away with its sweetness and depth. After that the camphor and earthiness emerged to create a truly heady elixir. I probably could have steeped this tea 20 times with little reduction in flavor. I actually saved the leaves over night and started up again in the morning. I’ll most likely buy a brick to drink now and one to age because I doubt I’ll be able to resist chipping away at it.

I was worried that this was getting a little dried out because I don’t have a proper pumidor—just a cardboard box in the cupboard! No reason to worry! This has developed nicely, even though it is exposed to humidity only about 5 months a year. The sweetness has come to dominate the bitterness, which was more prevalent a few years ago. It features spearmint and a little smoke and one of the most amazing examples of huigan I’ve experienced in a pu-erh. I have a high tolerance for the narcotic effects of sheng but I’m finding it hard to type at the moment!

This Sheng is developing nicely. The bitterness is fading and a strong throat feel is emerging along with camphor and mint. It takes a little while to get going but once it gets up to speed it’s hard to stop. Strong buzz from this one.

This tea cake has increased in price 2 and half times since I bought it which indicates how precious this little cake is. It’s a very deceptive, mercurial tea—the first 30 second infusion is sweet and fruity with a touch of camphor and wheat. But then the gloves come off and the tea becomes a powerhouse of flavor (teakwood, grapefruit) and bitterness (in a good way). Even at six years of age, this is a very young and unruly tea that has legs. I don’t think I’ve ever had such an intensely flavorful sheng—now it’s just a matter of seeing how the components come into balance.

Wild, young, bold, and beautiful to look at, after drinking this, I felt like had been given a transfusion of blood from a sixteen year old (or V, for you True Blood fans). This tea is like an incredibly talented young left-handed pitcher who throws 100 mph and only sometimes gets it over the plate. There’s so much flavor and sharpness in this tea and I can’t wait to see how it ages and becomes more disciplined and focused. It will be hard not to chip away at this tea. Early infusions are surely on the bitter side, but that fades in later steepings.

This has been growing on me, maybe because I have begun to appreciate the subtleties of Oolongs over the past year. In any case, this tea has a more syrupy mouth feel than I remember, but the sweetness is nicely balanced by the roasted flavor—a nice complement to the Thai green curry I had for dinner.

I had much better success with this tea steeping it Eastern style in my new little purple clay teapot. The shorter infusions really brought out a nice balance between the chard-like taste and the roasted character.

Maybe it’s my ignorance about the term “medium roast,” but I expected this tea to have more oomph. The second infusion had a little more of a nutty bite, but in general this is a decent, light Tie Guan Yin, but I’ll continue looking for something with a bit more roast.

The finest Yunnan gold bud tea you are likely to taste. The heady combination of caramel, chocolate, and pu-erh-like earthiness floors me every time. Stockpile this tea; Yunnan Sourcing’s prices are shockingly low for this tea.

Smooth and slightly savory. Need to spend more time with this.