Yunnan Golden Tips

I was really lookiing forward to tasting this tea. Upon opening this sample, I see multi- hued, tippy leaves that smelled oh so naturally sweet, with a chocolatey, maltiness. Steeped using info below the wet leaves smelled of woods— like acorns & fresh autumn leaves, with a light earthiness….just amazing! Even wet, I could see different brown hues in the leaves.The cup color was a lighter honey brown, and the aroma was honey sweet, with a mild earthiness in the background. I let the cup cool before tasting, and was rewarded with amazing honey sweetness on the tongue. After swirling the tea in my mouth, I tasted mild earth notes with oak like woods on the back of the tongue and aftertaste. Such a delicious and tasteful cup!

Steeping a second cup for 5 minutes resulted in a slightly darker cup, with more earthy aromatics in the leaves and cup, while still smelling honey sweet to lesser degree. The taste was more earthy, with the honeyed sweetness more in the background. The wood notes noted in the first cup were now slightly noticeable (if at all).

As you can see, this is a visually stunning tea consisting of the full leaf and buds. Aromatics and flavors are great…changing with different steep times! A fantastic tea all around!! With one more cup in my sample, I’ll enjoy it later today, with plans of a bigger purchase in the near future. :))

Cupped & Reviewed: Friday, December 16, 2011.

2 heaping tsp for 16 oz

A very smooth tea, but doesn’t have the characteristic Yunnan flavor I’ve come to expect from a tippy Yunnan black. The Teavivre I have is a much better example.

Been trying to sip this down by mixing with Tangerine Tuxedo.

A decent enough combination that I’ll likely be able to finish this eventually.

Very nice tea. Some chocolate in the aroma, but translates more to a maple syrup-like flavor and sweetness, which is better in my opinion. Comes through nice and strong with a full black tea flavor but no bitterness. This would be a excellent choice for a breakfast tea for those who don’t add milk or sugar. Impressive quality in the tea leaves, but maybe lacking a bit in complexity. Also, the fine little “hairs” from the leaves are abundant and even make their way through my t-sac paper filters. If you leave a pot of this tea sitting, it will rapidly grow darker likely due to these fine particles. Luckily this darker brew is still sweet, pleasant, and drinkable but the flavor noticeably alters. Maybe it is best to brew this by the cup. In either scenario, the fine particles are not noticeable when drinking. No mouthful of leaves or anything like that.

Pretty standard Yunnan Black. Nothing too interesting, nor offensive. Quite round, with a lot of Chocolate notes. Bit of an earthy finish.

Made up a cup of this after digging through my cupboard for inspiration. :) It had to be a hot-steeping tea due to me automatically setting the kettle for 95C. This one caught my eye, as I’ve had it for coughcough and it was sitting there unopened.

It’s pretty good. It’s better (more flavourful) than the Yunnans I’ve picked up locally, although it definitely leans towards astringency. I do like it, with the honey baked sweet malty flavours, but I’m unsure I’d pick up more of this one. I think I prefer the Taiwan Assams, because they mix my favourite (Assams!) with the honey baked sweet flavours.

Still, I am enjoying this mug and I’ll happily resteep it and finish up the sample.

(~2.5 tsp in 16 oz)

SIPDOWN! (103)

Meh, returning to this tea after trying many Yunnans over the past couple (few?) weeks and finding it sub-par. I have clearly been ruined by all of those lovely tippy, golden Yunnan teas I’ve ordered and received (all Nicole’s fault). This just can’t compare. It’s very harsh and somewhat bitter compared to what I’m now used to. I’m not really getting honey, just strong malt and “tea” taste. I tried this one yesterday with the 1/2/4 steep method and while it was improved, it was nowhere near my new favorites…

Oh no… I’m a snob!

Okay. So so.

This tea has a nice, soft and sweet aroma. The taste is a little toasty with a sweet finish and brisk aftertaste. I doubt you would need any milk or sugar to appreciate this tea. It is not as bold in body as I usually like but it does have a complex enough character to occupy your taste buds for awhile with each sip. This is not a tea for the budget-conscious, but it is worth a taste.