Yunnan Sourcing

2023 version of this cake: Wow, this is a dead ringer for the “Natural Redhead” black tea from white2tea that I recently tried. Or maybe Natural Redhead is a dead ringer for this tea, as I think the Yunnan Sourcing version may have been produced first?

I think now I have a pretty good guess as to where Natural Redhead is sourced from.

My description of Natural Redhead included: “This is a lovely winey black tea, not very malty at all, but with deep red wine flavors and wonderful perfumy rose-floral notes,” and “Kind of like a Yunnan version of Keemun black tea, a favorite of mine.” Those same notes hold up for this tea here.

This is a superb shou. While not extremely complex or aromatic, it is very tasty and has a remarkably thick, bubbly and buttery texture.

The taste is bitter, woody and earthy with notes of coffee, cocoa beans, nuts, rice, and a hint of mint.

Today’s hongcha selection!

I generally like Qimen, and this is no exception. It definitely has a heft to it not found in the other teas I’ve been drinking, but it also has smooth and sweet bread and honey notes. Such a nice mix of that rich and strong malty undertone with the softer notes to round off the edges a bit. Just a touch of syrupy dried fruit, like golden raisins or figs, along with a gentle, nectarous floral note near the end of the sip. The description mentions chocolate, which I am not noticing, but I don’t miss it with the lovely honey notes.

Definitely the heftiest, and most breakfasty of the hongcha I’ve tried so far, which makes sense for a Qimen. It’s interesting to try all of these different teas each day, and see where similarities and differences exist!

(Spring 2025 harvest)

Hongcha of the day.

I am not a dancong lover, so I never would have chosen this tea to order. Which is part of the fun of getting a curated sampler! I will say, I do find it strange that they would include a more unusual tea like this one in their “intro” sampler, since I would expect that to be more about getting to know the different famous hongcha types. But it works out for me, since I am already well-acquainted. :)

Anyway, I like this better than I expected, as it’s not quite as floral as I generally find dancong. It has an interesting mix of sweet and savory, light and intense. There is a malty, chewy bread quality alongside an intense, slightly biting mineral note. These give way to tangy fruit (guava?) and sweet potato, along with subtle notes of floral nectar. Honestly I’m finding this one a bit difficult to describe, as there is a lot going on. But I’m enjoying it!

(Spring 2025 harvest)

This is quite different from the rest of the selections in the sampler, the dry leaf looks similar to a loose leaf shou puerh to me. Very large, twisty leaves in a variety of mid-to-deep browns and a matte, dusty appearance. And it makes sense, given this leaf is apparently generally used for puerh production.

The taste does have some similarities to shou as well. It’s very earthy and smooth, though not as concentrated and rich as puerh. It has a bit of that barnyard hay thing going on. Definitely a grounding tea, with a somewhat astringent finish. I do taste some notes of tangy apricot near the end of the sip, which linger on my tongue.

It’s not something I would order for myself, but I’m still enjoying it and it’s fun to have some variety in my hongcha selection.

(Spring 2025 harvest)

Hongcha again! I always feel intimidated by “competition grade” and nonpareil teas and rarely buy them, but this was included in my sampler so here we are. This is a pure bud tea, and the inside of the pouch was densely coated in tiny golden trichomes.

I feel like I don’t have a good grasp of the difference between jin jun mei and other Fujian teas, like golden monkey. But anyway, this is light and has those nice savory Fujian bread and caraway notes to it, with a soft and smooth texture. The description mentions chocolate and honey, but I don’t notice either of those. Maybe this one just isn’t well-suited to my Western steeping methods.

Anyway, it’s still a tasty tea, but I seem to be missing the subtleties…

(Spring 2025 harvest)

Was a bit nervous about this one, given I’m not generally a fan of very floral teas.

However, I don’t notice even a hint of orchid here. This actually tastes quite similar to the tea I had yesterday – which maybe makes sense, given they’re both from Wuyishan originally. Very sweet, like lightly toasted whole wheat bread smeared with creamed honey and a light dusting of cinnamon. However, I don’t really get the fruity notes with this tea, and it also has a smidge more intensity and bite, especially at the end of the sip. The honey seems a bit darker here, with hints of molasses. No noticeable floral notes to me (other than the honey), maybe if I squint there’s a hint of nectar in the finish? A lot of other reviewers mention the floral aspect, so I guess it’s just me ha ha. Definitely more of a waffle tea to my tastebuds!

Anyway, very pleasant and easy-drinking sweet hongcha. I do prefer the Jiu Qu Hong Mei from yesterday because of the prevalent fruity notes, but will have no trouble sipping this one too. I also have a “Fruit Aroma” zheng shan that I haven’t tried yet, so that will be interesting to compare!

(Spring 2025 harvest)

Hongcha of the day!

Okay, now this tastes like a Taiwanese black to me. Super sweet, dense honey and caramelized sugar with underlying creamy bread and rich dried fruit notes. I can definitely see the plum, although the fruit here also reminds me of plump dried apricots – sweet and tangy and quite concentrated in flavor. Then there are some lovely whole grain bread notes, and a delightfully sweet and lingering honey finish with just a hint of cinnamon. I could even see maple syrup as well. Just a whisper of floral nectar at the end of the sip.

Just lovely! And definitely my kind of black tea.

(Spring 2025 harvest)

Another intro to hongcha sampler tea. This is actually the only golden Yunnan tea in the bunch, so I probably should have picked up another one. Oh well, they tend to offer the pricier, bud-heavy teas in 50g increments on the US website anyway, so I can always grab some others when I run out of this one.

This is nice – not necessarily a fully “gold” tea but definitely very tippy, maybe one leaf per bud? I wish they gave more information in their tea descriptions over at Yunnan Sourcing, something like a bulleted list with specifications like specific origin, harvest date, cultivar, and pluck (just buds, bud and one or two leaves, etc.). But obviously that’s neither here nor there… All that to say, this tastes like it has some leaves in it to me ha ha.

Still quite a light tea, but with a gentle mineral/earthy, malty foundation. Very smooth with those characteristic sweet potato and tangy stonefruit/apricot notes. There is an interesting hint of black pepper in the finish, which lingers nicely. A subtle, clear sweetness like honeysuckle nectar appears at the end of the sip as well.

Not sure I would specifically order this, as generally I would go for one of the pure bud varieties, like the biluochun or mojiang, or I would go for a less tippy Yunnan tea. But I will certainly enjoy drinking through my 25 grams!

(Spring 2025 harvest)

From the intro to hongcha sampler!

It’s been a bit since I’ve had a Laoshan hongcha, I think the last time was Umber from Chroma a few years ago. Who knows how long it’s been since I’ve had it plain. So it was time, ha ha!

This is delightful. Very bready and chewy with that caraway note that I usually associate with Fujian teas. Oodles of malt and grain, and yet it’s not heavy somehow. Very smooth, slightly creamy texture that fills the mouth and feels very satisfying to drink. And, of course, plenty of unsweetened roasted cacao notes, along with a clear, lingering sweetness with a hint of clover nectar. A bit of starchy potato in there somewhere as well, mixed in with the malt. I see they mention yam in the description, but I’m getting more of a standard potato or yuca fry note.

Very enjoyable, satisfying enough for the morning yet light enough for the afternoon. I am curious about the classic version as well, will have to try that one at a later date!

(Spring 2025 harvest)

I recently ordered from Yunnan Sourcing’s US website, and picked up their Intro to Chinese Black Tea sampler along with the fruit aroma zheng shan xiao zhong and this tea. They don’t offer smaller sizes in their more affordable teas on the US website, but I didn’t want to wait for shipping from China, hence the sampler. It includes 10 teas and should be a nice variety for my hongcha-starved cupboard. I figured if I enjoy and drink these regularly, I’ll go ahead and order from their main site to try more teas in 25-50g sizes.

I sprung for the 100g of this tea because it sounded like something I would like, and is described as being processed similarly to Taiwanese blacks. And I can definitely see that, it has that fluffy bread flavor going on with touches of creamy honey, cinnamon, and tangy fruit. However, it’s also reminding me of dancong in that there’s a noticeable floral note that I am not loving, and a slight cannabis flavor. I’m not sure what that specific floral is that I don’t like, but I find it to be characteristic of dancong. It’s almost a bit soapy to my palate?

Anyway, it’s perfectly nice, but I will probably try to rehome at least half of it since 100g is a lot to get through, especially when I find myself suddenly hongcha rich ha ha. So let me know if you’re interested in taking some off my hands (for free)! :)

(Spring 2025 harvest)

I’ve had this sheng cake in 62%RH storage for a few years, and today decided to crack open the now 20-yr-old cake and give it a try! The cake was fairly loose and I could just pull off a pinch without needing my pu-pik. The dry aroma was pleasing with notes of leather and tobacco, and a bit of malt. The appearance of the cake and infusions were just like the photos on the YS website, which I copied to this listing. Steeped Western style, 5g leaf in 8oz boiling alpine spring water serially for 30 s, 45 s, 90 s, and 120 s using a stainless micropore infusion basket. *Wow! this tastes good! With my first cup, this is already among my top raw pu-erhs. No bitterness, no astringency, just sweet and smooth deep flavors of assamica maltiness, leather and autumn leaves, with some tongue-tingling peppery spice. I did not detect any orchid or floral notes in this, but that may be due to my process. There is a bit of dampness on the tongue and nose even in the 4th infusion, probably originating with the Guangdong aging and persisting through my own humid storage. It wasn’t fishy or objectionable, though. Next day I did two more steepings of the leaf, for 3 min and 8 min, and in that final (6th) infusion the tea was noticeably petering out. I look forward to airing this cake out for six months or so, and then having a nice gongfu session to see if I can coax out something reminiscent of orchid flowers, or reveal further complexity. I will recommend and rate this as 88 for now.

It is not a bad tea, but it also did not win me over. It has a light to medium body and aromas of bubblegum, sunflowers, and cut grass.

The first infusion is floral and bitter with a bit of sweetness and overall reminds me of Yunnan green teas. Later ones are warmer and more grainy, savoury. There are flavours of gin, barley, and vegetable broth, among others.

It usually takes me a while to figure out what’s going on with a tea- tasting notes don’t come to me naturally. But when I opened my bag of this tea today, I was hit immediately with a recognizable scent: INTENSE dried cranberries! It remained after steeping too, which also brought out hints of oats and chocolate. It does not blow me away, but it’s a unique, bold, and engaging black tea.

This is Spring 2024.
TTB: I realized, like a dufas, that I have some tea that I forgot to add back into the TTB. There isn’t much left to this sample, though.

Dry Appearance. Glorious. Mainly golden and fuzzy (they call it golden, but honestly, it’s more like a shiny, creamy, golden-brown). Mixed with dark brown. Curling.
Wet Leaf: Less curly, but you can still see the fuzz. Golden chocolate brown.
Flavor: Creamy, woody, yum.
Wet leaf Aroma: Sweet cream, sweet wood, chocolate milk

This one is incredibly smooth. When your friends ask you why you drink loose tea instead of tea bags, this is why.

2005 Changtai “Bu Lang Mountain” Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake. Yunnan Sourcing USA.
The cake is loosely compressed and with only a little prodding 5 g. fell off the cake, enough for steeping. I gave it serial 30 s. infusions in 6 oz. alpine spring water at 195°F. after a 10 s. discarded wash in same. First steep was light amber liquor with soft fragrance of tea, flavors of aged wood, slight astringency and a drying sensation. Second was medium amber with stronger notes of same flavor profile. Some minerality and bitterness along the sides and back of my tongue. A soft, clean petrichor aroma, aftertaste with note of brazil nut and wheat bread and a caffeine kick. Third infusion was the same. For a twist, I turned the Fourth infusion into sweetened iced tea, which was quite tasty. My last infusion, the fifth, was much like the third in color and flavor, even though I’d increased the water to 8 oz., boiling, and steeped for 2 min. This was less tannic and had a smoother mouthfeel. This tea is still relatively young and I’m undecided whether to recommend or not. Overall I found it more of a challenge than a joy to drink, except when sweetened and iced. For now, I’ll only rate it at 50, but revisit in a year and see if it’s improving.

TTB: I have a soft spot for jasmine-scented teas. While I don’t 100% remember if it was Jasmine that started this adventure I absolutely remember drinking a crap ton of it in college. I also like to add a drop of honey to really enunciate the jasmine flavor. Granted, that was with tea bags. With loose teas, especially with this one, I won’t add honey.

Dry Aroma: Jasmine. Jasmine Jasmine. Oh, and a slight barnyard note.
Inital steeping aroma: >_> nail polish
Wet Leaf Aroma:
Flavor: The jasmine flavor is a bit subdued. I wonder if I should have steeped it longer. Arg. Oddly, I’m kind of missing the usual barnyard and summer floral/grasses notes. Either way, it’s a nice light jasmine. It makes you really stop and think about what you are drinking. To find the notes and fully appreciate them.

I made a short version. Trying to determine how I want to do these videos moving forward. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iqa8DmTxov4

Spring 2025 harvest. When I open the pouch, I am hit with a strong floral, fruity smell. It smells amazing. Today, I brewed a large teapot for my husband and I to share. The brewed tea is giving me notes of banana and green grape along with a floral note that tastes like a bouquet of mixed flowers. The tea has a thick-mouth feel, and the flavor lingers after each sip. I will definitely be ordering this again. Wonderful.

Gongfu!

As far as Tian Jian goes, I find this to be a particularly savory one with a very brothy mid sip and really smoky overtones. It’s smooth, though, and surprisingly quite complex with peppered in notes of yeasted bread, petrichor, lichen, and golden apples alongside a general earthiness and umami profile. The finish, especially in the third and fourth steeps, had such a nice and delicate cooling feeling on the palate with hints of wintergreen sweetness to it as well. I am certainly not the most well versed in Tian Jian, but this seems like an especially interesting one to me!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKxgod1S1Bf/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS68rArny7Y&ab_channel=ChineseAmericanBear%E5%8D%8E%E8%A3%94%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E7%86%8A

SIPDOWN
Hard to believe I’ve gone through the entire 250 g pouch of this Premium Qimen Mao Feng black tea but, as another note here mentioned, it’s forgettable. That’s not to say it’s bad, and I rather enjoyed it— but I wasn’t overjoyed by it. My lot was from the Spring 2022 harvest, and now (in June 2025) this is my last session with it, having poured out the final 5 g of leaf into my infusion basket. Past experience has taught me that a single 4 minute western infusion with boiling water yields a strong, muddled, cardboard-y mess, so I dropped the temp a bit and allowed only 30 sec. for each weatern steep.

First steeping was more floral and delicate and not what I sought. Someone mentioned it being a nice cup to keep cozy with, and that’s probably on-target, if I was wanting to get cozy. Second steeping was considerably stronger with a deeper malty base supporting the remaining floral notes. This also had the spicy keemun flavor that I was wanting. Neither astringent nor bitter, and with a pleasing long finish on the tongue and nose. Third infusion had a woodier aroma, probably because my water got away from me, closer to a boil, but there were still some floral notes. Flavorwise, the base notes had weakened considerably and were still ok— not as nice as the second steep! Still no bitter or sourness, and just a bit astringent in the third steep (not mouth-puckering, though!). By the time it had cooled down, the weakness of the third steep became evident and I discarded the last, sad, ounce.

Overall, this tea is almost where I wanted it, relative to my favorite Keemun, just meriting a 75 rating. If there had been more body to the first steeping, it would have been a solid 85. I’d recommend it though, because you won’t remember having sipped it by next week. ;-)