Yunnan Sourcing

(Spring 2023)

(Spring 2023)

(Spring 2023)

(Spring 2023) Very pretty.

(Spring 2023)

(Spring 2023)

(Spring 2023 Harvest)

Spring 2023: A good amount of smoke, some grassiness, strong chestnut notes, and a broth-like feel to this tea. Savory and thick. Quite a bit different from most of the other Yunnan green teas I have sampled on my recent order from Yunnan Sourcing due to the smoke, but it isn’t overbearing or offensive in any way. In fact, the smoke is a contributor to the savory qualities of the tea and can give the impression of bacon or similar flavors. Not my favorite of the bunch, but definitely another nice and worthwhile Yunnan green tea.

Spring 2023: Keemun black tea is a touchstone for me, as it is the first style of tea that I really fell in love with. Over the years I have tried various grades, and I really haven’t found any Keemuns that I don’t like. I’m always looking forward to a cup of this old standby.

In this offering from Yunnan Sourcing, I find that rose is the most prominent note, with some oakiness to back it up, and some hints of dark chocolate. Not super complex, but rather the tea seems more refined, clear, and clean – probably reflective of its higher grade. There is also an oily texture to the tea, which coats the mouth and lingers.

Prepared in my Jian Shui gaiwan, and served in my porcelain tea cup via my glass cha hai. Filtered Santa Monica municipal water just off the boil throughout.

Dry leaf is brightly aromatic with notes of stone fruit, melon, wildflowers, and alfalfa. The brewed tea evinces the same elements but with more subtlety. Hints of chocolate and malt as well.

Tawny to Titian Red liquor depending on steep times.

Flavor is gently vegetal/savory with malt and grass intermingling. Blind, I’m not sure I could identify this as a black tea as there are flavors that bring to mind white or even green tea as well. Delicate and complex with a grainy/grassy finish. Hints of fresh water chestnuts and wood ear. If pushed, more dark chocolate flavors emerge, but at the cost of bitterness and a touch of astringency/sourness.

Quite energizing – caffeine made me break up the session over a couple mornings.

Unique but at this price I won’t pick up a cake.

[Spring 2023 harvest]

I am not very fond of this vintage. It has a decent aroma, similar to the previous ones. However, the flat taste is not so pleasant overall. The tea is a bit sour and has some dryness to it that rubs me the wrong way. In any case, as a tea to dring with breakfast it is still fine.

Backlog and Sipdown

I noted in my log over the weekend that this was a good “fresh, green, vibrant, & sweet” tea. I noted that based on the price of the cake, currently, I’d probably avoid buying more than the 25g. I don’t mind the rare money drop on a single cake, but it has to be worth it.

Walnut bread, decaying acorns and leaves, very woody and dark. This shou has a phantom sweetness when you first sip, like white chocolate, but then it’s immediately gone and the flavor is aged wood, raw walnuts in the shell, oak vanillins, and lake water. Muted in the mid-palate, but silky and round with a playful, light saltiness. The wet leaf aroma is sweet old wood, like antique Amish furniture, or an old, worn, wooden rowboat.

Spring 2023: Very similar in taste to the Wild Tree Purple Moonlight White Tea from Jinggu, but I find less of the cannabis notes here. Both are incredible teas. Here you have apricot/grape and sometimes Darjeeling-like fruitiness and lychee florals, set against a cannabis-like bitterness which is intriguing. Pleasant lingering aftertaste.

Spring 2023 harvest: Intensely malty. Whole wheat crackers, very little sweetness. Strong aroma of Wheat Thins, sun dried tomato, bitter boiled roses, and a hint of cigar. The vegetal / floral bitterness fades away after a few steeps, leaving a very nice cocoa cookie / chocolate graham cracker flavor that lasts through several steeps and lingers on the tongue. Love the appearance: silky black and gold pellets covered in bud dust / hairs. Great quality for the price.

Spring 2023: Another wonderful green tea from YS! Dry leaf fragrance is awesome, smells almost like an apple pie. Complex flavor with apple sweetness, but also hints of herbs and cinammon, florals, cooked veggies, and a buttery texture. Only drawback is it seems to have a really drying effect on my mouth, so probably wouldn’t pick this to drink every day.

Nice aroma and good flavours, but ultimately this tea lack something special to stand out for me. It has a flleting taste with a good hoppy bitterness and nut much sweetness. However, one can find sour, woody, nutty, malty, bready, fruity, floral and even smoky qualities.

Spring 2023: Lovely winey black tea. Not unlike a good Keemun, with perhaps less orchid/rose florals and with more cinnamon notes. Very fruity with plum and dark grape notes, hints of chocolate, and buttery texture. Yes, this one is a joy to drink!

Spring 2023: Wow, this one has an “Indian spice” scent to the dry leaf/brewed tea – maybe like a garam masala? Has sauteed onions flavor, some oakiness, and a few herbal/spicy notes that come through into the flavor. Also a bit of pleasant grassiness, not too rough. It is nice enough, but not sure if I would seek it out again.