Yunnan

This is my last teaspoon of leaves from the Tiger. It’s very bittersweet, literally and figuratively! That chewy smoky sweet flavor is so delicious, and I am going to miss it. I feel like I’m chewing on a caramel candy. Harney & Sons, in their tea book, says Yunnan teas are (and I paraphrase) the happy but poor cousin tea (to the Keemun aristocrat tea) so I imagine it as a caramel that you could have found in the neighborhood corner store in the 1940s (with all the high fructose corn syrup you just don’t get good common candy anymore. I probably am one of the few people here who was old enough to still have the corner candy store where you could bring pennies and nickels and get little brown paper bags of sweets – this was in the 70s – I’m not sure if they were filled with HFCS but I do know from my grandparents that they did not taste the same as in the 40s and 50s (you see, not only candy but the whole world went to hell in the 60s as far as they were concerned, but I digress!)

I’m lightening up my choices for the spring and summer, but once Fall rolls around, I’m going to be experimenting with some other Yunnan teas to see if I can find one I like as much as this guy!!!! Suggestions appreciated!

Second infusion: Even sweeter and lighter caramel tea goodness. Just a hint of smoky chewy. Very enjoyable, but it’s the first infusion that knocks my socks off!

Farewell Tiger!!! Ricky – I will love you forever for sending this to me!!!!!

I have a test today so I had to wake up the TIGER!!!

I brewed my first steep nice and strong for 5 minutes, and gave Mr. Kitty Cat some milk and sugar. Puuuuuuurrrrrr! Full bodied…tangy!! what is that smokychewy tangy yummy taste? and pepper! Gosh I love this tea! I intellectually know it’s strong (it kept my husband up all night the evening we had it) but it tastes so smooth! I’ve had teas that make your eyes pop (in a good way…like River Shannon) but this is just like buttah – I would equate it to something like limoncello – it’s pure vodka but the lemon infusion and keeping it in the freezer makes it so smooth going down that the next thing you know you drank 4 glasses and you’re babbling nonsense on Thanksgiving with a house full of your family and you still need to serve dessert and (whoops!)!!

Ahem! Anyway!

Second steep: 6 min. Another reason I love this tea is that it is a black tea that stands up to another steep quite beautifully, and the second steep is different but just as good as the first! The only other tea I’ve had that does that is Jackee Muntz (go A+D!). This one is even smoother, less pepper, but so sweet and rich.

Love, love, love this tea!!!

I’m gonna be so sad when this sample is gone. I wish I had caved and gotten this tea when I had the chance. It’s so deliciously nommy. This morning I wanted something nicely stout to wake me up but not too aggressive so I reached for this one. Mmm. Matches exactly what I was looking for. I added a splash of half & half to my cup since I really didn’t want anything mean this morning and it made it just a hair smoother which was, again, exactly what I was looking for. See, if coffee were like this – strong, stout, fragrant, tasty and manly without being so acidic – I could totally get into coffee. ♥

Whoa Tiger, was this tea GREAT today!

I wanted to use my pale blue pottery mug yesterday morning, which holds 12oz instead of 8oz, and I wanted more tea. I used 1.5 tsp of tea and steeped for 15 seconds longer, not wanting my tea to be weak. It was strongly Yunnan, crisply tannic, and finished smoky sweet.

As I was composing my tealog in my head while I drank (don’t laugh! I KNOW I’m not the only one on here who does that. In fact, I bet there are more than a few.), I used a complimentary word to describe how great the Tiger ending up being yesterday. And now I can’t remember the word and it’s bugging me. It was highly complimentary, more than something that would mean really good, and not a word I’d give lightly to a tea. Something around the level of stunning. It began with a D, possibly a DE, and for some reason I’m thinking reminded me of something British. It was not delicious, delightful, or divine. Argh! And my writing of the tealog got interrupted twice, by the husband and the phone respectively. Argh!

At 7pm yesterday, it was too late in the day to be having a black tea. But I needed one so I had one anyways. It’s been a tired week so I thought the boldness of the Tiger might stand up well to some local honey and it sounded comforting. The honey came through nicely but it totally muted the essential Tigerness of the tea. Hence, I think this is not the best combination. Though, I did enjoy drinking it. I gave my husband the second steep when he woke up before going on night shift.

In other exciting tea news in my world, I am cold brewing for the first time! I’ve been thinking about doing it for awhile now, but have been unsure what teas would make a good cold brew. I’m also not a huge iced tea fan. I decided on a Lemon Sencha that I only had two servings left of.

I think flavored greens might cold brew nicely. I think flavored blacks would too, but I don’t have many of those. I have mostly plain blacks and I think the nuances of nice black loose leaf teas would be lost in cold brewing them. Ditto for plain oolongs and whites. I don’t know, for some reason, it just seems like flavored teas/tisanes would be better for cold brewing than plain ones.

Anyways, the Lemon Sencha. I only had a small bit left and it is not a tea I like a whole lot so if it doesn’t turn out well, I won’t feel like I wasted a yummy tea. If it does, I’ll be more inclined to try cold brewing teas I like more.

It went in the fridge at 7pm. I’ll check it when I wake up in the morning and see when it needs to be tried again. I’m curious if one resteeps the same leaves when cold brewing? It seems like it would be a one-time thing and I should try to get the most flavor out of the leaves without it going bitter.

Yesterday morning I had Tiger with breakfast – an English muffin with butter. It came out very strong. I drank the second steep right after the first. Mid-morning I had a smoothie to use up very ripe fruit – plain yogurt, peach, strawberry, blueberry, and spinach. It was one of the better smoothies I’ve made lately.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

^{Standard ceramic mug = 10 oz. One rounded teaspoon.}

I was planning on 52 Tea’s Black Current Bai Mu Dan as my mid-day tea today. I’ve been wanting it for a few days but it and I keep missing each other.

I ended up having a late lunch of Indian leftovers from last night and wanted something that could stand up to their spiciness and be tasty with them. I’m finding the Tiger to be a great all purpose tea. Good with food, good without. Good in the morning, good at in the middle of the day. It’s pretty much all Tiger all the time, sometimes. =)

2nd steep: 5 min.

When it’s got to be good and it’s got to be strong (cause you can’t seem to wake up), it’s got to be the Tiger. A bit less water, a bit more leaf. Strong, but not bitter, goodness. I had to hurry and get out of the apartment to get some time dependent errand done so I didn’t get to resteep, which I badly wanted to, and it was too late in the evening by the time I got home to.

Cravings for a specific tea don’t usually occur often for me. Normally, I’ll want a cup of tea, maybe I’ll have an idea of what type of tea, and then I’ll go to my tea cupboard, look at the teas, and pick one or peruse until one makes its need to be drank known. The past three days, not only did I want tea but I wanted a certain tea. First, the odd urge to try a jasmine tea despite my mistaken belief that I wouldn’t like a floral tea, then Dragonwell saying drink me now and lots of me, to today’s Yunnan calling. I could not resist. But who can, when such a handsome tea makes his intentions know?

I steeped for 15 sec less again today, making that 30 sec less than the recommended steep time, and I think I’ve found my ideal time for this tea. Smoky but not too smoky, strong but not bitter, and all around enjoyable, sure to lead to increased drinking.

On Saturday at Earth Fare, I splurged on some tea purchases looking to lay in some tisanes for evening consumption. I got two Earth Fare blends on sale, Cold Season Tea and Red Wellness, and a berry tisane from Two Leaves and a Bud. I also got brave and brought a Puerh, Numi’s chocolate one. It had a coupon on it, and who can resist four boxes of sale tea? I need to lower the top shelve in the tea cupboard to convert it to housing for tea, which will make one and two-thirds shelves in the cupboard for tea.

Backlogging. Three days ago.

Tuh-Tuh-Tuh-TIGER! yeah.

No resteep. Too hot for more tea, then too late in the day.

Sometimes you just know you want the Tiger. Yesterday, it was a day for the Tiger. Strong and bold. Two good cups.

2nd steep: 5 min 15 sec.

Backlogging.

Tiger, did you think I’d forgotten about you for Thomas? I actually drank this later in the day cause I really needed to wake up.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

Backlogging.

Used as the fresh leaf added to the second steeping of my EG and Ceylon combo tea.

Backlogging. Last Thursday morning.

When isn’t the Tiger a good idea? (Okay, maybe not at 11pm.)

It seems like it’s been quite awhile since I’ve had any Tiger, though I think I had some last week. Either way, today’s mug was pure comforting, strong, yumminess. Again, using a more correct amount of leave for water, the Tiger had more taste without necessarily being stronger/more steeped tasting.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.
To my husband. ♥

^{All the standard ceramic mugs = 10oz. One rounded teaspoon.}

The breakfast mug of tea backlog. Yesterday.

It’s the Tiger. It’s just that good. One needs no reason to pick the Tiger. No resteep, but I wanted one.

Second half of the pair of my back-to-back same tea days. I did consider going Earl Gray briefly. It was a bit watery today. I didn’t realized that the mug I used was much bigger than mugs I normally use, which is what I think did it.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

Backlogging
Shared a pot of Yunnan with the husband and takeout Indian chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, and baingan bhartha. The Yunnan stood up to the strong flavors and spiciness of the food and still tasted smokey. 2nd steep: 5 min.

Backlogging. Tuesday morning.

The Tiger needs no reason. Okay, he’s what I usually drink in the morning if I don’t know what I want. My tin is definitely at the half full point or less now. =( Currently, I think the Tiger is my favorite of all the A&D teas.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

Backlogging. Last Tuesday morning.

Second steep. A mug of my usual half A&D’s EG and half A&D’s Ceylon was good, if a bit boring. I decided to kick it up a notch by using the Tiger as my fresh leaf addition. It was surprising SO GOOD.

Since I didn’t get as much Tiger as I’d have liked yesterday, today was another Tiger morning. Two yummy steeps while I was barely awake.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

Backlogging. Monday morning.
After my rushed cup of the Tiger the previous morning, I need to repeat and enjoy. It was just what I wanted. I got to drink the 2nd steep, with Tupelo honey. I liked it better without the honey.

2nd steep: 5 min.

Backlogging.

Added to my second steep of EG and Ceylon to give it some oomph.

Backlogging.

Just to try something different, I added this as my bit of fresh leaf to a second steep of A&D’s Ceylon. It was unmemorable.

Backlogging.

Moar Tiger. Plain and simple.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

I tried slightly more leaf and a bit longer steep time this morning looking for the stunning Tiger I had yesterday in my larger mug. Alas, I did not find him. But it was the same good old Tiger I know and love. I think whenever that mug is not in the dishwasher and I am looking to drink more tea in the morning, I shall devote it to the Tiger.

2nd steep: 5 min 15 sec. 205° F.

From getting up through my morning routine and feeding the cats to tea making time, I could not decided between Jackee, Thomas, and the Tiger. I opened my cupboard and the Tiger was dominating the forward teascape. So he went into my cup. Bold and enjoyable as usual. Lots of stuff going on so not as much an a sit-down-and-enjoy-the-tea-straight-though drinking experience.

Before tealogging the Tiger, I was skimming tealogs I hadn’t read on his page and came across takgoti’s on lower steeping times for blacks, which I tend to prefer too. She’s steeping her Tiger lower than I am so I intend to try lowering the steep time next time I have him. After the second steep of him this afternoon, that is.

I wanted to try the Yunnan again today even though I was quite unsure of how it would go with breakfast. It went surprisingly well. I wasn’t able to really taste this cup as well as the previous ones due to some slight nasal-throat things I have going on due to the cold dry weather and heat running a lot. Don’t worry, I haven’t gotten sick.

Backlogging.

Tiger. ROAR.

2nd steep: 5 min.

Backlogging.

What? Again? Yeah. Again.

2nd steep: 5 min.

Damn it, I’ve accumulated a backlog again. At first it was only 3-4 teas, now it’s up to about 10. Okay, must slog through getting these tealogs done. =D

What’s not the love about the Tiger? I’ve been steeping him slightly stonger lately.

2nd steep: 6 min.

Backlogging. Friday morning.

Strong and delicious as always!

2nd steep: 5 min.

Backlogging. Sunday morning.
Running late to Mother’s Day brunch, I had to have a cup of tea before I left the house. I remember the cup being brisk and strong, which was just what I needed. Sadly, I did not get to steep the leaves a 2nd time.

Backlogging.

Tiger. Again.

Thus completes my backlog.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

Backlogging. Thursday morning. (This is the end of the very long backlog that has kept piling on itself as I tried to work my way through it.)

Mixed with equal parts of Ceylon and EG in hopes of recapturing an earlier tea blend full of deliciousness. It did not quite work as well.

Backlogging.

Last Tuesday was Tiger Tuesday. =)

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

I brewed up some Tiger yesterday morning cause I wanted to see how he’d take to milk. The answer is well enough. He is good with milk but probably better without. This was not the surprising yum that Jackee was with milk. I drank the 2nd steep without milk.

2nd steep: 5 min, 200° F.

Again, a cup of Yunnan around noon. I seem to be drinking my tea in pairs. I’ll drink the same tea for two days, then another tea for two days. Today’s Yunnan didn’t seem as smokey as it has previously. Am I getting used to the smokey? The smokey was still there but it wasn’t the okay-this-is-smokey it had been before.

Backlogging. Wednesday morning.

Mixed half A&D’s EG and half the Tiger. It was okay but not enough to resteep.

I had a lovely cup of Yunnan at around noon today. It was just what I wanted and expect it to be. I had thought I’d have Thomas, but I changed my mind on the way to the cupboard. I am thinking about making the 2nd steep of the leaves with a bit of milk before bed.

Steeped my second cup of Yunnan with dinner (southwest chicken bake, broccoli, and couscous). Less smokey, less bite, less strong. More goodness continuing on to another cup. I hope to try one of the new bagged tisanes tonight.

Yesterday afternoon I drank my 2nd steep of the Tiger. The Tiger tasted just like a nice black tea this time. He was good but not great with that usually Tiger magic. I think it may have been my stuffed up allergies.

2nd steep.

Ah, yum. I was cleaning out the tea cupboard today, and found I’m down to my last few cups of dear old Tiger. So today, I’m going to savor the heck out of this tea and then say goodbye.

yum….

Gosh. We have fleas. Or rather the kittens have fleas. Not many, I think, but I have seen a number of live ones. Killed them on sight, of course, but the thing about fleas is they jump. And when they’ve jumped, they’re gone.

Have therefore been on a super-detailed hoovering mission in the lounge and in my room. When the boyfriend comes home, he will find himself nagged into doing his room as well. Under the furniture. Not just around it. Every nook and cranny and all the cracks between the floor boards. Kittens acted kind of like if getting rid of them involved that sort of racket for hours on end, they would rather prefer the fleas, thank you.

I’ll do the rest of the house tomorrow and am considering a second dose of Frontline even if it hasn’t been four weeks yet since the last one…

I’m knackered now. What better in this situation than a tea that says GRAWRRRRR!!!!
I have even deliberately steeped it twice as long as I normally would have, and it does indeed both roar and growl.

Funnily enough, getting twice the steep has made it change character altoghether. Where’s the hay? Yunnans always taste heavily of hay, so why is the hay suddenly missing?

It’s drier now, more wood-y than hay-y, and it reminds me a bit of dark chocolate and not-too-strong coffee. It has never done that before. I think I quite prefer it this way.

(I’ll trade you all the fleas we’ve got for one piece of dark chocolate.)

Goodmorning Steepsterites

I’m having the second steep of this this morning, having had the first last night (where it helped me to churn out 700+ words, yay! I know I have other writerly types among my Steepsterites, some published, some just writing for the drawer like me, but 700 words is a LOT for me. As is 500 which was my goal). I didn’t pay too much attention to it last night, I just wanted something forceful, sort of, while I was writing. If I’m determined to get something done, I need to have a tea that matches.

This morning, however, I’m having a cup full of honey and pricklyness. At the first sip I get a whole lot of the pepper-y prickly note. I have almost completely decided to give in to it being pepper, primarily, rather than smoke, although I do think there’s an undertone of smoke to it.

Once you get past the prickly pepperness, it’s so smooth and sweet as if there’s honey in it. It’s actually very nice on the second steep. Perhaps it’s because I wasn’t paying attention to the first steep at all, but right now it seems to me that the second is superior to the first.

Another tea I’m at the end of. I really appreciate it that Ricky was willing to part with some of his stash when I missed out on ordering this limited edition tea. Thanks man! :D

I had this tea with milk – maybe a bit too much milk as if took away some of the spicy notes. It did lessen the bitterness that comes with most black teas and it sweetened the flavour a little bit. I got a rather mild resteep out of the leaves (@5:30) that tasted more like a light Ceylon than a Yunnan, so I’d only call this tea ‘okay’ for multiple steeps.

I experimenting with steeping this tea a little more than normal and the result is a strong, stiff cuppa. My brain keeps describing it as a ‘dense’ tea. There’s a cocoa-like bitterness, that’s just on the verge of being unpleasent, so steeping this tea any longer would probably have nasty consequences.

I made two cups of this tea – the second steeping turned out to be rather tanic, but still good. I agree with my previous post that state that I thought there were spicy notes but not peppery notes. The spice is a sweet spice, not a savory spice – so the mysterious pepper notes elude me yet again! ;)

I try to live my life with no regrets, that being said, I regret not having purchased this tea. I love this tea! Ricky thank you so much! I have experimented with a few different infusion times, so bare with me.

The tea leaves smell delicious, slightly sweetened, smokey, with a slight earthy note. The first time I had it I did a strong brew. Hot, no additives, five minutes. The liquor is very dark, brassy color. The tea tasted smokey and earthy up front, which mellowed into a sweeter, richer tea. Absolutely delicious.

I was able to get three more infusions out of this spoonful of tea. Brew times lessened to keep similar flavor without a burnt, overdone flavor. 4 minutes. 3 minutes. 3 minutes. 2.5 minutes. The liquor color remained roughly the same, the flavors did not intensify or stifle out, each infusion had a new balance of flavor. There was shifting in the front-runner flavor between the smokey and the earthy, but it was always followed by the sweet, strong mouth-feel of the caramel note.

I decided I would write my rating today, so one more spoonful, three more infusions.

First infusion, hot, no additives, 3 minutes. Though the tea is still rich, the earthy flavor is lesser and the smokey flavor is a little more prevalent with a lesser brew time. This alteration in flavor does not hinder the sweet caramel flavor that this tea follows up with. The second infusion (3 minutes) I think added a little more of the earthy-ness and less of the smokey (in comparison to the previous infusion of these leaves). The final infusion (3 minutes) yielded a taste sensation similar to the first time I had it with a five minute infusion: balanced smokey and earthy notes with a sweet rich tea with a stronger mouth-feel than expected.

I have one more spoonful left, I am saving it for a special occasion. Again, Ricky, I cannot fully express my gratitude, thank you, this tea was fantastic!

This is the last of it. I was lucky to get it in the first place, but it will be missed. Back to Adagio’s version. Looking forward to more from Andrews & Dunham soon!

Hooray for bold, wild tea on a chaotic day!

I’m disappointed in myself for drinking this up over the winter, it makes a wonderful iced tea.

Made a pitcher of iced Yunnan. Interesting, but not as good as hot Yunnan. It has a sort of tangy/sweet taste, but there’s also a sort of dry bitterness.

I tried this iced. It’s interesting. Much more bitter than I expected, but not too bitter or unpleasant.

Probably not a good idea to drink a thermos full after 6pm, unless you abhor sleeping.

I stupidly decided to see what this would taste like if I made it a little strong, so I preceded to make a strong thermos full and drink it between 6 and 8. Consequently I did not sleep very well. It seems, however, that it does get a little bitter but overall the taste remains constant.