Golden Buds Yunnan Black

I have received this in a swap with BTVSGal. This is my first offering from Asha. It’s everything you would expect from a good golden Yunnan. A little malty, a little starchy like fresh cut french fries. It’s quite good.

The dry leaves are beautiful and look very fresh. I never measure anything. A bit in my palm. This looks like enough. Into the basket. I do not time either. If it smells nice and the liquor is appealing it’s done. This is an interesting brew. Very smooth. An interesting earthy aroma and flavor. It’s a nice opener today. I did brew it longer than usual. A nice buzz too. It makes the body and mind feel very nice….

This morning I’m trying the sample of Yunnan Golden Buds tea that Asha Tea generously included with my order. Brewing it gongfu style in my gaiwan, and have had three infusions so far. I consider the Yunnan golden needle teas, along with Laoshan black, to be the height of black tea for me. This sample from Asha is quite good! Perfectly smooth, as I would expect from a budset black tea. Mouth-feel is light and soft. Really a pleasure to drink.

But what makes this Golden Buds different and interesting for me is that it is a much more savory experience in fragrance and flavor than the other golden needle teas I’ve tried. I think Asha’s short flavor description is completely on the mark. This tea has a fragrance and flavor very reminiscent of good cooked mushrooms. Its taste expands through salty and peppery territory in a rather pleasant way. The fact that I’m a big fan of mushrooms probably helps me appreciate this tea a lot.

The savoriness of this tea surprised me a little bit, because I’m used to golden needle teas that have a much sweeter profile. This one is an interesting departure from that. It’s a very pleasant and worthwhile Yunnan golden needle tea, but not the best one I’ve tried. I would probably most often go for a sweeter one over this if a choice was necessary, but that’s just because I’m in the mood for sweeter teas more frequently.

I won’t rate this, but I thought it would be amusing to note that SOMEHOW when I brewed this up (western) it smelled exactly like cow manuer. I kid you not. It was amazing and revolting at the same time.

Don’t ask me how.

Wow..very nice. The dry leaf smelled sweet and malty to me. The taste did not change there. There was a depth of earthy sweetness to finish it off. This is probably the best Yunnan I have had so far. The dry leaf said it all before I even took a sip.

The second steep was even better….:)
This was also one of the 4 samples that they included.