Yunnan Golden Silk

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Not available
Sold in
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Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by takgoti
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 1 min, 45 sec

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3 Tasting Notes View all

  • ““This was a triumph. I’m making a note here: huge success.” [Name the song and the reference will make more sense.] Right. I’m going to skip the “I’M SO SORRY IT’S BEEN SO LONG”s because I feel...” Read full tasting note
    93
  • “Woke up this morning to dense fog blanketing the apartment complex and much of San Diego, I surmise. But, (never thought I’d be saying this, especially after living seven years in San...” Read full tasting note
    91

From Halcyon Tea

A very fine black tea handcrafted from the golden leaf buds of a revered Yunnan varietal. Hand-gathered, soft and supple with a dry aroma of rich chocolate and tobacco. Golden red in the cup with a mild peppery sweetness and silky mouthfeel.

Time: 1–2 minutes (multiple infusions)

Temp: 195–205° Amount: 1 tbs / 5 oz. water

Prepare In: gaiwan

About Halcyon Tea View company

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3 Tasting Notes

93
260 tasting notes

“This was a triumph. I’m making a note here: huge success.”

[Name the song and the reference will make more sense.]

Right. I’m going to skip the “I’M SO SORRY IT’S BEEN SO LONG”s because I feel like I’ve done that a lot and, you know what? I’m not sorry. I’m not sorry at all. I didn’t miss any of you, I hope you all over-steep your tea, and also, your mom sucks.

No, I’m kidding. I’ve missed you all and I’m sure your mom is a very sweet lady. I do feel badly about being so absent on Steepster. Small life update: I’ve been working and trying to do everything I’ve meant to do for the 26 years I’ve been in Virginia but haven’t gotten around to doing because there is a high possibility I will be moving across the country to San Diego at the end of this year.

I am currently visiting San Diego, which brings us to why I found myself sprinting through the rain [I picked the perfect, overcast, rainy four days to stay, apparently] to duck into Halcyon Tea. Yelp reviews had spoken extremely highly of it and I decided to check it out. Unfortunately, the rain that has been dousing San Diego has led to lots of hydroplaning and a nasty traffic jam on the way down [also apparently, it doesn’t rain much in San Diego]. By the time that I got there I only had time to buy a few different kinds of tea to try later, instead of sit down with a hot cup and a book, before I had to dash off to a prior commitment.

Later tonight, as I found myself sitting in my hotel room with the latest installment of Professor Layton and the new Linkin Park album in my ears, the shiny silver sealed bags glinted softly at me. Calling, as only bags filled with tea can call. You all understand, I trust. I had to crack one open and try it. Except…small problem.

No kettle. No proper cup. No gaiwan or straining utility. So, instead of packing the bags away and ignoring the whispering, whiny voice telling me that I needed to drink some tea [like a normal person], I decided that I did, in fact, need to drink some tea.

Some might say that my impatience is a problem. I say that the real problem is that is seems as though bags of tea speak to me.

I decided it was time to MacGyver the situation. Luckily, I have a microwave in the room, so I poured some filtered bottled water into one of those plastic-wrapped plastic cups the hotels always give you and heated it for about a minute. Once it was hot enough to cause physical pain, I let it cool a second or seven and tipped some tea into it, whirling it into the water with a coffee stirrer I found on the bathroom counter. [In a display of rampant drinkism, the hotel has provided a coffee maker, but no means to make a good cup of tea. That being said, it’s a decent enough hotel and the staff are very nice and accommodating, so yadda, yadda, yadda, pick your battles.] As the tea steeped, I searched wildly for a method to separate the leaves from the liquid. Taking the cup to the sink, I unwrapped two more plastic cups [the wastefulness of this situation is not lost on me, but in my defense, 1. I was desperate; 2. I used the cups two more times to resteep; and 3. I was desperate] and awkwardly used one to filter the tea whilst pouring the tea into the other.

Maybe it’s because it’s rainy and cold and I came back cold and tired, but regardless of the unconventional means it was made, this tea was lovely. Sweet with a little hint of that signature Yunnan kick of pepper, a mellow note of malt, rich in flavor, and absolutely delicious. I’d write more about it, but it’s been a long day, my brain thinks it’s 230 AM right now, and I have an indisputable need for a hot bath before I go to sleep. If nothing else, it has made me more excited to see what I can get out of this when I’m back home with all my tea paraphernalia. I’m leaving the rating off for now, but I can tell you it’s likely to be high.

On a related note, I have made tea with bottled water before with little success – it typically leaves a lot to be desired in the flavor department. However, I can now say that VOSS water does the trick, though it’s a bit expensive. [Yes, I will cop to being a water snob.]

Hey, Joey Roth, want to design a collapsible, travel-safe gaiwan? I would love you long time.

And now, it’s time for that bath. Peace out, Steepsterites!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Angrboda

It was great to see you around again. Please to not disappear. :D

Dan

I love reading your tasting notes. Please try to not disappear for so long next time. And yes I did over steep my tea this morning.

LENA

YAY! I have missed reading your posts! (I’m a big fan of VOSS water too. Love the round glass bottle.) Enjoy the rest of your time in San Diego.

Brian

The new Professor Layton game is indeed amazing, sadly my brain is addicted to Super Scribblenauts for now XD

Harfatum

Have you seen the trailer for the new Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright game? My students must have wondered why I started uncontrollably grinning while proctoring their exam!

sophistre

Holy cheese, it’s a takgoti.

takgoti

@Angrboda Hallo! I will certainly try my best!

@Dan Thanks so much! I definitely plan to try and rein in my Steepster disappearances, but as the holiday season approaches…well, those of you who work retail [or have in the past] know that this may not be feasible. My life will not be my own shortly. Sorry to hear about your over-steepage!

@LENA And I missed YOU, Lena dearest. My rental car has this red uplight thing in the cup holders and I must say that my bottle of VOSS looked rather sharp sitting in it this evening. Also, I have absolutely used VOSS bottles as vases. I have three sitting on my window sill at home, in fact. THE MULTIPURPOSENESS EXCUSES THE EXPENSE.

@Brian How is that? I heard the first one still needed some massaging in terms of how it ended up playing out, so I didn’t bother picking it up. I haven’t looked into this new one, though.

@Harfatum Noooo, but that sounds BRILLIANT. I’ll have to track it down once I hop off Steepster.

@sophistre Great meatballs! It is!

Brian

It is pretty awesome, I loved the first one but I will agree, it had a couple quirks. This one is epic in the fact that you can use adjectives to change whatever you make (i.e, fat duck, or “vampiric robot zombie :D” ). I would definitely pick it up!

takgoti

Oooh. Hmm. I may need to procure a copy of that when I get home.

Harfatum

Super Scribblenauts is awesome. Ghostly mermaids, pregnant cars, friendly Satan, teenage mutant shelled ninjas, winged bathtubs… the puzzles and controls are better too.

takgoti

@Harfatum Argh. Between you and Brian, it has been decided. Getting it. Donezo.

@Auggy ♥♥♥

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91
4 tasting notes

Woke up this morning to dense fog blanketing the apartment complex and much of San Diego, I surmise. But, (never thought I’d be saying this, especially after living seven years in San Francisco/Daly City) I kind of like it. I guess, when you live somewhere outside of San Diego that actually HAS weather, you start to appreciate a change in climes.

Decided to brew up/finish off the last bit of Yunnan Golden Silk today. It makes me sad to see the bottom of the bag, but at least I know a trip to the tea shop is in my immediate future. Anyway, the tea leaf itself appears luxurious – you can see the down on the leaves…and they’re gold, man. GOLD. The leaves smell earthy, savory, and kind of like tobacco. I brewed up the tea at just under boiling this time and the liquor of the tea was a deep, dark chocolate brown. Its taste is congruent with its aroma. It is not heavy bodied, rather easy to drink actually and has a bit of a peppery bite. It also tastes a bit sweet/malty and finishes round, fresh, and with a tiny bit of astringency.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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