Yunnan Fancy

A friend of mine has a wife who works at Peet’s Coffee & Tea. And she gets a free tin of coffee or tea every week or two! And yes, I was the lucky beneficiary this time!

I am very glad to have another Yunnan black around…so far, while my black tea experience is limited, I haven’t found another kind of black tea I like better. And of course, the more golden tips, the better. If you like black tea, do yourself a favor and try one from Yunnan.

My first experience with Dian Hong was from Life in Teacup (Golden Buds) then Rishi (Golden Needle). As far as this kind of tea goes, I think I’ve been ruined by those. As smooth, floral, and enjoyable as Peet’s version is, it just doesn’t compare to the others.
It isn’t as rich, spiced, or as sweet, and has a slight edge of astringency that the others did not.

Having said that, this is an excellent every-day tea and I’ll enjoy it every time. And who can complain about getting free tea?! :-)

I wanted to pick some of this up last time I visited Peet’s. I finally did this time around.

Leaf Quality
The tea has a very high tippy concentration. Some leaves were completely golden, while others only had golden traces on them. The dry leaves smelled chocolaty, and like muscatel. The steeped leaves smelled leathery, like muscatel, and almost woody. The golden tips transformed into a dark brown.

Brewed Tea
The brewed tea was a dark coppery brown. It smelled buttery, slightly sweet, and slightly malty. It smelled very good. It tasted slightly smokey, malty, and brisk.

This tea was delicious. I wouldn’t use it as a breakfast tea, though. It was not as brisk as a breakfast tea. This tea would be good in the afternoons, or before lunch.

Sweet and moderately heavy in the mouth, It’s fruity (I taste Persimmon’s) and malty with a hint of muscatel grape, when it cools there is defiantly a woody spice. It has a little bit of an astringent end. Very good tea at only $8.45 a tin! Killer morning tea.

I like this tea. It doesn’t blow my mind, but it is a solid tasting tea.

The dry leaves are a bit on the short side, but they have a nice golden down and there are a decent number of golden tips. The wet leaves open up nicely, with a faintly sweet smell that hints at spiciness with a deep earthy quality. Actually, I would identify it as the smell of wet leaves (wonder why?). :)

The liquor is a bright reddish-brown, and is fairly transparent. Its aroma matches the wet leaves. The taste is smooth and earthy, like a light pu-erh. The first note is fairly subtle, just good water with a little bit of the tannic tea flavor. In the middle notes, I almost taste some green tea flavor, like Dragon’s Well, for 1/2 a moment, before the tannic and strong black tea flavor pulls though. It is heavy-bodied and earthy, tasting almost like dirt or, again, wet leaves after a fresh rain. The aftertaste is a bit astringent, but not too much. I might have left it steeping too long (I’m at work and I wasn’t paying attention), but the water was cooler…

No milk, no sugar; I think they would ruin this tea. Overall, I like it, and I would rank this tea for intermediates and connoisseurs.

Solid, lovely tea! Delicious brightness, smooth on tongue, pleasant dry finish. Don’t be fooled by the lower end price, this is one of the best teas you can pick up at Peet’s.

An absolutely splendid breakfast tea. Full bodied and naturally sweet, with just the slightest astringency. Smells like Autumn leaves, cedar with notes of malt and sweet dates.