Yunnan Golden Buds "Golden Needle"

The husband has given me a cold. I’m dying. No, actually I just wish I was. So with my sinuses going crazy, I need tea. And tissues, but I’m gonna concentrate on the tea here. Not sure if this is the best time to try a new tea but I have enough to try it several times so I’ll live if my first tasting is less than perfect.

The tea smells very tea-like. Go figure. Very Yunnan-like. Again, go figure. But it is a little lighter and sweeter smelling than the typical Yunnan. It’s making me think of buttered raisin bread.

Wow, the taste is very sweet, light and fruity. A lot like the smell actually. Very smooth and with a hint of a prickle of dryness at the end. Obviously a Yunnan and a nice one at that. Not stout enough to be a morning tea but a little too stout to be an evening tea. So we’ll call it an afternoon tea… A very middle of the road Yunnan with Samovar’s Yunnan Golden Bud – light, sweet, airy, almost delicate – at one end and Andrews & Dunham’s S4 Yunnan – stout, a bit rough, sturdy and brisk – at the other. The light sweetness of the taste makes it connected to Samovar’s YGB but the pleasantly prickly end makes it connect to A&D’s Yunnan. So in the middle but with a slight lean towards Samovar (there is more sweetness than prickle). Nice, if a bit undecided.
^2.3g/6oz

Thanks to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea. It’s Awesome!

A delightful golden Yunnan. Sweet, with hints of sweet potato and raisin, just as the description implies. A lighter, crisper Yunnan, very enjoyable. Warming and cozy!

Wow, is this good! I have to thank Shinobi_cha for the recommendation.

Golden Yunnan Buds is not typical of the black teas I normally drink — I typically like heavy, strong, thick, robust blacks. This isn’t delicate, exactly, but it’s not thick or strong or malty. It is exquisitely smooth, sweet, and slightly fruity, without being rich or heavy. Drinking it is such a pleasure; I feel like I’m treating myself to a fine, expensive wine (this is not to say this tea tastes like wine, but it has that “rare, fine” feeling to it). It’s like liquid silk. Sublime.

While it’s not what I’d consider a breakfast tea, or a real strong eye-opener (which is what I’m normally after when I drink a black tea), I could easily drink this every day and not tire of it. It’s that good.

I have to thank Gingko from Life in Teacup, who did a free giveaway of their Yunnan Golden Buds a couple of months ago. Without that, I would never have tried (at least so far) black tea from Yunnan. (I owe Life in Teacup an order…but right now I am waiting because friends of ours from China gave me a lot of TKY [maybe like 200 grams or so]…. I have to wait to drink that up before I can order more Chinese tea).

Rishi had this on sale for 50% off sometime in the last couple of weeks, that, combined with another coupon code, I got this for around $5.20 per ounce (instead of $13.50 or something)! Seemed like a pretty good price to me for a handpicked, ancient tree, Yunnan Gold tea. I am no expert, but that sounds like high quality to me! :-) Plus, I already had it mind to try more Yunnan Gold, so I caved and bought 2oz.

I am happy to say I was/am not disappointed. Even though this (I think) is slightly different than Life in Teacup’s version, it is delicous.
While I can appreciate (or could learn to appreciate) probably most any black tea, I really enjoy the mellow flavor of this one. It is almost fruity, slightly sweet, not astringent or malty at all, nor bitter. The leaves smell almost spiced (cinnamon, baked sweet potatoes?) once they have been infused.

I got 5 infusions the first time (near boiling for 4, 3, 5, 7, and 10 mins), and all of them were good; there was perhaps slightly less flavor in the last two, but still all delicious.

I’m really glad I got this!

Thank you to the Amazing Takgoti for this tea :)

Fruity, fruity, fruity! Very smooth and extremely easy to drink. That being said, perhaps it’s a bit too easy. No chewy, no pepper, no little surprises. It’s a good tea which is very drinkable without any additives. The fruit is really nice. But!! I’m not feeling cartwheels and wonderment. I will enjoy every sip in this little tin, but I don’t think I’ll seek it out for purchase after this sample.

I got very consumed in my work, and my second steep brewed for 10 minutes (!!!) and it was still perfectly drinkable if a little (understandably!) bitter. I will add that this is a very forgiving tea :)

This tea redefines what a smooth, semi-sweet black tea should taste like.

The leaves are a beautiful golden color, and the tea actually turns out a lot darker than you’d expect based on the color of the leaves. Once steeped, there are hints of sweetness in the aroma, though the true flavor really comes out in the first few sips. While not a ‘hit you in the face with flavor’ type tea, the sweet tones and hints of honey and caramel create a subtle yet complex flavor that’s hard to disagree with. With a four minute steep, there is no bitterness, which creates a really smooth flavor that can be savored and enjoyed. The finish is equally enjoyable, with a sweetness that lasts from sip to sip. Definitely a winner that’s worthy of the ‘best black tea’ distinction.

Backlogging from yesterday as I was having steepster issues (seemed it was much slower than usual and I was having problems with my dashboard). Anyhow…this was really wonderful! It’s everything in a Golden Yunnan – Black that I was looking for – the semi-chewy flavor and the leaf style with the ‘needles’ and color was really neat! The aftertaste was almost reminiscent of sweet potato.

Not too shabby. I was a bit hesitant to try this one from Rishi because it smelled so fruity and had golden leaves like so many Yunnan teas do, and I’m definitely an assam lover at heart. But I had to at least TRY it since they claim it to be their ‘best’ black. I added milk and sugar to it and my first smell and taste of the brew was like orange-cream…yummy! Wonderful fruit flavor that definitely is as close to a dreamsicle in a tea that I’ve ever tried! Niiiice. Definitely not a ‘wake me up’ black but a nice smooth mellow orange cream tea for any time of day for me. Thumbs up just not waaaaay up.

I’m very picky about my black teas.
This is one of the best I’ve found!

I just made it and it is super fruity!

Very sweet and light. Unlike some other black teas It is almost impossible to brew this tea bitter, which is great if you’ve forgotten how long you’ve steeped it for. Very low astringency too.

Love love love this tea! Smooth, sweet, fruity with a long flowery finish and aftertaste, beautiful medium amber liquor…absolutely no bitterness or astringency. Very complex. This is a great tea for sipping on its own…if milk or sweetener were added it would just ruin this tea. This tea loves to shine on its own.

I bought this tea from Grey’s tea
http://www.greysteas.co.uk/acatalog/china_teas.html
http://www.greysteas.co.uk/index.html
it’s my favoutite tea to have in the morning