Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea – Golden Tip

Drum-roll please…. I’m back! I had a wonderful vacation in Europe. I even got to try delicious new teas from new places! Reviews coming soon! :) When I got back I found a nice big bag of samples from Teavivre waiting for me! What a great way to end your vacation! Admitedly I am swamped with work but I will make time for tea and Steepster. I missed you all while I was away!

This is the first tea from the samples that I have decided to try. I chose it randomly, and I have to admit that I am a pretty good random chooser (if I may say so myself!)!! hahaha… This tea is delicious! 

The leaves are long and elegant. The dark brown and golden yellow make the leaves a pleasure to look at. The smell is incredible… It is a combination of extreme maltiness a hint of chocolate and a dash of honey. It is a party in your nose! My mouth couldn’t wait to join in!

The scent while brewing is spectacular, an extension of the deliciousness of the dry leaves. Once brewed the used leaves turn true golden and the golden brow liquor that they produce smells of fresh baked chocolate bread! I am in love… Unsweetened I get a tiny bit of welcome bitterness followed by the taste of fresh baked bread with just the right amount of maltiness and a hint of honey to finish of the sip. Wow… Sweetened a chocolate note becomes apparent and it is pleasure in a tea cup. 

The second steep is just as delicious, but not quite as bold in flavor. I find it, surprisingly, a tad bit more astringent than the first, but still delightful.  

This tea makes you double check if it is flavored… I really felt like I was eating freshly baked chocolate bread with honey! 

A great welcome back tea! :)

I’m going to start with a little story. Yesterday, members of my local family (my Momma, Grandma, Aunt), went for Mother’s Day brunch and we had a good time. I passed on the horrible restaurant tea and opted for….wait for it…COFFEE!! Egads! It was bad too-only a little sugar made it tolerable. As the conversations moved along, occasionally, I thought of my good tea at home and my fellow Steepsterites. Then it occurred to me-while I am not a huge fan of Facebook (extremely rarely on), I love Steepster. :)) Steepster IS my Facebook! Then I smiled. :)) I spent the rest of the day with my Momma.

I am sending a huge Thank You to JenW for this delicious sample. :)) Beautiful long and slender leaves that are a combination of colors-some black, some black/beige, while most are a tippy golden beige color. The aroma is terrific, with a sweet honey aroma, and lighter chocolate notes.

The wet leaves exude a toasty, woody, medium to dark chocolate sweetness. The thought of sweet potatoes crossed my nose (maybe a little). Then came the smell of musty/earthy fallen leaves. Ahh….the sweetness…I inhaled so deeply, so many times, I was nearly hyperventilating! Is it true? I was picking up on a lighter candy sweet cherry note. Maybe it was just the lack of oxygen to my brain, because as the leaves cooled I couldn’t detect it. Now, I was detecting toasty and wood-like sweetness.

The cup was a dark brown. Where was the bottom of my cup? The cup revealed aromas of sweet honey (raisins?), combined with a musty, earthy aroma. The flavor was quite malty, earthy, and dark chocolatey, with a mild sweetness. The feeling on my palate was smooth, with no bitterness.

Then other aromas in the kitchen invaded my senses :-//, so the review will be continued…….

At 9:30 PM tonight, the Horseshoe Casino is opening in Cleveland. I’ll get there sometime soon. I steeped the leftover leaves from my last steep with about 2 tsp of additional leaf (190 for 3 min.). I hope my leftover tea leaves aren’t too much of a gamble for my intestines! :-//

My second steep unearthed honey, earthy sweetness while steeping. The wet leaves also had honey earthy aromas, cooling to a more earthy than honey sweet aroma. The cup was even darker-or seemed to be. I was thinking, “Is there anybody in there?!”. Oh yeah….there was…I saw my own reflection! :)) My sinuses were really bothering me, so my cup aromas were hampered. I did detect darker honey, slightly earthy yunnan mustiness, and some malty aroma. The flavors I noticed were slight & thin (sinuses), with some mild astringency-not bitterness. This is in large part due to steeping the previous leaves again.

This was not quite the review I was hoping for, but I will review this tea more after dinner with my Dad and a friend of ours at a local sports bar called Bootleggers. For now, I have to bolt (as in Thunderbolt). :)) Steep on steepies…….

Had a great dinner on an outdoor patio with lots of sunshine, but it did get cooler before we left. It was also very calming listening to a water fountain. :)) Good conversation, laughter, and music (Led Zeppelin, Journey, America, Def Leppard, etc.).

So for my third cup (2 tsp, 185 for 2:20), I did read some reviews after my first cup. Some people got (baked) sweet potatoes, or a raisin quality. Dry leaves smelled of honey, malty sweetness with chocolate notes. My sinuses were clogged AGAIN, so the wet leaves smelled mainly honey sweet (possibly raisins), mild chocolate, and some sort of baked sweetness. The cup smelled malty sweet, chocolatey, and earthy. Flavors in the cup were mainly malty, chocolatey, and earthy.

My last cup was similar (boiling for 3 min.), and I added the rest of the sample to the steeped leaves from the third cup. I tasted less sweetness, and it was mainly full of musty earth, and less chocolate. I was hoping to taste some of the baked qualities. :-// The feeling on my palate was smooth and quite full without bitterness!

What a great and delicious tea! I will definitely be ordering some more. This tea reminds me more of Autumn, but it is awesome anytime! Thanks again JenW-this was much appreciated. :)) A perfect end to another beautiful day! I’m gonna go…….seems I keep rambling on…and on….and on. :))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3HemKGDavw

Cupped & Reviewed: Monday, May 14, 2012.

Thank you Angel from Teavivre, for writing to me and generously offering to send me samples to try. This is by far my favorite of the 5, and have already ordered 100g with my first Teavivre order.

So I started my tea journey trying mostly flavored teas. I am now in the next phase, of attempting to find unflavored teas to love. This one falls in the “love” category. Btw, I am still using honey to sweeten most teas, but this one requires only a minimal amount. Don’t forget that my first love is Coke, so my taste buds are sweet trained. But I’ve found local honey, and using it will help with allergies too (so it has 2 purposes). But the tea itself carries a sweetness to it, that requires little help.

Yun Nan Dian Hong Golden Tips is really smooth and has absolutely no bitterness to it. Being sensitive to bitterness, this already gives it high praise. Someone called it “Lipton but better” and I concur … much much better. Some mention the sweet potato association. I’m leaning more towards caramelly, but see where those associations are coming from.

Teavivre says that this can be resteeped 12 times. I’ve only gone as far as 3, and on the third the flavors were weakening. Perhaps I need to be more precise with my temps and times. I’ve also tried it cold, and that is where the Lipton comparison comes from. It’s very nice cold, in a Lipton (but better) kind of way. Teavivre is now offering this in the 50g size. Angel sent me a sample of the full-leaf version of this tea, and it will be nice to compare the two. Teavivre’s customer service rocks btw. My order was put into the mail system Upton/Adagio-style (next business day). This and Upton’s Imperial Golden Monkey (ZP85) are my current unflavored favorites (so far).

Thanks to Alphakitty I have been craving this tea all day. I placed an order for 100g from Teavivre a couple of weeks ago and I’m still waiting for them to arrive. Thankfully I remembered to put a sampler aside for times like these.

It’s my birthday tomorrow and I hate getting older. Tomorrow I will be 25..me..an adult….I’m married to a man whose almost 30. I mean 30…seems so old.I don’t feel a day over 14. Maybe that’s the problem. Oh look I’ve gone and given myself a sour puss, grump face.

Oh well…tea time. Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea – Golden Tip Gongfu style. :)

So I hate to admit this, but a while back I lost some of my tea samples. Yes, lost them. ;~; And I felt terrible, because included in the lost tea were many of my samples from Teavivre. I’m so sorry, Angel, but I finally found them! They were tucked in with the granola… what they were doing there is a mystery, as is who put them in such an odd location. I’m just going to blame tea-loving ghosts.

This is a gorgeous tea, little golden strands in my steeper that unfurl in to large, fat leaves of the most beautiful gold-brown shade. They’re so fluffy, reminds me of sheep wool for some reason. Actually what they really remind me of is fairy tales, Rumplestiltskin spinning thread into gold—I imagine this is what the result looked like.

The smell is heavenly, like raisin bread baking in the oven. Yeasty, warm and soothing. One sip of the golden brew and I’m transported to a bakery! Sweet potato rolls, fresh bread, warm honey, those are the notes I’m picking up from this. It reminds me of Bailin Gongfu, but lighter and less malty. There are some soft cocoa notes at the end of the sip, not really chocolatey but like the smell of cocoa powder when you’re mixing it into a dough. Scrumptious!

EDIT: As this cools, a strong orange citrus note comes out, like candied orange rind. The second steep is lighter and more golden, with a stronger bread note and a brief maltiness in the background.

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea. It is astounding!

What a deliciously complex cup of tea. I will probably be echoing some of the other tasting notes here, because I do taste the sweet-potato/yam-like flavors, as well as the caramel-y undertones. I also taste a bit of spice to this, like a hint of nutmeg and pepper.

A remarkably good set of flavors to this tea… I’m so enjoying it! YUM!

Sweet, clear, crisp, bright, yams, hay, maple, butterscotch, chocolate, malt = Bliss.
YUMMMMIE

Many thanks to Teavivre for this generous sample!

Oh, this one is fantastic! Gentle, golden, BRIGHT sweet potatoes! I’ve had only one other of this type of tea, and in comparison, this has a bit of…orange? to it. Sort of like you put a touch of orange juice in your baked sweet potatoes? And let me also emphasize the word baked. There is definitely some sort of delicious crust to this ;) This is one special unflavored, delicious exactly as nature produced it tea!!!!

I have to also add that the leaves are so fluffy and gorgeous! They smell so wonderful, too.

Rumor has it that this is an excellent resteeper, and what good timing – I am in the mood for steep after steep today! Off to make some more water :) This is GREAT!

So we had another tea face off. This is my favorite. It’s pretty much what I was hoping to get but just a tad bit better. I wanted some thing to replace tarantula tea since it was discontinued.

This is malty and velvety smooth. The depth of character here calls up the word earthy in my mind. This tea ends so nicely with chocolate and honey like sweet notes. This is truly and enjoyable cup.

Tea of the morning…….

This is the last black in the teas sent for review by TeaVivre. Thank you so much for the opportunity to try your teas. (A green and an oolong to go!)

This is a beautiful tea. It has long golden fingers with a bit of a sheen and downy fuzz. It appears to be the very tenderest part of the plant. The smell is rich and slightly earthy. I do think Yunnans are a coffee drinker’s tea in that the flavor is full, slightly malty, and roasty. This one is a very smooth example. I did initially think I might have gone a little light on the leaf in my teapot, but the richness of this tea easily overcame that. This is definitely going on my shopping list. It is probably the best Yunnan I have had to date.

I did follow the steeping recommendations on the package.

I was contacted by the company to offer free samples and since others had been reviewing free samples from them, I decided it would be a good way to see what the company was about. Part of what made me pause in thinking of placing an order is that there really is no option on their website to purchase samples, so you really cannot know what you are getting, and then there is the meeting of the free shipping…(which I now know they ship to the US for around $6 for orders below$30). I have to be quite frank in that I do prefer to purchase my samples rather than getting them free as I think it lends more credibility to my review. I do think samples along with an order is another great inroad for reviews, but I know it is hard to break through for that first sale. I have tried to be as unbaised as possible in my reviews of the teas sent, but it is really hard to know for sure. I do feel a need to make sure I try all of them sent in a timely manner, which is not how I usually approach tea. I usually let my mood guide me rather than I ‘have to try these first’ as a courtesy for TeaVivre’s sending them to me. All I can say is that I will defintely be ordering in the near future if that is any indication. The sample offering worked to make me want to be a customer, because the tea does speak for itself.

November

First of all, I have to say that JacquelineM put it the best with her tasting note of this same tea. It’s just spot-on, and I think everyone should read it and then go buy this awesome tea. It seems like everyone who’s added a tasting note to this one Steepster can at least agree that it’s a 4-5 star Chinese black.

That said, one thing that seems to be missing from some of the other tasting notes about this tea are the floral aspects. On the forefront, you get the tea (a nice black with maybe a little oiliness?). Then, you get the crusty sweet potatoes baked with a touch of orange juice (mentioned by JacquelineM). Finally, you get a mouth full of flowers (not over-the-top, but just right). It’s beautiful, and I’m really enjoying my last 4 cups of it with these spicy noodles right now. :o)

First review of this lovely sample from Teavivre and Angel for which I am greatful!
I woke up with the sunlight trying to get into my bedroom. This can be good for other people but for me it can mean the beginning of a migraine. Light sets them off. I wear sunglasses indoors and out…even now writing this review. Caffeine helps ward off migraines so I went for the best black tea option in my review box! Such a delight too!

My steep time was 2 1/2 minutes at the 185F temp. and the color of the tea liquor is a medium gold with a hint of green. Very pretty! A sniff…vegital just a bit but what kind I can’t figure out…will have to come later.
A sip….honey…really smooth and silky and not a vegital flavor but maybe cookie? At this highest beginning temperature there is a slight bit of acid. I let the tea cool down and then…well…there began to reveal such velvety richness and an open full mouthfeel delish! The vegital was not yam or sweet potato but sauteed, slightly honeyed carrots. I’ve made them so many times and there is a duel vegital and fruity sweetness rolled into one in carrots that is perfect to discribe what I am getting from this tea. (One time I made a carrot pie with pistachios that was awesome). The acid or tannin I felt in the beginning was almost absent when this tea cooled a bit. I didn’t taste any orange. Adding some sweetening was nice but milk is not what I would recommend because it makes this tea look and taste watery…uh no! Straight up this is great and sweetened it’s good too! (Bonus for me…my head is feeling a lot better already!)

oh, this is nice! Like others I have noticed the sweet smell of the leaves when you open up the bag, it is quite lovely!

I did steep this in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, it is delicious this way but I should have paid attention to the instructions that said 185… A nice lingering flavor of sweet potatoes and raisins. It’s malty and delicious. I could not not resist adding some soymilk to mine. I am still not used to drinking a lot of black teas plain aside form pu-erh. So I will try this gong fu style again some other time, I think that will be an endeavor well worth my time. Definitely a cuppa worth having around!

Backlogging…I first tried this tea a few days ago and never posted my notes on it. So, here it is now!

Work has been r…e…a…l…l…y……s…l…o…w. But when I come home, there’s no time left in the day after cooking, eating, and dishes. I’m currently surrounded by mountains of laundry and an incessantly crying, very needy, high maintenance kitty. If I’m not petting him, he’s crying. So irritating.

But anyway, I’ve been drinking so much green, oolong, and white tea that this is a very refreshing change. I cut open the interior package and took a big whiff of the dry leaves. I immediately said, “Ooh wow!” It smells amazing! I know I’m going to like this one.

I was surprised to see a recommended brewing temperature of only 185 degrees. I only looked at the instructions to double check that it said boiling. But I think this tea does benefit from the lower temperature. And the leaves are sooo colorful! Thin, curly, rainbow leaves!

It’s a very light black tea as black teas go. I can see the bottom of my cup. Of course, that could be attributed to the amount of leaf and steeping time. It tastes incredible! Nutty and slightly sweet. Yum! It’s a very light but complex black tea. Great mouthfeel and taste. Nice umami. No bitterness. Maybe a hint of bitterness at the beginning of the sip, but it quickly dissipates and is nowhere to be found in the aftertaste.

It also has an underlying taste of clean spring water. Really strange but good at the same time. I think I’m also detecting something peppery going on here. There’s just a slightly sweet nuttiness and then a hint of pepper. I discover something new in every sip. This is really great! Another wonderful Teavivre experience!

I’m positive I’ve had this tea before now but apparently I have yet to log it. It’s good timing as I am considering another Teavivre order and was really impressed with the regular Yun Nan Dian Hong but wondered if the next level up was superior enough to justify buying that instead. This one costs approximately three times the price of the regular dian hong, so I am hoping for a remarkable experience. This has a remarkable quantity of golden leaves, I wuld say it is at least 3/4 golden tips. Very beautiful, and left lots of little tea leaf fuzz in the bag.

I am at work so I steeped this in a T-Sac rather than a brew basket or gaiwan. There is lots of room in it for expansion though, so I’m not too fussed. Three minutes in I have a lovely golden orange liquor and an appetizing aroma. Sweet cocoa, a sense of astringency but it’s not fully developed. It smells rich and almost has some aromas that remind me of bread. I can’t quite explain those so I’ll just enjoy.

First sips yield sweetness but surprisingly little flavour. I expected a POW of cocoa and tea, instead I get a whisper of each. I had some carrots as a snack earlier and I actually taste them more than the tea. Maybe this one requires more steep time? As I continue to sip the flavour builds on the tongue, but still doesn’t reach the level I expect of Teavivre’s teas, especially at this price range ($18.90/100 grams).

I will be fair and admit that this is an old sample (give or take a year) so it may have lost flavour in storage but it was stored well, in a double sealed bag. I will definitely try again, but this just didn’t have the punch I was looking for. A very nice tea but not the flavour I expect for the price and the quality of the leaves. I feel a little let down, but at the same time am buoyed as I can guiltlessly pick up the cheaper Yun Nan in my next order!

This is a delicious tea! I’m really happy that I got to try this one from Teavivre. It’s a beautiful tea. The first sips of this give way to a medium malty tea, that tapers off with notes of honey. I’m looking forward to seeing how the resteeps work out with this one. I’d rank it up there with my other favourite blacks.

Yesterday afternoon after Ari left I went on a black tea binge. In part, because I hadn’t had enough black tea to start my day properly, in part because I have a collection of tea samples to get through:
1. Assam Melody – I’ll give a proper review later, but for now I’ll say it’s Malty, Bold, somewhat acidic, and mouth watering.
2. Yunnan Gig – Cocoa brown, mahogany, and gold finely twisted strand, with a bright but malty, caramel buttery taste, and a cocoa powder finish.
3. Yunnan Noir – cool looking little cocoa brown rolled leaves, twisted into little knots, with highlights of gold. Nice deep malty taste, hints of chocolate and a peppery finish.

Ok, now that I’m caught up, this Yun nan that I just finished drinking is yummy, tasty, and smooth. It is a proper start for another busy day. I’ve already reviewed it on my tealog in greater depth, I think, so I’ll end by staying Thank You once again to TeaVivre. This is part of a sample they sent me, which I’ve enjoyed immensely.

Now, on to play a 4 gig, and then my weekend begins!

I’m still new to unflavored black tea and I have to say that there’s a lot more too it than I expected. I wasn’t aware that so many different flavors and layers of complexity could be present in black teas. I guess the reason for that is just the fact that whenever I thought of black tea, some kind of bagged English breakfast was always what popped into my mind. And because of my expectations, when I first opened my sample bag of Teavivre’s bailin gongfu black I was blown away. I actually felt a rush of adrenaline from the excitement in knowing that I was in for a treat and a surprise. I was shocked. Upon opening this sample bag provided for me in my second round of Teavivre samples, I experienced a flashback to that moment of awakening. The leaves are beautiful. Part rich cocoa color, but mostly a rustic gold composing the beautiful twists of leaf. The golden color of the leaves is much like the amber glow pouring in through my windows just before sunset this evening. Before I got into loose-leaf tea, I NEVER would have thought that “black” tea could look this way, and to be honest I still don’t understand what causes this to happen, but it sure is cool. Now on to the taste. All of what I taste in this tea has been said before. Mostly cocoa, a little malty, with little hints of sweet potato and honey intermingled. Also, there is a definite genuine sweetness to it when I allow it to sit in my mouth for a bit and let it touch different parts of my tongue (as strange as that may sound). It is delicious, and it’s a perfect end to a not-so-good day.

This is my last sample of this package, I was so excited to try them all that I had to sample them all right away! Thankyou again to Angel and TEAVIVRE for these wonderfully generous samples!

I used 1 teaspoon of leaf. The leaves are nice looking, different than anything I have seen before.
I was a little worried about the smell of the steeped leaves….it was like smoky potatoe soup.
The liqour is a nice deep brown.
1st steep: complex sweet potatoe with a little pit of smoky and sweetness in there. This might sounds weird but it tastes a little like barley without the grain-i-ness (does that make sense). It kinda tastes like sweet potatoe soup, which sounds really strange but actually tastes pretty good.
2nd steep: 90degrees, 3minutes, a little less sweet but still good
3rd steep: 95degrees, 4 minutes, now it tastes like potatoe soup without the sweet potatoe

This is very different than I was expecting and very different than anything I have tried before. I actually like it!