Golden Needles

Yum!
I got this as a sample with my recent Jasmine Pearl order. I confess I let it steep for too long while I was goofing off reading some poetry by Ranier Maria Rilke: http://sanfrantea.teatra.de/2013/01/26/going-blind/

So my tea got really dark, I think I will wait to rate it until I’m paying more attention to what I am doing. I am definitely getting a sweet potato or squash type of flavor, along with the slight bitterness that Geoffrey mentioned in his tasting note. This is really good but I think I made it a touch too strong.

I’m starting to think that the existence of Yunnan Golden Buds (or Needles) is unfair to the rest of its black tea brethren. It is quite quickly becoming my favorite type of black tea. Nectar-like in its initial delivery with only a slight – but complimentary – bitterness, this amber cup has an effect on me. I started this morning in pretty foul spirits until I sipped this. This quickly relaxed me and revitalized me at the same time. Such a perk-up, no other black tea can come close to comparing.