Golden Yunnan (organic)

Thanks to Indigobloom for the sample, I just read her tasting note and I’m already a bit nervous because bitterness is not something I enjoy in tea at all, but here goes. :)

I used the whole sample I got, which was around 2 teaspoons, in my 18 oz glass teapot. Brewed western style ’cause I am still sleepy!

This cup got dark fairly quickly and is a dark reddish brown. I decided to only steep for 2.5 minutes. The tea smells very malty so far and at first sips seems kind of smooth and sweet. I will need to let it cool off to drink more of it.

As the cup cools off I am not getting bitterness here so far – yay! I have a malty, sort of molasses-y flavor which seems more on the sweet side and almost creamy. To me this tea has a slight “yammy” quality. I am sipping on it plain and finding it to be fairly mild. When I added some soymilk to it, it got transformed into something more sweet and creamy.

It’s funny how different people’s tastes are because I rather liked this one. I’m still not finding much bitterness but if anything it has a tobacco-y note in the finish for me.

Thank you Indigobloom for sending me some of this. Honestly – I didn’t care for it. I can’t figure out why either. There are similar teas I like quite much but this one had a funky flavor to it and I also kind of got that lump in throat feeling.
I had to dump it.
I still VERY MUCH appreciate the trade and a chance to try it.
:)

This is a really weak tea, but it’s not bad. There was no bitterness in my steep which was nice. Overall it was a subtle malty, creamy kinda of tea.

So…. yeah this one is not for me.
There are aspects of the cup that I enjoyed, but for the most part, I would really rather go without.
When hot, the cup is super dark, sweet and malty- almost like Keemum but richer. As it cools slightly, a sharp bitterness comes out, in the second half of a sip and in the aftertaste… reminding me of that harshness I find in brussel sprouts only loads more intense. I could not get past that aspect no matter how much I sipped and sipped.
The second steep was alot less bitter, but for some reason I couldn’t finish more than a third of the cup. I felt as if each sip was sitting like a lump of tea in my throat. It tasted okay (ish), but it simply would not go down the hatch!
Oh well, you win some you lose some.

This is a deep yunnan, with rich leather, sandalwood, and caramel. A beautiful sap-filled morning cup. Delicious.