Feng Qing "Gold Bud" Yunnan Black tea * Dian Hong * Autumn 2011

Received my Yunnan Sourcing order today!
The teas smell great, but sadly the lid of the gaiwan I ordered was cracked despite some really intense bubble-wraping :(

Dry Leaves: Really lovely shiny golden buds with some black mixed in. They have a velvety feel, and are very soft and fresh feeling compared to other blacks I’ve had.

Brewing: They produce a gold-brown colored tea with a honey-like aroma. The leaves are almost all whole, and unfold to look like small needles of milk chocolate or fine leather.

Tasting: The first thing in noticed when drinking this tea was the powerful throat sensation. Definitely the strongest I’ve experienced. A typical Yunnan gold flavor with hints of sugar cane, spice, and I wouldn’t have thought of it, but as the description mentions, whiskey :)

It held out well for two steeps in my 12oz pot, and made a slightly weaker but still quite nice third steeping.

Reminds me of: Fancy hotels? Not sure why, its just the image this tea brings up for me :)

Thanks to tperez I’ve been enjoying this most of the day. I’m appreciating Dian Hongs more and more especially fine soft ones like this. It has notes of honey, cinnamon, mushroom and butter but very little pepper. Unfortunately I’m not really getting the aforementioned whiskey but that’s okay. This leaves a nice cooling, powdery sensation on the tongue, a mild camphor-like zhang experience which I suppose in a way is similar to whiskey, but much less fiery. Re-infused many times.