Yunnan Sourcing

Hits all the right notes for a daily driver black tea (for me.) Malty, light scent of fresh tobacco, a rich, floral (in that way autumn leaves are floral, y’know?), and bright background. Complex on its own but plays a wonderful second fiddle to a pastry or snack. Wonderfully toasty at heavier ratios, though that dies off in the later steeps. Quite sweet with brown/raw sugar flavor, not the sweetest I’ve had but significant. Toes the line of too sweet for me (I prefer roastier/toastier -sweet to sugar-sweet).

I’m reviewing the Spring 2018 Batch of tea.

The first brew was about 2.5 minutes @ 208F.
The aroma is light smoke with a somewhat earthy undertone (leather? wood). The flavor follows the same genre — it starts off with a light smokey flavor with hints of nuts. There’s a mineral finish. Frankly, the 1st infusion reminds me of a very mild whiskey. It has a very mild mouthfeel.

I checked the Yunnan Sourcing notes on this, and it describes a flower aroma, which I didn’t smell at the 1st infusion. The 2nd infusion brought out more of the floral flavor although the aroma remained the same. I’ll try this again at much longer brew times.

Overall, it’s not a bad tea. I think there are better out there from this region.

This is most excellent tea.

I brewed this both GongFu style & Western style.

Western: I brewed it lightly @ 208 F for 2 minutes on the first infusion. There’s an aroma of rich honey and either a jasmine or orchid. The taste is similar. The honey taste is delicate but not overpowering and a very light touch of fruit with a very clean finish. The second infusion was similar to the first but a tad lighter. I want to try this again at a longer brew time.

Gongfu: First infusion @ 20 seconds/1TBSP/1 cup water @ 208F. Subsequent infusions @ 5-7 additional seconds. The honey & lychee aroma & taste stand out far more in this style of brewing. The flavors are more pronounced and distinct. It’s sweet but not overpoweringly so. This is an even more amazing tea brewed in the Chinese Gongfu style.

I recently got my first Jianshui teapot (which I am already in love with) and decided to have the first session in it with this tea. I think that having a dedicated (and beautiful) pot for Dan Cong oolongs will let me get more into them.

This Ba Xian is quite wonderful. The floral fragrance is magnificent, as is its extremely long aftertaste, and a silky soft and ‘misty’ mouthfeel.

Dry leaf aroma is quite medicinal, fruity, and sweet, while the wet leaf smell is more flowery I’d say. The taste has a plum sweetness, green bell pepper bitterness, and a vegetal note of dry grass, among many other flavours. It is a smooth drink with a nice honey finish. Aftertaste displays further notes like orange blossom, spices, wood, citrus zest, and celery stalk. Over time, it becomes increasingly floral and fragrant.

[Spring 2020 harvest]

I received a free sample of this one from YS recently. It’s pretty close to what I remember of the 2018 vintage, with maybe a bit more bitterness and sweetness. The tea is at once cooling in the mouth, but soon afterwards induces a warming aftertaste and body feeling.

[Spring 2018 harvest]

I got this this in a swap with tperez a while ago, but I only got around writing about it now as I finish the bag. I found less sweet, malty, and cocoa notes in here than your standard Yunnan dian hong. Instead, the aroma is more herbaceous and the taste more citrusy and bitter. There are notes of baked bread, thyme, and grains among others. The body is medium at best, but liquor has a nice bubbly mouthfeel that I like. All in all, it’s probably not as unique as I make it sound though, the profile does bear a lot of resemblance to other black teas of course.

This was another recent sipdown of mine. I think I finished what I had of this tea either Friday evening or Saturday morning. I worked through most of what I had of it alongside the spring 2017 Jingmai Purple Needle black tea because I wanted to compare them to one another. Both were quality teas, but this more traditionally styled Jingmai Mountain black tea ended up being my favorite of the two.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of baked bread, malt, chocolate, brown sugar, and sweet potato. After the rinse, I detected aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, cream, and butter alongside an even stronger chocolate scent. The first infusion introduced aromas of rose, orange zest, straw, and violet as well as a subtle scent of smoke. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered up notes of malt, cream, butter, baked bread, earth, and chocolate that gave way to impressions of rose, roasted peanut, sweet potato, brown sugar, and orange zest before impressions of wheat toast and some vague vegetal notes took over on the swallow. The subsequent infusions brought out aromas of pine, wheat toast, caramel, anise, cinnamon, marshmallow, menthol, and earth as well as some subtler scents of black pepper. Roasted almond, straw, and violet notes came out in the mouth along with stronger and more immediate impressions of wheat toast. I also detected cooked green bean hints and impressions of minerals, cinnamon, anise, menthol, caramel, red pear, pine, and lemon zest. There were even hints of leather, smoke, sour apricot, red grape, black pepper, and marshmallow lurking around the fringes. As the tea settled and faded, the liquor began to emphasize notes of minerals, lemon zest, orange zest, malt, earth, roasted peanut, and cream that were balanced by hints of pine, roasted almond, sweet potato, chocolate, and brown sugar. Some menthol coolness remained in the mouth and throat after each swallow.

This was a very nice Jingmai Mountain black tea. It expressed a ton of character on the nose and in the mouth, and unlike quite a few other Yunnan black teas, its energy wasn’t overwhelming. I could see this making a great tea for Yunnan black tea connoisseurs and neophytes alike since it had a ton to offer yet was never confusing, awkward, or overpowering.

We’re coming to one of my more recent sipdowns now, as I finished the last of my pouch of this tea back on Friday. It had been some time since I had tried a Jingmai Mountain black tea when I first decided to tear into this one, and it reminded me of why I have such a soft spot for Jingmai blacks. This tea yielded a very complex liquor that was also very approachable and balanced.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 18 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of cedar, raisin, pine, prune, cinnamon, and honey. After the rinse, I detected aromas of malt, roasted almond, baked bread, brown sugar, and tomato. The first infusion added aromas of cocoa, grass, straw, and green bell pepper. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered up notes of malt, roasted almond, cedar, pine, and cinnamon that were backed by hints of grass, straw, tomato, baked bread, green bell pepper, and brown sugar. I also picked up some vague impressions reminiscent of stone fruits, citrus, and flowers. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of rose, butter, lemon zest, blood orange, violet, plum, and red grape. Impressions of raisin, prune, honey, and cocoa came out in the mouth along with stronger and more immediate notes of tomato, straw, and baked bread. Impressions of rose, violet, minerals, plum, blood orange, butter, sour cherry, lemon zest, red grape, pear, cream, and nutmeg also emerged in the mouth. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized lingering notes of minerals, roasted almond, butter, cream, lemon zest, blood orange, pine, red grape, and rose that were underscored by hints of violet, cocoa, brown sugar, pear, cinnamon, and raisin before a stronger baked bread note re-emerged on each swallow.

This was a very nice, very likable Yunnan purple black tea that fell just a step or two short of greatness. I would have liked to see a slightly stronger, thicker tea liquor and a little more integration of the flavor components in some of the earlier infusions, but these are fairly minor quibbles overall. To be clear, this was a very good tea. There are better Yunnan black teas out there, but one could do far worse than giving this one a shot.

This is a delicate tea. The aroma is a little bit fruity and sweet — notes of lychee and honey. The taste is similar to the aroma with little to no aftertaste. This is a wonderful tea if want to just sit back and enjoy yourself in quiet reflection. I wouldn’t drink this tea for “running out the door”. It’s really meant to be enjoyed since many of the flavors are delicate. I did multiple infusions with different brew times. Slightly longer brew times deepen the flavors without making it bitter.

Quick note while it’s still fresh in my mind. It’s really good. I had it yesterday and am having it again today. Barely oxidized, very green with fruit notes and a non-perfumey floral taste. Also TGY-ish. Super creamy mouth-feel and sweet finish. I really feel my “tea analysis ability” shortcomings today… lol. There are no review notes on this one so thought I’d write a quick one in hoping others will try this and review it.

Yixing teapot, 6.2g, rinse, 13 steeps, 5s, 10s, 15s (I’m right here right now), 20s, 25s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 1m, 1m30s, 2m, 2m30s, 3m

This was my second favorite out of the Dan Congs I tried yesterday.

Additional notes (2 years later ^^):
The profile is still similar to good Anxi Tie Guan Yin. The dry leaves are green with a TGY light aroma, floral aroma. I’ve learned that I’m not really a Dan Cong fan but I do enjoy this version. I got a very light nutty taste, as well as some light citrus and fruit notes, and green vibes. Spinach, asparagus… Vegetal. So it’s very complex with the fruit and vegetal notes and a finish of light sweetness. It has a very slick feel to it, buttery.

I put in 8g in a 160 ml gaiwan, rinse, 10s, 20s, 30s, 1 min. and a few more.

I made it through my surgery on the 5th and I was ok’d for Barley tea (been drinking a lot of TeaVivre barley tea yum) but I thought I’d have something a little different today. My esophagitis/Gerd seems fixed but I won’t push it quite yet. :P

I hope you are all good. <3

Yesterday was a YS Dan Cong day. I drank the following teas:
Honey Orchid “Mi Lan Xiang” Dan Cong Oolong Tea * Spring 2018
Winter 2018 “Snowflake Duck Shit Aroma” Dan Cong Oolong Tea
Wu Dong Chou Shi Dan Cong Oolong tea * Spring 2018
Classic “Mi Lan Xiang” Dan Cong Oolong Tea * Spring 2018

Yixing teapot, 6g, temperature varied, rinse, 13 steeps, 5s, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 1m, 1m30s, 2m, 2m30s, 3m

Wu Dong Chou Shi was my favorite of all of them. For one, I’ve never had such a green Dan Cong before. Togo wrote a great review on it. It was reminiscent of a great TGY in that it was very green, grassy, fruity, some floral but not perfumey as the other Dan Congs. It was a nice thick, creamy, viscous mouth and throat feel with a sweet aftertaste. Like TGY it had some sour notes but it was subtle and delicate.

I’m seriously falling behind writing reviews but I’ll try to catch up. I have a lot of each so when I revisit them, I think that’ll be a good time to do it.

As I’m sure many others are, I’m a sucker for milk oolong. I don’t even like milk very much, but there’s something about the sweet and creamy flavour and mouth-feel of this style of tea that makes me very happy. I have not tried any milk oolong from Yunnan Sourcing before, but I have high hopes.

I used a 140ml teapot with 6 grams of tea and 90°C water, short steep times.

The first thing I noticed is thankfully the pungent milk aroma coming off the wet leaves and soup. Buttery, sweet, and not too floral. From experience, a good milk oolong has the same pungent flavour as it does aroma. I can happily report that this does indeed have a strong milky/buttery flavour, however it was more “green” tasting than expected (umami and vegetal). This is perhaps due to its growing conditions though? It’s a high elevation Taiwan tea and reminds me of other “jade” Taiwan oolongs I’ve tried. Not my favourite oolong flavour profile overall, but it is well-balanced with the milk. What’s nice and most notable about this batch is that the milk flavour does carry along for multiple brews, eventually tapering off, leaving the tea tasting like something between a typical oolong and green tea. Many milk oolongs that I’ve tried quickly taper off into a normal flavour profile, so in that sense this tea is superior.

In conclusion, this is a lovely milk oolong overall, especially for people who prefer more subdued floral notes. Unfortunately, it’s turned out to not be my favourite simply due to the green flavour profile. I much prefer floral, fruity, or roasted oolongs.

Brewed in a tiny gaiwan and filtered thru a sieve. Some steeps were cold brewed as I went about my day. All in all, what you would expect from a rough chunk of wilder yiwu. The broth is robust and oily. SD made me feel imposter’s syndrome as an enlightened monk. This one makes me feel like a car mechanic with grime stains all over my jeans. There is that familiar returning sweetness. It gives me a low key headache, possibly from the caffeine. The tea is very strong. It may even benefit from a lower leaf concentration per cup.

To my knowledge, this is the last of my Yunnan Sourcing teas from 2015. I opened it a few months ago and have been surprised by its inconsistency. In some sessions I get dark chocolate with a hint of raspberry, while in others I get stewed fruit and malt. For this review, I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 7, 10, 13, 17, 20, 25, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The first couple steeps have notes of malt, tannins, minerals, and creamy raspberry. My initial impression is of a generic Chinese tea, but it’s mellower and a bit fruitier. The fruit really comes through in the next few rounds, resembling raspberries and other tart berries. There’s also some roasted barley. After the fifth steep, the berries recede and malt, roasted barley, honey, tannins, and leather take over. The session fades into minerals, vegetables, tannins, and malt.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this tea might not have been great when young but has improved with age. The unusual raspberry and mellow flavours make it interesting, although I would have preferred some chocolate in the mix. I’m down to my last few sessions with this, and I can’t help wondering if I’ll miss all my old teas now that they’re almost gone.

I have quite a bit of different Dan Cong tea from Yunnan Sourcing. After trying most of them, and other vendors as well… I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not the vendor but Dan Cong tea just isn’t for me. It’s far too flowery, perfumey-like for me. So please note that in my rating. You may find it to be a 95 if you love Dan Cong oolong. ^^

Setting that aside, hehe, the tea has large leaves that have a roasted aroma. The liquor is a deep clear brown with the aroma of stonefruits, honey. It has a thick mouthfeel, rich flavor, fruity with hints of stonefruits (peach, apricot) and apple notes. It’s quite flowery, has roasted seeds notes with notes of the sweetness of honey. There is a very long lingering taste of orchid at the end, a floral finish.

6g, 212℉, 110ml, 8 steeps: rinse, 10s, 15s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 60s, 90s, 120s

Stay safe out there!

Scott’s description of this is pretty spot on. It is fermented on the lighter side, and it shows. There is a tart bitterness I associate with sheng, very tasty. The tea still brews up pretty dark. It is quite smooth, viscous, and very durable. Not terribly complex, but it is yummy. Good stuff.

I am now working through my pu erh samples. With this one, I have 14 left to taste and write notes about.

I rinsed this at boiling and then let it sit for a bit longer than 15 minutes.

Steeped in the gaiwan at 5/5/7/7/10/10/20/30/40/60.

I also leafed via eyeballing and not measurement. I filled the gaiwan almost to the halfway mark.

I agree with others who noted the astringency of this tea. It is quite drying in the mouth.

The dry leaf smells sweetly arboreal with a slightly sharp note, and another that is slightly smoky. The tea itself doesn’t have the sweet or sharp notes in the aroma or flavor. It has some of the white chocolate and butter notes, but it has more honey notes than those and something slightly fruity.

It’s not as rich tasting as some others I’ve had recently, but still enjoyable.

Malt. Cacao. A teeny wee bit of smoke.

Half an hour lost… because I pressed escape key. I am so sad :( it was so great tasting note!

I have received this one from Derk, I divided the package in half so 2.5 grams twice.

Anyway, I will try to rewrite it. Somehow. Anyway, it has been a while when I used gaiwan for last time. I guess I wanted easy teas. But not today, needed to calm down.

85 ml gaiwan; 2.5 grams of tea; freshly boiled water in thermos; 10 seconds rinse.

Now no tropical aromas after rinse. It was sweet somehow, with little cooling effect but I do not think it is minty as derk suggest. I think it is rather like pine or fir forest. Little malty. I wanted a black tea; but as this is so complex I think this worked well too. It was just nice to drink; nothing bad.

Aromas were wonderful. At first I do not recall anything, then it changes to be more and more fruity. Little hay, passion fruit – and of course bit of pine again. Actually those aromas are written completely random as it came to my mind I wrote them down.

A taste. Complex – haha. No, it was interesting cup. When I did not noticed any fruity notes (I noticed a forest notes instead) I took another steep and fruitiness was there. It was becaming slowly bitter, so I shortened next steeping time. And it was another again. Bit herbal; but not a bad taste though! Maybe a little of the pine/fir/another tree. It was great. Simply GREAT!

Oh I forgot about visual of tea – well; it reminds me something bit different than amber. Something I won´t write down :)

What surprised me – it was full of taste all steepings, no signs of becaming weaker; not always I use whole thermos for single tea.

Well, this second tasting note is not so nice and great I had before. But I still hope it made you happy – you have enjoyed reading it and hopefully – derk, you send me really nice teas and now I finished it really all. Thank you for this swap, where I am the debtor and hopefully I can send you something again so we can swap again. Maybe I will give a try on those Azores teas. And something else I can find for sure.

Soon my first Farmerleaf order should came, I can´t wait at all – but on the other hand in two weeks an exam period starts. So, I will drink tea, but I am honestly afraid, that I won´t have time for enjoying it completely (and writing tasting notes). Feels bad man.

2 and half grams in my 85 ml gaiwan. About 5-10 seconds rinse. My first yellow tea I guess.

Whoa, aromas woke up, and it is really strong tropical fruit. Maybe mango, papaya, something like that. I really didn´t expected that. Anyway, move on. I had two 20 seconds brew, two 30s, two 40s and so on. I don´t know how much in total, I was too lazy to count.

Anyway, colour is golden moving bit more to amber, nice and clear. Aroma remains with following steeps, it is becoming weaker though a bit.

Taste: First steeps were really nice and fruity, then astringency take part. But it remains fruity. Maybe bit mineral. But it tastes good. Thank you Derk for sample, so I can try it.