Yunnan Sourcing

Reviewing Spring 2015

This is an outstanding old arbor tea. Big, luscious full leaves and buds with thick stems. The aroma and flavor are quite similar to a Feng Qing black tea I’ve tried previously, fully fruity and malty. Even short steeps give full, thick body. Really nice black tea.

Packed my small gaiwan with about 5-6 grams of this tea. The first brew yielded a blast of sugar cane sweetness, huge florality, and a nice mangosteen note. the next two brews ramped up the bitterness with a thick mouth feel and minerality. The aftertaste is thick and sweet causing lots of salivation. Lots of cooling in the throat and good re-welling of sweetness up the throat. 5-8 brews saw a drop in bitterness, with a more creamy body taking hold, as well as a return of more fruity notes in the ball park of candied citruses.

A very enjoyable young sheng, even in the dead of winter, a bit thicker and darker then expected for its youth.

Quick update, not so much notes

I had this one stored in a box because it is so different from most teas I have. I bought a big clay container from taobao and repaired it with JB Weld and to test it out I put this cake in it…

I thought the JB Weld and the clay were smelling weird and that I had wasted money, then I remembered that this cake has a very dank tobacco-green wood and medicinal bitterness. I replaced it with other cakes and the container is great. This one is probably one of the dankest (not wet stored or anything, just strong smelling) puerh I have.

I feel like it is a mixture of scents and flavors of: Chinese medicinal cabinet, woody tobacco, green wood and hemp with just some grain notes. The taste is not far departed from the scent either. It kicks you in the mouth up front then all of those notes become sweeter as the liquor goes down. I’d like to know if anyone else has this cake, what they think about it. I don’t hate it, I don’t love it, it’s just weird and can be pleasant at times.

Quick note on this one I bought this in May 2014 from Yunnan Sourcing drank it and never log it. I was moving my teas around today to rotate and found it so I decided to dive in.

Dry – Leaf has a darker hue than it used to, which makes me happy to see some aging going on. The scent is mellow tobacco, faint wood and bittersweet to sweet notes, nothing special.

Wet – The leaf are sort of choppy but not bad. The scent is very apparent (but not unpleasant) tobacco (maybe, just maybe some smoke), combined with very medicinal bitter/ bittersweet and even sweet notes.

Liquor – Amber and at times sort of cloudy.

The tea is very straight forward with bitter to bitter sweet tobacco and medicinal notes that linger in the middle and turn sweeter as it goes down. Something note worthy is that the body is very smooth and even has thickness to it, specially when considering usually teas like these tend to have a more astringent and lighter body; with that being said, some astringency is still here, but is not unpleasant. The huigan is sweet and lingers that develops a nice camphor. This tea is making me hungry to the point that I stopped drinking to cook something.

Hind sight is 20/20, for $14 back then (and now sold out) this was a tea to buy and store, it won’t become AMAZING, but it will sure turn nice if you like a more ‘traditional’ tobacco-like Bulang Puerh.

After a dozen of session with this, I can write about it :)

This was my second full cake I ever bought. I made that purchase based on the pictures and reviews; a mild pu’erh with a beautiful look :)
This sheng brews so beautiful because it can be controlled by the user :)
This doesn’t have the punch that the 2012 Wild Monk has, but it surely has the color and a comparable taste. I’ve sent this to a few people to explore the lighter side of raw puerh with hopes that they will enjoy it as much as I do.

Instead of writing about my methods and ending notes from each session, just look at this tea porn: https://www.instagram.com/p/9pC8CwRYMI/

Good one! Starts with a hint of sour, hay, something familiar can’t place it.
Nice, mellow in a good way, but strong, does that make sense?
Stays nice earthy, mellow, mild tart of citrus, eventually into something like cherry or raisin in the aftertaste.

I liked this one:
began mild, bitter, straw tasting. Touch of sour… a bit of tomato in the sour?
Hints of sweetness came early. By 5-6, sour was gone, started to feel nice and stoned.
7-9 earthy straw honey

This came in the Yunnan Sourcing Tea Club (Puer Only) for Jan 2016.
Came on very strong. I was buzzing around the room within 4 steepings. Early infusions full of bitter astringency, in a good way. A bit dry in the mouth, but thick and nice as well. Thick in the throat too. Hay, a hint of sour lemon (?) in the beginning. Was steeping at 20 seconds and brought this down to around 10. Probably should have done this sooner. Sweetness really came out somewhere after 7 or so. I thought I tasted honey dew melon! Great stuff!

Had this one in my gaiwan and it didn’t disappoint as this is my first try of this tea in a very long time. Sweet astringency accompanied by a soft bitter aftertaste prevails after each sip.

Strong mouthfeel with a medium qi makes this tea a pleasant drink. It’s easy to drink and reminds me of some of the first Chinese green teas I have tried so many years ago.

Very consistent from steep-to-steep. The astringency falls off after about the 5th steep and leaves the sweetness and slight bitter after taste to satisfy the drinker. The liquor gets thicker in later infusions as this tea becomes a very drinkable treat.

The taste becomes a woody and leafy combination.

As far as the energy level of this tea goes; I got a wave of heat in the first steep or two, but after that there is little sign of increased energy which is probably the only downfall for this tea (due to the fact that I enjoy drinking tea that can fuel rockets).

GCTTB5

I had this yesterday morning. The dry leaf smells like freshly baked bread.
The aroma transfers into the taste with notes of baked bread, molasses, brown sugar. In the aftertaste, there is slight fruity notes but I can’t quite put my finger on which fruit it is.

The resteep at 4 minutes perhaps has less molasses and more fruit.

Delightful cuppa

This is my favorite Don Cong I’ve tried, though to be fair, this is only the third Don Cong I’ve tried. The roasted character is beautiful, and the underlying Don Cong varietal character is clean and clear (in its own rustic way) and only mildly floral. While other Don Cong oolongs can be bitter, this is much more balanced. Even with long steeps, there is only a faint drying character. While not particularly sweet, this tea is still very satisfying due to its crisp nature. I really like this, though I’d prefer a Da Hong Pao or Qi Lan rock oolong anyday. I reserve this for when I want something a bit crisper than normal.

this one is a tasty cuppa…like most imperial gold type teas, i do love it brewed THICK with added milk and sugar, call me a philistine, but if you’re looking for a cup of cozy, that is it.

One of my old samples of tea I am working on sipping down. I am on my 5th steep (or somewhere around there) and it’s been pretty consistent. This tea hasn’t really been stored properly since it’s a sample so it probably hasn’t aged much.

I found it slightly sweet with a bit of bitterness. There’s also a bit a fruitiness. More in the earlier steeps but still pretty consistent. I haven’t noticed too much caffeine or buzz from it; which is a good thing. I guess it all depends on what you want in a tea; and how you feel at that time of day.

GCTTB5
I used up the last of this sample.

I love yunnan blacks and this one is delicious. This is the first Yunnan Sourcing tea I have tried, so I am happy to try this sample. I will have to order from them sometime after I sipdown all my Butiki.

The golden needles are beautiful. This tea is smooth and complex. I taste notes of honey, malt, cocoa, and slight sweet potatoe. The mouthfeel is thick and delicious.

I resteeped at 4 minutes and it was just as delicious.

Free sample from YSUS, for my splurge in oolongs. This sample was 21 grams, very generous. A quick look up on the site provided no inside knowledge so its basically a blind tasting. Use a thin walled 100 ml gaiwan and used the approved mrmopar brewing techniques, which produces a smoky tea, viscous with soft florals, no astringency or bitterness. It is a decent tea and further research on the goog says its meant for the Taiwan market and is tightly compressed for their humid environs. I purposely over brewed my 6th session to see if I could coax out anything other than the smokiness and not much showed up other than puckering bitter. I’m going to recommend it because although it may not have much depth it still is a smooth smokey tea is that’s your thing. Oh and the other is that I can’t find it anywhere online.

Just tried this for the first time, and it’s my first “Golden Monkey” Tea. I was surprised by the complexity of this tea when brewed gongfu style. The first 3 or so steeps tasted of cocoa with fruit undertones. Around the 4th steep, the cocoa dropped off, and slightly tropical fruit flavors took the stage, with a pleasant malt finish. Later steeps (~6-8) had a light fruity sweetness, almost like bananas. The last couple steeps, which were kind of pushing the tea, yielded weak, sorta floral flavors. The body was strong through around 7 or 8 steeps, after which it dropped off to a more watery consistency.

My sample arrived with leaves largely intact with a fresh sweet scent. Brewed leaves have a musky floral sent, kind of like raw crystalized honey. The tea soup is a clear pale yellow.

I found this tea to be much more subtle and gentle than expected. It has those characteristic Mengku florals, nuttiness, bitters, and pungency, but more subdued that the 2015 YS Da Hu Sai, for example. It’s very pure and refreshing, nicely thick, and quite active in the mouth and throat—I got tingly and numbing rather than creamy.

This will probably improve in a few years, I think. Floral notes here are more savory than sweet. Fantastic energy in here as well. I’ve learned that Mengku-like teas have a cha qi that, for me, are more cerebral than other regions. This is very pleasant to drink now, but I think waiting 3-5 years will give this tea the time it needs to reveal its potential.

I purchased this bing about two years ago at what I thought was a reasonable price at the time. The bing has beautiful leaves with a colour tone that is consistent with the year of production claimed. The wet leaves produce a wonderful woody aroma with subtle hints of ripe fruits in the background – definitely a pleasant nose on this one. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the liquor itself. There is a pleasant sweetness that brings wet wood to mind. However, this sweetness fades away quite rapidly. There is a nice slight cooling effect with this tea, however, I’d have to say that, in general, its quite dull. In my opinion, despite its age, its a decent tea, one that I would not pay its current asking price for.

Parameters : 7 g to ~ 100 ml

Really firm (90-99% Cocoa) dark chocolate bitterness upfront with a nice dry hint of leather, somewhere within that powerful mix of chocolate and leather I get a hint at subtle fruity complexities which will probably reveal themselves in the coming years. Solid base of mulch, wet wood, and damp leaves with a persistent sweetness delivered through endless salivation in the cheeks. After a minute or so the dry bitter notes fade to reveal a very long and smooth lingering wetness which coats the back of the throat. After looking up more about the tea it seems that sensation is where the cakes name is derived from – “Hui Run”. The qi is forward and strong, it makes no attempt to hide how young it is.

It was enjoyable enough in its own way, but I would probably not visit it again until it’s had some time to develop. As is I wouldn’t rate this well, but with aging in mind I think it has a lot of potential. It’s definitely rough around the edges, but hey it’s less then a year old and has lost a lot of its off flavors. There’s enough heft to develop into something really special in my opinion – not a drink now kind of shou.

Perhaps the most notable features of this tea are the visual appeal of the tea soup, velvety texture, and the smooth creaminess. It’s not super infusable—maybe no more than 7 steeps, but still very enjoyable in terms of mouthfeel and subtle flavors. This one is particularly soothing during those cold winter nights. The tea soup is a very clear and a beautiful deep burgundy.

OH MY i had an entire unopened package of this in my Unopened Teas Box! THANK YOU UTB!

quite nice – don’t forget to rinse quickly before steeping for real, maybe even twice. this one has much pungency to excise. once that’s done, though, a lingering floral that somehow manages not to be too flowery, if that makes any sense. a large mug of the first three steepings contains a deep rich aroma and a thick round taste, simply a lovely robust oolong.

I brewed up about 7g in a 100ml gaiwan at about 210f/off boil. I gave the customary two rinses. It took about 2 steeps before this one opened up. The wet leaf gave a nice earthy, wet wood, and slight cherry/vanilla sweetness aroma. Mostly earthy and woodsy. I had tried this one about a month or so ago and it was a bit too woodsy and fungal for me. This session however I was a bit more pleased. I think it had a bit of airing out to do. The first few steeps are nice and dark with a good thick liquor. Its not super thick, at least with 7 grams but was nice and creamy and not thin at all. The flavor is of an old book in the back of a damp antique store that sits in the middle of a rainy forest. A nice wet wood mixed with earthy forest floor greatness and some hints of vanilla sweet lingering in the background. I would classify this as one of the more earthy ripes not overflowing with sweetness like some. Very enjoyable though. The qi was calming with a bit of caffeine energy that offsets nicely. I used a bit more mindfulness with this session with eyes closed at times. It definitely makes a difference in really pick out the nuances of the tea. Too often I gulp my way through a session like a fast food junkie in the throws of a stoner munch session. Ill drink while doing work or doing some other mundane task. Slowing it down and sitting in a quiet room with the bubbling kettle in front of the tea tray visiting the aromas, flavors and the mouthfeel, truly one on one, makes for a more honest tea session. I find the antique store/old book qualities of these kinds of ripes nostalgic. They seem to transport me. Terence Mckenna speaks of the mushroom (tho a different kind) and about how it is a doorway to our ancient past. Not sure if that is so but I do get a bit of nostalgia that seems “old” in nature. I digress. This tea gave about 4 or 5 good steeps and then trailed but was still giving at the end. I am not one to push a ripe in the the later steeps so it may go longer. I would recommend this as a good everyday ripe. Earthy, Woodsy, and even a bit sweet hiding in there somewhere. Not bad at all.