Yunnan Sourcing

Received this tea for Christmas (15’) and it has been my everyday morning cup at work. This brews how you brew it… meaning: You can use 185 to 205 on this tea and brew it between 30 to 90 seconds and find different levels of malt and ‘tea cocoa’ to this. I think any good dianhong can have the same said about it. I will say that I prefer the straight strands opposed to the curly leaf, but that is a personal preference. Dianhong at work for breakfast is a automatic win; if you haven’t tried it, I highly suggest it.

It feels kind of weird writing a tasting note TWO YEARS after this tea was released. I must admit I do feel a bit guilty about having some of this left in my tea collection, but in my defense I bought it in December of 2014, received it in February of 2015, and forgot about it during a move in April.

I have to say it doesn’t seem to have really decreased in taste or smell at all. Of course memory can play tricks when it’s been so long so it’s possible it was better before. Still a very fruity, plummy black tea (as I think might be typical of purple varietal leaf) that lasts surprisingly long. I’m looking forward to sipping down the rest of it. Now that it has a permanent spot on my desk I’m far less likely to forget it again.

Thanks Christina for sending me a sample of this tea.

This is the spring 2015 version.

I thought based on the reviews and the initial dry tea smell that I would love this one but it has been weird for me.

The dry tea smells nice and sweet and malty, with a bit of dark chocolate notes. However after brewing, the initial sip is quite a turn off for me. All I can taste is burnt dirt, earth, and mushroom-y type flavour. As it cools, it turns into the more malty, sweet black tea I was expecting. There is no more earthy or mushroom flavours. But it unfortunately loses a lot of its “punch”. It is not horrible but luke warm tea is not my favourite. I have played around with steeping parameters but just can’t find what works for me with this tea.

Thanks Christine for sending me this one to try.

Starts off very mild in taste, but in energy it increases after the first steep. Pleasant bitterness and light sweetness underly the thick liquor. There is a strong mouthfeel and an interesting aftertaste of sweetgrass.

I really enjoy steeping this tea out all day, opposed to all in one session, that way the qi isn’t as overpowering. Light flavors, but lots of energy and mouthfeel.

Found a few of these in my Mandala mini tuo sampler pack. Had to google a ton of different things before “gold wrapped tuo puerh” popped up a picture hit which led me to this page. Thanks again, Steepster! These are definitely what I have, at least in image alone.

Anyway, I did two quick rinses and the mini tuo is just starting to loosen after the 1st steep of 10-12 seconds. First infusion flavor is light, delicate, enjoyable.

Second steep, 10 seconds. Man, this little guy is really holding onto its shape. Am I suppose to help it along in breaking up? I don’t know but I find myself being in the camp of “leaf (heh) it the hell alone” and let nature take its course. The typical ripe shu smell is a bit stronger and the color is becoming a bit more brick red compared to the last one. I’m really enjoying the flavor here. Smooth, velvety down the throat. An earthy caramel flavor.

3rd steep, 10 seconds. I know I am supposed to back off a bit with the time on the third steep (generally speaking) but I’ll be damned if this tuo is still holding form. After pouring out the liquid from the leaves, I used a blunt instrument (okay, it was my finger. I know this is probably frowned upon. The color of the liquor looks to be the same. The wet leaf had a smokey chocolate scent to it. Oh no..the flavor is still a light earthy chocolate with some smokiness. The horror… Hold up here. I think I just discovered a small thin.. piece of straw(?) at the bottom of one of my cups. Like… delicately small and thin but that is still what it resembles to me on the tip of my finger. Eh, whatever. Moving on.

4th steep. Oh, hey, guess who is a moron? I had assumed I put my electric kettle for a 212F temp. Just looked before this steep. Nope. It has been at 195F this whole time. Perhaps that is what has accounted for the light flavors and slow break up of the tuo… Oh well. I’ve enjoyed the taste thus far so, meh. Let’s see what the correct temperature brings me, shall we?

10 seconds. Again. And again, the tuo holds its shape and still feels pretty solid to the core. Yes, I used my finger again. Care to guess which one? Flavor and colors are both holding steady. Smooth and tasty. The scent of the wet leaves now has a sugary caramel scent. Not quite burnt… but reminiscent. At the risk of, well, very little, I am going to up the time a tad on this next steep.

Steep 5, 15 seconds (at 212 this time). Well, the tuo is still holding shape, though I do detect some sponginess this time around. The scent is the same. The color is slightly, ever so slightly, darker. The higher temp and longer steep time seems to have brought out a little bit more of the mushroom earthiness but it is still pretty subdued for a ripe. I’m still enjoying it quite a bit. You watch, this thing is going to fall apart in my gaiwan and just release a torrent of intense-ness that it has been holding onto and saving up.

Steep 6, 20 seconds. I should clarify here. There has always been some loose leaf settling on the bottom, so it’s not like there is no leaf loosening here and it’s all just one solid tuo. Anywho, the tuo is still mostly together but I think I am getting to it. I was able to push/mush some leaf off the main piece. But dang, that middle core still feels decently solid. Am I obsessing now? I’m obsessing now. You know what, just to prove I can stop, I am not going to mention the core of the tuo until it completely falls apart.

During this steep I got a whiff that so clearly and instantly reminded me of a salmon and rice dinner. Not in a bad fishy way normally associated with some bad ripes but in a very delicate and delicious way. Color is sitting somewhere between brick red and caramel brown. Flavor is mostly the same but a little bolder now. Still smooth and delicious.

Steep 7, 25 seconds. A mocha syrupy color reveals itself. Close your eyes and imagine what a solid, recognizable ripe puerh tastes like. I’m pretty sure you are envisioning this. There is a slight mineral undertone/after taste in this one as well.

Steep 8, Screw it, 40 seconds. And guess what? We have a broken up tuo. The color now reminds me of a dark roasted coffee. There also seems to be a roasty mushroom scent to the wet leaf. My patience and now devil may care attitude in the last steep have combined to make this brew a toasty cocoa creamy goodness. Best one thus far. Thanks tuo for finally releasing all of your treasures.

Annnnd the tea drunk just hit.

Steep 9, 45ish? seconds. Coffee color still remains. Delicious flavor as well.

So, I have to go before this tea has really given up all I think it has to offer. Where do I have to go? A tea tasting at an English Cottage Tea House. Hahahhahah.

Edit- I realize this review sounds a bit manic and thanks for hanging in there for the novel but I was in an extra good mood. Was it the best tea I’ve ever had? No, probably not. Was it the most fun I had while drinking a tea? Perhaps. And isn’t that all that matters?

Backlog from this morning.

I’ve had this tea a few times, and I’m still trying to sort out how I feel about it. It’s definitely not a bad tea, but it’s maltier and breadier than I like. It reminds me of whole wheat bread, of bread crust.

It’s rich, but I tend to like my black teas a little sweeter/spicier. However, I will keep this because sometimes you just need a strong kick in the pants.

I got a cake of this in July and it’s already more than 2/3 gone! If I’m honest I bought it because I like the goat on the wrapper..but I wasn’t dissapointed!

I think this tea may have changed a bit since I got it because I broke the cake up and put it in a earthware jar to air out.

While there is still a bit of the fermentation flavor, the dark chocolate flavour and creamyness of this tea overpowers it pretty easily (and I hardly notice it anymore). A good candidate for gong fu or grandpa style although I find it doesn’t stay strong enough for very long as grandpa style. A very easy to drink quality shou.

Lovely tea! Dried leaf: intact, attractive shapes, and are easily pried off the cake with a lovely floral fragrance. Wet leaves have a delicate wild flower aroma and are of a respectable olive green, nice and veiny. I normally taste the wash of teas I’ve been anticipating to try out.

The initial steeps have an upfront floral sweetness, cooling, tingly sensations, and almost spicy/nutty notes of raw/roasted brussel sprouts. Honestly, if there was a liquified form of honeysuckle it would taste like this. That kind of delicate but prominent floral note comes more to the fore as the tea soup thickens. The body on this is just wonderful and consistent through later steeps. It has a very pleasurable mouthfeel. There is strong cha qi that spreads to my core rather than to my head. Tea buzz sneaks in on the 3rd or so steep. Mid to later steeps are consistently honeysuckle-floral, wild flower honey, thick/velvety, and tingly/cooling, with that good kind of bitterness I look for in pu’er.

I’ve tried this with my gaiwan and yixing. The sweetness seems to be somewhat enhanced with the yixing, but not by much. The honeysuckle and vegetal notes are more obvious when using the gaiwan. The tea remains active in the mouth for a while after drinking. I can’t get enough of that mouthfeel and tingly sensation! I ended up purchasing two cakes.

First Impression, this has sit for a bit over a week and is from a yunnan sourcing tea club shipment.

The warmed dry leaves smell of chocolate and malt with a hint of flowers and cinnamon. The first brew is a floral explosion with a solid backbone of spice and minerality. Over the next few brews the sweetness, roast, and spice notes really picked up as the florality slowly faded. Really thick and smooth mouth feel with great cooling sensation. Not overly roasty – warm and toasty is more like it. Got eight very solid brews from it. Looking forward to really sitting down and evaluating it.

Revisiting this one “Grandpa style”…

Still a most enjoyable drink, but there is a lack of energy and mouthfeel. I was kind of dissapointed that this was in my cup this morning just because I wanted a pick me up and I chose this. Sweet and unique, however no energy.

I am going to replace it after a little bit with something to pump me up for work (if that’s possible).

Smooth. This tea is very easy to drink, the modest floral scent leads for a sweet finish. No astringency until the 5th or 6th steep and very little bitterness (if any at all). This tea has good character, but lacks in depth.

Tieguanyin was my crossover into tea. Anytime I have it, it takes me back to that first cup. I used a duanni yixing teapot to brew this tea.
This tieguanyin is different from others I’ve tried. The body and color of the brew is light. Early aromas start off almost potatoey and it gradually turns into that lilac, super floral that I’m used to in a tieguanyin.
Sweet and soft. Even after increasing my steep times to adding more than 30 seconds, the flavor never got sharp. Great tea!

Very nice example of the Phoenix powerhouse fragrant tea. Right away I noticed the leaf as well processed, tight twist and roasted lightly Over the top floral notes and the flavors of honeysuckle, musk melon and slightly sweet. Well structured mouth-feel and a tiny bit of astringency that compliments this teas aromatic boldness. This is one of those teas that I give to jaded coffee drinkers to win them over to our side.

First impressions

I recieved the tea a week ago with my tea club shipment. The dry leaves had a distinct peach note which after heating in a gaiwan opened up with the addition of cinnamon, vanilla, toasty malt, and some florality.

The first brew was full bodied with a lot of floral notes, a good touch of minerality, flint, some toast, and a hint of peach. The tea lasted about 8 brews, however the tea peaked on the second brew and was much smoother and less complex thus forth. The teas energy is warm and calming, but definitely slight and requires focus. There was a nice cooling in the mouth for the first few brews accompanied by some sweetness.

I’ll update this review next time I brew it. Overall my first impression is that this is a good entry/mid-level yancha, aromatic and flavorful with good sensations in the mouth. Well priced.

Found this one among my samples and have no idea where it came from or if it’s 2014 or 2015. It might even have been part of the monthy pkgs from YS. I’ve accumulated so many samples, I just don’t know. ;-)

Anyway, this was an excellent milk oolong. Milky, floral, creamy. Oh joy. I will have to add this one to my next YS order (which might not be for awhile since I have way too many teas to sip down). I’ve had some pretty good milk oolongs but the floral notes in most of them were either not there or not that prominent. This one seems to have it all. There even seemed to be a fruity note to it but that maybe because I ate a clementine before having the tea. Not that I got anything orangey. It wasn’t orangey, just fruity.

Flash brewing shows a somewhat dark liquor after the first rinse. Pleasant astringency is accompanied by hints of woodiness, mustiness, and mild fruitiness. Turns into a smooth drink through and through. Very relaxing tea which would be a great everyday selection. A very average tea

tried in my yixing… tastes were strong and mixed, couldn’t find any positive attributes, barely drinkable. Not for me.

Thanks so much Christina for this sample!

I had started a thread regarding compressed black tea. I received a lot of recommendations and Christina thoughtfully offered me some of this tea to try.

The sample I received was a few “chunks” of this tea. The smell upon the hot water hitting the tea immediately reminded me of sweet cinnamon. I wondered for a second if there was some contamination from my tea implements. But the smell quickly faded to subtly sweet black tea scent. A bit of an earthiness smell but still every once in a while my brain tells me cinnamon.

I did the first infusion with just boiled water for 60 seconds. My first thoughts were this tastes kind of musty, or dusty. After a few sips, I think what I am tasting is the chrysanthemum. There is what I would guess to be a slight dried flower floral flavour. The black tea does not seem to be very strong. It is slightly sweet but not getting the cinnamon flavour that I get in the scent. There is a generic light spiciness to the tea. At the end of the sip there is some dryness in my mouth but I would not describe this as astringent. I read someone’s tea blog that described this tea as “autumn” and I would agree.

I am unsure about this tea as of yet. I would not describe it as bad or that I dislike it. I think I am just having a hard time harmonizing with the flavour. I am going to try a few more steeps.

For the second steep I added 30 seconds. I feel like in this steep there is more astringency, especially as the cup cools. The dried floral flavour profile has morphed into a dry hay flavour. I feel like there is quite a bit more earthiness into this steep.

More to come…..