Rasseru said

Can someone explain the 'yunnan gold' & 'red' types of tea?

I’ve got a really nice yunnan gold which gets enjoyed when a cuddle blanket is needed. Ive also seen ‘red’ teas and was wondering what’s the deal with these types of tea?

Are they basically black teas & why are they different? What other teas fall into a similar category because the one in my collection is lovely

13 Replies
tperez said

The Chinese term for what we call black tea is “hong cha” which means red tea. Yunnan blacks have a lot of variation in picking standards and processing, but the tippy ones are often called Yunnan gold or golden needle.

So simply put red tea is another name for black tea and “gold” is a somewhat arbitrary term to describe/ name black/red teas with a high bud to leaf ratio

I’d highly recommend checking out Yunnan Sourcing’s selection of black teas, they’ve got good quality and a good variety of Yunnan black/red/gold :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

cookies said

Do you have a link to the red tea you’re talking about? Some vendors label what we would call black tea as red tea, since it’s called red tea in China. I believe due to the red colored infusion, while westerners refer to the black leaves. But there’s also the herbal rooibos which is also called red tea.

Yunnan Golds are Yunnan grown black that contain tips which are covered with golden hair. Some Yunnan golds are almost completely golden, while others contain only a few golden tips. Completely second the recommendation for Yunnan Sourcing. They have a wide variety of teas that are sure to please you if you enjoy Yunnan blacks.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Rasseru said

I’ve only tried this yunnan gold which is very golden leaf and lovely, and Keemun which is a different varietal? So not sure, usually my taste is Oolongs & whites, not so malty. Will need to get samples

Not sure what the yunnan red was,it was on here being reviewed

cookies said

Ah, if it was Yunnan red, then it’s just another way to say Yunnan black tea.

Keemun is a different growing region.

Rasseru said

I liked the wine & fruity notes from the Keemun ive had.

What other variations on black tea are there with different flavour profiles?

cookies said

So many variations/countries/growing regions… I wouldn’t know where to start, so I’ll leave that to someone more knowledgeable than myself.

I can, however, recommend the purple varietal black teas from Yunnan Sourcing. I personally find them very fruity. And I think this one was the fruitiest black I’ve tried http://steepster.com/teas/esgreen/26508-jiu-qu-hong-mei-twisting-red-plum-black-tea

Rasseru said

ok, i will try that sometime. my yunnan gold and ying zhen are running out so i will maybe buy these from YS next

Login or sign up to post a message.

Rasseru said

Any recommendations for tea like this with fruit or wine notes? im not mad about chocolate or malt or coffee. sometimes its nice but not every day

You might like Darjeelings.

Rasseru said

i started my journey with a love for Darjeelings before steepster,

Turzum ‘muscatel dream’ second flush
‘Singbulli silk’ first flush

being my favourites so far :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

Rasseru said

omg Yunnan Sourcing have got too many black teas o.O

tperez said

Yep! The Wuliang hong maofang is very fruity/ floral, and of the ones I’ve tried the Da Hu Sai wild arbor, and the Ailao high Mountian (my favorite) are somewhat fruity as well

Rasseru said

yeah im not sure what it is, but the darker teas i have tried that i didnt like were always lacking in either: fruit/wine, floral, butter/cream/oil. i think i need these flavours to balance the dark

Login or sign up to post a message.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.