Award Winning Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea – Golden Tip

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Bread, Creamy, Honey, Malt, Molasses, Raisins, Smooth, Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Floral, Fruity, Stonefruit, Astringent, Caramel, Cocoa, Earth, Wood, Brown Sugar, Strawberry, Sweet, Bitter, Apricot, Dust, Flowers, Peach, Chocolate, Nuts, Nutty, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Berries, Citrus Fruits, Smoke, Carrot, Citrus, Dark Wood, Cherry, Coconut, Overripe Cherries, Bergamot, Butter, Citrus Zest, Burnt Sugar, Grain, Toast, Leather, Loam
Sold in
Bulk
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by TeaVivre
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 45 sec 5 g 39 oz / 1141 ml

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317 Tasting Notes View all

  • “This morning I jumped on Steepster and was so moved by Cwyn’s review of 2012 White2tea Giant Steps that I did the unthinkable. I reached way in the back of my tea cabinet and pulled out my beloved...” Read full tasting note
    97
  • “Tea of the morning….. I am down to the dregs of my first 50 grams of this tea. (Luckily, my pack rat tendencies had me purchase 100 grams from the outset!) It is wonderfully caramelly, sweet...” Read full tasting note
    95
  • “I waited to pick the third tea for my guest until I had seen her try shu puerh and jasmine silver needle. I used her opinions to pick the final tea, and was leaning toward black tea since she...” Read full tasting note
  • “It’s been a busy day, so no real tasting notes on this, but I’ve reviewed it plenty of times. It’s a lovely buttery rich brew, no astringency, smooth & sweet, & I can drink it on an empty...” Read full tasting note

From Teavivre

Origin: Fengqing, Yunnan, China

Ingredients: orange pekoe colored buds

Taste: A rich, complex but smooth and fresh taste

Brew: 1-2 teaspoons for 8oz of water. Brew at 185 ºF (85 ºC) for 2 to 3 minutes (exact time depends on your taste – a longer time will give the tea a stronger taste and color)

Health Benefits: A good source of antioxidants and so will help reduce the risk of cancers and lessen the affects of aging. Black teas such as our Dian Hong also are considered to help prevent tooth decay and help lower your cholesterol levels.

About Teavivre View company

Company description not available.

317 Tasting Notes

95
160 tasting notes

Drum-roll please…. I’m back! I had a wonderful vacation in Europe. I even got to try delicious new teas from new places! Reviews coming soon! :) When I got back I found a nice big bag of samples from Teavivre waiting for me! What a great way to end your vacation! Admitedly I am swamped with work but I will make time for tea and Steepster. I missed you all while I was away!

This is the first tea from the samples that I have decided to try. I chose it randomly, and I have to admit that I am a pretty good random chooser (if I may say so myself!)!! hahaha… This tea is delicious! 

The leaves are long and elegant. The dark brown and golden yellow make the leaves a pleasure to look at. The smell is incredible… It is a combination of extreme maltiness a hint of chocolate and a dash of honey. It is a party in your nose! My mouth couldn’t wait to join in!

The scent while brewing is spectacular, an extension of the deliciousness of the dry leaves. Once brewed the used leaves turn true golden and the golden brow liquor that they produce smells of fresh baked chocolate bread! I am in love… Unsweetened I get a tiny bit of welcome bitterness followed by the taste of fresh baked bread with just the right amount of maltiness and a hint of honey to finish of the sip. Wow… Sweetened a chocolate note becomes apparent and it is pleasure in a tea cup. 

The second steep is just as delicious, but not quite as bold in flavor. I find it, surprisingly, a tad bit more astringent than the first, but still delightful.  

This tea makes you double check if it is flavored… I really felt like I was eating freshly baked chocolate bread with honey! 

A great welcome back tea! :)

Preparation
2 min, 30 sec
Bonnie

Welcome back!

Scatterbrain

We missed you.

LiberTEAS

Glad to have you back!

Ninavampi

:) I’s soooo happy to be back in touch with everyone! I have a whole lot of reading reviews to catch up on! I am looking forward to it!

Cheryl

Good random chooser indeed :)

Missy

Welcome back! Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip. :D

CHAroma

Yay! Welcome back! :)

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93
111 tasting notes

I’m going to start with a little story. Yesterday, members of my local family (my Momma, Grandma, Aunt), went for Mother’s Day brunch and we had a good time. I passed on the horrible restaurant tea and opted for….wait for it…COFFEE!! Egads! It was bad too-only a little sugar made it tolerable. As the conversations moved along, occasionally, I thought of my good tea at home and my fellow Steepsterites. Then it occurred to me-while I am not a huge fan of Facebook (extremely rarely on), I love Steepster. :)) Steepster IS my Facebook! Then I smiled. :)) I spent the rest of the day with my Momma.

I am sending a huge Thank You to JenW for this delicious sample. :)) Beautiful long and slender leaves that are a combination of colors-some black, some black/beige, while most are a tippy golden beige color. The aroma is terrific, with a sweet honey aroma, and lighter chocolate notes.

The wet leaves exude a toasty, woody, medium to dark chocolate sweetness. The thought of sweet potatoes crossed my nose (maybe a little). Then came the smell of musty/earthy fallen leaves. Ahh….the sweetness…I inhaled so deeply, so many times, I was nearly hyperventilating! Is it true? I was picking up on a lighter candy sweet cherry note. Maybe it was just the lack of oxygen to my brain, because as the leaves cooled I couldn’t detect it. Now, I was detecting toasty and wood-like sweetness.

The cup was a dark brown. Where was the bottom of my cup? The cup revealed aromas of sweet honey (raisins?), combined with a musty, earthy aroma. The flavor was quite malty, earthy, and dark chocolatey, with a mild sweetness. The feeling on my palate was smooth, with no bitterness.

Then other aromas in the kitchen invaded my senses :-//, so the review will be continued…….

At 9:30 PM tonight, the Horseshoe Casino is opening in Cleveland. I’ll get there sometime soon. I steeped the leftover leaves from my last steep with about 2 tsp of additional leaf (190 for 3 min.). I hope my leftover tea leaves aren’t too much of a gamble for my intestines! :-//

My second steep unearthed honey, earthy sweetness while steeping. The wet leaves also had honey earthy aromas, cooling to a more earthy than honey sweet aroma. The cup was even darker-or seemed to be. I was thinking, “Is there anybody in there?!”. Oh yeah….there was…I saw my own reflection! :)) My sinuses were really bothering me, so my cup aromas were hampered. I did detect darker honey, slightly earthy yunnan mustiness, and some malty aroma. The flavors I noticed were slight & thin (sinuses), with some mild astringency-not bitterness. This is in large part due to steeping the previous leaves again.

This was not quite the review I was hoping for, but I will review this tea more after dinner with my Dad and a friend of ours at a local sports bar called Bootleggers. For now, I have to bolt (as in Thunderbolt). :)) Steep on steepies…….

Had a great dinner on an outdoor patio with lots of sunshine, but it did get cooler before we left. It was also very calming listening to a water fountain. :)) Good conversation, laughter, and music (Led Zeppelin, Journey, America, Def Leppard, etc.).

So for my third cup (2 tsp, 185 for 2:20), I did read some reviews after my first cup. Some people got (baked) sweet potatoes, or a raisin quality. Dry leaves smelled of honey, malty sweetness with chocolate notes. My sinuses were clogged AGAIN, so the wet leaves smelled mainly honey sweet (possibly raisins), mild chocolate, and some sort of baked sweetness. The cup smelled malty sweet, chocolatey, and earthy. Flavors in the cup were mainly malty, chocolatey, and earthy.

My last cup was similar (boiling for 3 min.), and I added the rest of the sample to the steeped leaves from the third cup. I tasted less sweetness, and it was mainly full of musty earth, and less chocolate. I was hoping to taste some of the baked qualities. :-// The feeling on my palate was smooth and quite full without bitterness!

What a great and delicious tea! I will definitely be ordering some more. This tea reminds me more of Autumn, but it is awesome anytime! Thanks again JenW-this was much appreciated. :)) A perfect end to another beautiful day! I’m gonna go…….seems I keep rambling on…and on….and on. :))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3HemKGDavw

Cupped & Reviewed: Monday, May 14, 2012.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 0 sec
ashmanra

You are a good son! :)
I understand about steepster being your Facebook. Steepster is better because we send each other tea. That doesn’t happen on Facebook!

Bonnie

Um good discription of the flavors! Steepster is a relationship about tea and people! Tea should be about community or something is wrong!

TheTeaFairy

I also prefer Steepster if you have to compare! although they serve different purposes, I find Facebook to be more about the individual as opposed to Steepster where you find a true sharing community! That’s what happens when you put a bunch of poeple together with the same passion!

Cheryl

Oh! Ohio!

Bonnie

And u post photos on facebook which sometimes I wish u could have a couple here for personal tea shots or tea cats /dogs etc.

ScottTeaMan

I know Bonnie thats why people blog tea reviews elsewhere, so the can include photos. i am considering doing it, but I’ll stillreview teas here. :))

cheryl= Ohio?!

Cheryl

Yep :b

ScottTeaMan

If you care to read, update is complete. This seems appropriate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3HemKGDavw

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84
807 tasting notes

Sweet, clear, crisp, bright, yams, hay, maple, butterscotch, chocolate, malt = Bliss.
YUMMMMIE

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Scott B

I’ll probably get some of this with my next TV order.

Azzrian

Its really so good. Its rich but not thick if that makes sense. Very clear and bright, not heavy at all yet the flavor notes would make you think it would be.

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86
709 tasting notes

I’m positive I’ve had this tea before now but apparently I have yet to log it. It’s good timing as I am considering another Teavivre order and was really impressed with the regular Yun Nan Dian Hong but wondered if the next level up was superior enough to justify buying that instead. This one costs approximately three times the price of the regular dian hong, so I am hoping for a remarkable experience. This has a remarkable quantity of golden leaves, I wuld say it is at least 3/4 golden tips. Very beautiful, and left lots of little tea leaf fuzz in the bag.

I am at work so I steeped this in a T-Sac rather than a brew basket or gaiwan. There is lots of room in it for expansion though, so I’m not too fussed. Three minutes in I have a lovely golden orange liquor and an appetizing aroma. Sweet cocoa, a sense of astringency but it’s not fully developed. It smells rich and almost has some aromas that remind me of bread. I can’t quite explain those so I’ll just enjoy.

First sips yield sweetness but surprisingly little flavour. I expected a POW of cocoa and tea, instead I get a whisper of each. I had some carrots as a snack earlier and I actually taste them more than the tea. Maybe this one requires more steep time? As I continue to sip the flavour builds on the tongue, but still doesn’t reach the level I expect of Teavivre’s teas, especially at this price range ($18.90/100 grams).

I will be fair and admit that this is an old sample (give or take a year) so it may have lost flavour in storage but it was stored well, in a double sealed bag. I will definitely try again, but this just didn’t have the punch I was looking for. A very nice tea but not the flavour I expect for the price and the quality of the leaves. I feel a little let down, but at the same time am buoyed as I can guiltlessly pick up the cheaper Yun Nan in my next order!

MegWesley

I find that this one is a much gentler tea than the full leaf Yunnan that they offer.

Uniquity

I actually like it more cold which is really unusual for me. It seems to have more nuances and flavour this way. Intriguing!

MegWesley

Cold? That’s interesting. I might have to try that. Did you just let it cool off or did you cold brew it?

Uniquity

I let it cool off (though not on purpose). It can be tricky to drink tea at work in a timely manner. :)

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97
735 tasting notes

My teas from Teavivre finally arrived! I had ordered this yunnan after sampling it, but Teavivre also included a lot of other samples for me to review as well. I will be getting to that tonight and tomorrow, which is my day off.

Anyway, I’ve made two pots already since I opened it last night. It’s my current absolute favorite black tea. I was thrilled to see how much 100g actually is. It looked like a bird’s nest as I transferred it from the pouch to a tin, and smelled so deliciously sweet. The boys have been liking it as well, even the ones who aren’t big tea drinkers. I’ll probably be logging this one a lot this winter.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Jim Marks

This is a really fantastic Yunnan golden for the price. I think it is my new benchmark “value for money” go-to tea.

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96
676 tasting notes

Second Review. I’m beginning to feel better today but still sticking to drinking black tea. I remembered how good this tea was first round and wanted to revisit that memory.

There is such a warm, light, floral nose to this golden tea liquor. Not malty but slightly yammy. When you take a sip your mouth fills with sweet juice and that yam taste at the back of the palate. The tip of the tongue tickles of tannin…just to let you know that your tongue has been coated with tea. Since I was drinking this cup for my morning tea, I added sweetening and that changed the yam. It became a lighter version with a bit of sweet, dried apricot fruitiness. When I added cream, the flavor of airy puff pastry arrived with a ta- da! Um, what a superb cuppa from a black tea so full of wonders!

This would be good with a mild breakfast ham and egg crepe but not too salty with a mild cheese, or just some plain buttered rolls.

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87
2201 tasting notes

Another sample stash busting! I am on a roll today. I’m not sure how I managed to drink this only once before but my sample was mostly empty today. Maybe I drank it without knowing it?

I probably ended up using a bit much leaf in my cup this time around, but it still is a very tasty cup of tea, and a very nice dian hong. Mmm, sweet potatoes and oranges. With this much leaf I’m missing out on some of the honeyed notes unfortunately, but perhaps on the resteep.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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96
136 tasting notes

Thank you Angel from Teavivre, for writing to me and generously offering to send me samples to try. This is by far my favorite of the 5, and have already ordered 100g with my first Teavivre order.

So I started my tea journey trying mostly flavored teas. I am now in the next phase, of attempting to find unflavored teas to love. This one falls in the “love” category. Btw, I am still using honey to sweeten most teas, but this one requires only a minimal amount. Don’t forget that my first love is Coke, so my taste buds are sweet trained. But I’ve found local honey, and using it will help with allergies too (so it has 2 purposes). But the tea itself carries a sweetness to it, that requires little help.

Yun Nan Dian Hong Golden Tips is really smooth and has absolutely no bitterness to it. Being sensitive to bitterness, this already gives it high praise. Someone called it “Lipton but better” and I concur … much much better. Some mention the sweet potato association. I’m leaning more towards caramelly, but see where those associations are coming from.

Teavivre says that this can be resteeped 12 times. I’ve only gone as far as 3, and on the third the flavors were weakening. Perhaps I need to be more precise with my temps and times. I’ve also tried it cold, and that is where the Lipton comparison comes from. It’s very nice cold, in a Lipton (but better) kind of way. Teavivre is now offering this in the 50g size. Angel sent me a sample of the full-leaf version of this tea, and it will be nice to compare the two. Teavivre’s customer service rocks btw. My order was put into the mail system Upton/Adagio-style (next business day). This and Upton’s Imperial Golden Monkey (ZP85) are my current unflavored favorites (so far).

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 30 sec
TheTeaFairy

great review cheryl! Glad you’re starting to really enjoy unflavored teas! ( funny we call them «unflavored», this one is so sweet and tasty!)
I agree with you, it will hold 3 steeps easily, but would never strech to 12!

TeaBrat

perhaps 12 steeps is for Gong Fu method of brewing tea with very small cups. :)

kOmpir

I enjoyed 5 steeps. It did start to wear off on 3rd, but last two showed some nice sweetness to it. I compare that with reading a good book for hours.
How does the full-leaf tastes like?

Cheryl

@TheTeaFairy – “unflavored” only in contrast to the obviously altered flavored ones.
@Amy – branching out to other brewing methods is in my future, but not yet : )
@kOmpir – I haven’t had a chance to test the full-leaf yet (so many samples, so little time/bladder capacity) : )

Dylan Oxford

Less-adulterated ;)

TeaVivre

you can try this tea with Gaiwan.

SimplyJenW

One of my favorites, too! I ordered 100g on my first TeaVivre order!

Cheryl

Dylan – exactly!
Angel – when I move to next phase of journey, in the plans
Jen – should we start an Ohio chapter of tea-nonymous? or is it shop-nonymous?

kOmpir

@Angel, What would be Gaiwan preferences for this tea (mine is 3 Oz)?

TeaVivre

Kompir, this is also depend on your personal preference, usually, you can add 5g tea into your Gaiwan. If you like the stronger flavor, you can add more.

SimplyJenW

Yes, I would definitely need to join either *-nonymous of the above, but mostly the Tea-buyers Anonymous!

ScottTeaMan

Jen-I’m glad you don’t consider it a tea DRINKING problem! :))

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96
119 tasting notes

NOMNOMNOMNOMNOM!

Thank you Angel and the Teavivre team for sending me this! It’s hard to believe that I haven’t even reviewed all of the teas they sent me….. I’m working on it!

So, I’m pretty sure that black teas are my favorite. Actually, scratch that, I am sure. I like how reliable they are and how hard they are (most of the time) to mess up. I just generally really like them (I’m going to make an order from Upton hopefully very soon to try some of their millions of blacks, I’m so excited!). This one is no exception.

The folks at Teavivre know their stuff. And they know it well. This one is super yummy. Not quite as good as the Bailin Gongfu, but still very yummy. Others have described this one perfectly, so I’m just going to basically back them up. This one has a very definite yam flavor base-slightly potato-y (in a not yucky way) but with that yam sweetness. Very good. As it cools more, the yam starts to turn more into a yam-mixed-with-a-regular-potato flavor. The potato note comes out more and the sweetness backs off. There’s also a bright, almost citrus, note in the front. Absolutely delicious. I also get kind of a honey sweetness stirring around, playing with your tastes. Also, a little bit of a malty hint, but just a nudge. Not a full-forced push. This one is so good. I love it!

Thank you again Teavivre and I can’t wait to finish this sample off!

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

I love black tea too!

Yogini Undefined

This sounds quite interesting!

Kittenna

I seem to screw up black teas more often than anything :P But I think astringency and I don’t get along, so once it shows up, it’s a brewing fail for me (and surprisingly, it’s happened less with the more fussy green/oolong teas, perhaps because I pay them more attention!)

Lucy

Buh the Bailin Gongfu is amazing. Amazing. I want to try this one now too!

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89
6768 tasting notes

I’ve been sipping on this early mornings the last week or so! Backlogging…but see other notes :) It’s really quite FAB :)

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