Yunnan Black Gold Black Tea * Spring 2017

This was my first sipdown of the month. I somehow ended up with a ton of this tea back in 2017 and put a 100 gram pouch in storage to test its aging capabilities. I finally broke that pouch out during the last week of February and spent most of that week plus the first few days of the current month finishing it. I found it to be a very nice Yunnan black tea and one that was indeed suitable for aging.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 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 produced aromas of chocolate, pine, malt, cedar, cinnamon, and marshmallow. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of baked bread, raisin, burnt sugar, honey, and roasted almond. The first infusion introduced aromas of orange zest and black cherry that were underscored by hints of smoke and geranium. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of chocolate, burnt sugar, cinnamon, malt, and baked bread that were balanced by hints of roasted almond, cedar, pine, and orange zest. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of roasted peanut, vanilla, leather, prune, camphor, and black pepper. Stronger and more immediately evident notes of roasted almond, cedar, pine, and orange zest appeared in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, roasted peanut, raisin, leather, marshmallow, vanilla, earth, cream, prune, and cooked green beans. Hints of grass, smoke, caramelized banana, black pepper, geranium, camphor, and black cherry could be detected as well. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, earth, burnt sugar, roasted peanut, malt, cinnamon, and orange zest that were chased by hints of leather, roasted almond, black pepper, chocolate, baked bread, camphor, and pine.

This was a rock solid and very likable Yunnan black tea at a great price. It also seemed to have deteriorated very little in nearly three years of storage. Though one could easily find more unique and challenging Yunnan black teas on the market, this one proved to still be well worth a try. I could definitely see a tea like this making a great daily drinker and a fantastic introduction to the wonderful world of Yunnan black tea.

[Spring 2018 harvest]

I got a free sample of this tea with my recent order. It seems like a robust Yunnan black tea with a good body and medium astringency. The dominant taste is that of malt and other grains, as well as a milky finish. Not very sweet, but otherwise there is good depth of flavour. The aftertaste is cooling in the throat and quite long lasting with some cocoa notes too. The most complex aspect of the tea is its aroma, which ranges from woody/nutty in the dry leaf through earthy/fruity (berries) in the wet leaf to a honey like fragrance of the liquor.

Overall, a good tea for a very fair price, the only major drawback for me is the lack of a balanced taste. However, if someone really enjoys this kind of a malty taste profile, this is a winner I think.

First review! I’m moving into a real tea habit and Yunnan Sourcing is a hell of an enabler. This tea is my first real example of a yunnan black tea and it seems like a great place to start.

It has a bitterness akin to unsweetend cocoa with a malty, earthy, slightly nutty body. The wet leaf has a strong cocoa smell with some of those classic sweeter honeysuckle floral notes, and a faint touch of spearmint or wintergreen root. The body has a medium density that doesn’t feel thin and doesn’t really coat.

The aftertaste lasts in the back of the mouth with coffee/ burnt bread like bitterness. Overall I’m very happy with the 50gram purchase, but I’m not sure I’ll restock once I’m through the bag. There are just too many great teas to try at this price point.

Solid black tea, the dry leaf is clean and sweet smelling with just enough malt, and brews up with similar attributes and nice mouth feel.

I think it hits above its price so this tasty tea can be an enjoyable daily drinker.

I’ve added another order to my wish-list so I can enjoy the changes as this tea ages over two years.

Another tea added to the “favorite black teas” list. The tea had a slight yellow/golden hue to it. The mouthful was surprisingly thick. The flavor had a nice malt, cocoa-wheat, and slightly astringent body. Definitely a tea that could become a daily drinker once I get some samples out of the way!