Another intro to hongcha sampler tea. This is actually the only golden Yunnan tea in the bunch, so I probably should have picked up another one. Oh well, they tend to offer the pricier, bud-heavy teas in 50g increments on the US website anyway, so I can always grab some others when I run out of this one.
This is nice – not necessarily a fully “gold” tea but definitely very tippy, maybe one leaf per bud? I wish they gave more information in their tea descriptions over at Yunnan Sourcing, something like a bulleted list with specifications like specific origin, harvest date, cultivar, and pluck (just buds, bud and one or two leaves, etc.). But obviously that’s neither here nor there… All that to say, this tastes like it has some leaves in it to me ha ha.
Still quite a light tea, but with a gentle mineral/earthy, malty foundation. Very smooth with those characteristic sweet potato and tangy stonefruit/apricot notes. There is an interesting hint of black pepper in the finish, which lingers nicely. A subtle, clear sweetness like honeysuckle nectar appears at the end of the sip as well.
Not sure I would specifically order this, as generally I would go for one of the pure bud varieties, like the biluochun or mojiang, or I would go for a less tippy Yunnan tea. But I will certainly enjoy drinking through my 25 grams!
(Spring 2025 harvest)
Flavors: Apricot, Black Pepper, Dried Fruit, Earthy, Honeysuckle, Light, Malty, Mineral, Nectar, Rich, Savory, Smooth, Spring Water, Starchy, Stonefruit, Sweet, Sweet Potato, Tangy
