This smooth and pleasant tea accompanied my morning yesterday. These dark medium large leaves mixed with around 25% golden tip yielded 3 good steeps using my usual method of 1 TSP/225ml/94°C/1 min+1 for next steep, which is slightly less resilient than some of the Yunnan’s I’ve been drinking. The last steep was weakening and I will probably extend the steep time the next time I drink it.
The first steep smelled of malt, cocoa, a musky, grainy scent, and red fruit. The taste was sweeter than the scent with with a strong barley note mixed with cocoa and caramel. There was a faint leather spice mixed in with light malt and a touch of fruit. The tea had a slightly metallic, mineral note that leant a certain coolness to the flavour of the tea. The tea was very smooth on the tongue.
Future steeps introduced a light bright floral note, plum mixed with red fruit and a light hay note. The caramel evolved to cane sugar.
Altogether this was a smooth, pleasant, and uncomplicated accompaniment to my day.
Thanks boychik for the sample!
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How many steeps did you end up doing? I might have to try the rest of my sample this way. :)
I tried 4. Steeps 1 and 2 were really good, with strong flavour, the third steep was weakening, so I tried the fourth steep at 5 min and really it was just fading cocoa, some malt , and indistinct sweet notes. I would try adding 1.5 to 2 minutes for the third steep and not bother with the fourth.
Gotcha, thanks a lot! I’ll have to try this today. :)
Glad you liked that;)
So I tried it with 1 minute, 2 minutes, 4 minutes and I liked it a lot! I need to try other Yunnans that way. :D
Yay! I’m glad you liked it that way. I do it with a lot of my Chinese teas, and it helps me discover another character to them. Some I prefer this way and some Western style and a few I steep at very short intervals.
I tend to prefer the lighter, more tippy Yunnan teas, so this method kind of emulates that even with darker ones. Which is nice! Thanks again for the suggestion. :)
:)
I like the tippy Yunnan’s too. I love the diversity of them. I once had one ( well it wasn’t specifically labeled Yunnan, but its leaf morphology and some aspects of its flavour suggested it was) that tasted of violets and grape jelly on top of other notes.
How many steeps did you end up doing? I might have to try the rest of my sample this way. :)
I tried 4. Steeps 1 and 2 were really good, with strong flavour, the third steep was weakening, so I tried the fourth steep at 5 min and really it was just fading cocoa, some malt , and indistinct sweet notes. I would try adding 1.5 to 2 minutes for the third steep and not bother with the fourth.
Gotcha, thanks a lot! I’ll have to try this today. :)
Glad you liked that;)
So I tried it with 1 minute, 2 minutes, 4 minutes and I liked it a lot! I need to try other Yunnans that way. :D
Yay! I’m glad you liked it that way. I do it with a lot of my Chinese teas, and it helps me discover another character to them. Some I prefer this way and some Western style and a few I steep at very short intervals.
I tend to prefer the lighter, more tippy Yunnan teas, so this method kind of emulates that even with darker ones. Which is nice! Thanks again for the suggestion. :)
:)
I like the tippy Yunnan’s too. I love the diversity of them. I once had one ( well it wasn’t specifically labeled Yunnan, but its leaf morphology and some aspects of its flavour suggested it was) that tasted of violets and grape jelly on top of other notes.