I am reviewing the Spring 2012 harvest.
This is one of the few Yunnan blacks that I will gladly steep Western when in a hurry, and is a favorite when working at my desk in the afternoon.
I use 4 grams to 236 ml of 190 F water at 1/2/3/4 minutes, with the last steep reduced to 177 ml. The leaf responds quite well to this treatment. I get aromas of cocoa, honey, malt and occasional hints of vanilla. Although the cocoa does not translate into the cup the sweetness does, especially in the later steeps, accompanied by pleasant citrus notes and a hint of ginger over a medium black tea base. I find myself going “Mmmm” out loud without thinking about it.
Today instead of a hint of citrus I got significant Meyer lemon notes, which was extremely tasty. I’m not sure if it’s because this tea is changing as it ages or if I did something different and did not notice. I’ll pay attention to the next few sessions to see if that is a trend. If so, no complaints!
I’ve already got the spring 2014 harvest on my wish list for my next YS order, and am looking forward to comparing harvests two years apart.
Flavors: Cocoa, Honey, Malt
Preparation
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Oh my! Yum to mayer lemons. YS is next on my “who to order from” list…but I must resist for now, just too many teas in the cupboard!!!!
YS is an especially dangerous site to browse. I usually put about $400 worth of stuff in my cart, laugh at my sheer folly, then spend the next three days painstakingly revisiting each page and deleting things until it gets below my threshold of pain.
My cupboard doors are bowing outward, but the spring 2014 harvests are coming in and it’s almost too hard to resist at least a few =:-}
Haha! How do you downsize a $400 order? Painstakingly seems like the proper word :-)
I know what you mean, the other day I started browsing through their pu’erh selection and nearly went crazy with envy! I just exited and have been desperately trying to avoid them ever since. You.are.not.helping. Just saying :-O
Several months ago I was joking with some fellow Steepster-ites about starting a ‘12-steep program’. The manifesto would probably go something like “I admit that I’m powerless over tea, and in fact just bought some more. Wanna’ see?”
Ahhh! That’s so hilarious…(and psst… yes…I do want to see…)
TeaFairy, I’d be glad to send you samples of everything I have from YS, if you like.
TeaExplorer, LOL, you & I use the same shopping methods! I spent the weekend building & then destroying shopping carts from a couple of sites, YS was one. It will happen, as I have money in my playpal account from CD sales & such, just begging to be spent.
regarding 12 Steep groups: we did have a group going in the discussions boards for awhile, but everybody kept relapsing & bragging about what they purchased, hahaha
Aww, terri how generous you are…I need to stop ordering tea and swap more I think :-)
I will keep that in mind and PM you when the time is right, thank you so much! Things are out of control, I’m aiming at getting under 300, almost there, but more tea is already on its way!!!
In the mean time, my cupboard is open if you see stuff that is of interest to you :-)
Same goes for you TeaExplorer, I have plenty to share!!
Oh my! Yum to mayer lemons. YS is next on my “who to order from” list…but I must resist for now, just too many teas in the cupboard!!!!
YS is an especially dangerous site to browse. I usually put about $400 worth of stuff in my cart, laugh at my sheer folly, then spend the next three days painstakingly revisiting each page and deleting things until it gets below my threshold of pain.
My cupboard doors are bowing outward, but the spring 2014 harvests are coming in and it’s almost too hard to resist at least a few =:-}
Haha! How do you downsize a $400 order? Painstakingly seems like the proper word :-)
I know what you mean, the other day I started browsing through their pu’erh selection and nearly went crazy with envy! I just exited and have been desperately trying to avoid them ever since. You.are.not.helping. Just saying :-O
Several months ago I was joking with some fellow Steepster-ites about starting a ‘12-steep program’. The manifesto would probably go something like “I admit that I’m powerless over tea, and in fact just bought some more. Wanna’ see?”
Ahhh! That’s so hilarious…(and psst… yes…I do want to see…)
TeaFairy, I’d be glad to send you samples of everything I have from YS, if you like.
TeaExplorer, LOL, you & I use the same shopping methods! I spent the weekend building & then destroying shopping carts from a couple of sites, YS was one. It will happen, as I have money in my playpal account from CD sales & such, just begging to be spent.
regarding 12 Steep groups: we did have a group going in the discussions boards for awhile, but everybody kept relapsing & bragging about what they purchased, hahaha
Aww, terri how generous you are…I need to stop ordering tea and swap more I think :-)
I will keep that in mind and PM you when the time is right, thank you so much! Things are out of control, I’m aiming at getting under 300, almost there, but more tea is already on its way!!!
In the mean time, my cupboard is open if you see stuff that is of interest to you :-)
Same goes for you TeaExplorer, I have plenty to share!!