Yunnan Sourcing

Maybe it’s my ignorance about the term “medium roast,” but I expected this tea to have more oomph. The second infusion had a little more of a nutty bite, but in general this is a decent, light Tie Guan Yin, but I’ll continue looking for something with a bit more roast.

The finest Yunnan gold bud tea you are likely to taste. The heady combination of caramel, chocolate, and pu-erh-like earthiness floors me every time. Stockpile this tea; Yunnan Sourcing’s prices are shockingly low for this tea.

Smooth and slightly savory. Need to spend more time with this.

6g/90ml celadon gaiwan.
wash/wash/15/15/20/20/30/30 @ 100C

Ah, this is good. Last sheng was a dissapointment so this one cheered me up! Powerful astringance, slightly bitter. But well balanced so its not unpleasnt. Did longer infusions this time around and it payed of! Since it late i stopped at 6. The taste lingers long in the mouth, a bit of a tail on this one. Good stuff!

5g / 90ml celadon gaiwan.
wash/5s/10s/10s/10s/15s for a few more steepings @ 100C

I rather enjoyed this one. A more mature flavour then other 2012 shengs ivé tasted.
First infusion was a bit weak but still full in the mouth almost creamy. The following infusions was slightly more powerful with a bit of smoky sweetnes mixed with a slight astringency and dryness on the tounge. Surprisingly well balanced.

A nice interesting sheng, it’s smokey, but not too smokey, minty (or something similar), strong and punchy, a little dry, and a bit rough from being the last crumbs from bottom of the sample bag. Also, really awesome iced. The price seems a little on the high side, but it’s certainly got personality, the worst thing a young sheng can be is bland and boring.

Edit: the interesting flavors faded way too quickly, leaving behind just an unpleasant strange sticky astringency, i think this one needs at least a few more years on it for that to age out.

Revisiting this one for the first time in a while. The leaves have turned to a light brown with golden colored tips. Brews a fairly light gold-ish color with a twinge of orange. Smells slightly smoky and camphorous, but I think it may have picked this up from a tea it was stored with.

It’s a very mild brew with little bitterness or astringency. Nice olive oil flavor and texture in the mouth. Good lingering sweetness in the mouth and back of throat. It’s still slightly floral, but no longer green; more like dried flowers. Also has a spring water minerality and sort of a dried wood/autumn leaf pile note. I gave my dad (who is more of a wine drinker) a cup and he said it reminded him of a very mild but oaky chardonnay. It definitely has a “qi” to it; I started to feel it after just a few infusions.

Overall it’s changed a little bit over the past few years, but not a lot. It’s very light and mild, and I don’t think it will benefit much from further aging, so I’ll move it to the top of the “to drink now” box.

I dropped (and broke) my gaiwan in the sink the other night while cleaning it out, so I’m brewing this in a glass measuring cup with a gaiwan saucer over it. Sad to lose my gaiwan, but it served me well over the past two years.

I’m really enjoying this tea tonight. It’s very tasty, but has a different flavor profile than most. No “peach and tobacco”, but softer flavors like olive oil, grain, bamboo, and white wine. It’s not super sweet, but the sweetness lingers in the throat for a long time. It makes a good many brews, a bit more than average, and has one of the strongest cha qi’s of pu’erh I’ve tasted.

Soo, since I’m in desperate need of a new gaiwan I’ll be pushing up the Yunnan Sourcing order I had been planing (they also have some celadon cups I’ve been eying). I’ll probably just stick to the tea wares, some black tea ,and some pu’erh samples since I need to keep this fairly cheap. Any favorites you think I should try?

Back home in Orlando and getting re-settled into a normal routine. I really enjoyed my vacation and escape from the heat, but it was stressful at times with so many people, semi-planned activities, etc. Basically I loved it, but the introvert in me is happy to be back in my own bed :P

Dry leaves: Medium-large cool brown leaves with plump white tips and a velvety shine. Aroma has gotten a bit mixed up in my sheng box, but the aroma is slight tobacco, peach, grass, and old book with a little spice. The cake is loosely packed, but nowhere near falling apart on it’s own.

Brewing: Melow greyish-yellow orange liquer, fairly clear. The wet leaves are long and plump with thick veins. Olive green coloration with a slight purple-red twinge here and there.

1st steep: Slightly brothy, but clean mouth feel. Very sweet and has a fairly ballanced flavor. Peachy with slight tobacco and mushroom notes and greenness. Mild pine resin astringency, little bitterness. Sweet aftertaste lingers a bit after the initial flavor.

3rd: Still peachy and sweet, but bolder with more tobacco flavor and woodyness. Slight charcoal touch, but no smoke. I start to get the qi sensations on the back of my head and I feel focused and steady.

5th: The bolder flavors die down and reveal crisp freshness. Flower bulb, walnut, oak wood, and fresh rain.

7th: Continued freshness, but mellower with heart of palm and red grape notes. Flavor slowly weakens, but I go on to ten steeps.

Really nice sheng! I think this is the best of the YS brand cakes I’ve tried, though the Yiwu Qui Yun is a close second.

This has become one of my prefered green teas. 5 g. per 10 cl gaiwan, 75 C water, start with 15 second, and increase slowly to 30-40 seconds. One can step the tea up to 8-10 times, and possibly more. Restepping later with lukewarm water it has become very sweet.

Substantially, a kind of mao feng, but with a bitterness note leaning towards raw puer, that can become a bit overwhelming with warmer water or longer stepping times. And developing nicely with many infusions, like the best maocha. My first attempts at 80-85 C were too bitter, I found my perfect balance experimenting lower temperatures and shorter times.

I am curious how this would evolve with time.

Chocolatey, fruity, slightly roasty, and incredibly sweet, this is one of my favorite black teas. For me it doesn’t ever really get the bright orange color pictured, but that doesn’t matter. I’m still floored by how incredible Yunnan Sourcing’s black teas are for their stupidly low prices, this is really a unique and top tier tea. Oh, and it’s just indescribably delicious and aromatic cold brewed, I cold brewed a pitcher of it in the fridge for ~36 hours and the fruity chocolate smell is so strong, and the sweetness is even more pronounced, best iced tea i’ve ever had.

My mind keeps chanting ‘Bi Luo Chun, Bi Luo Chun, Bi Luo Chun’ and it’s driving me insane! I have to give in to my urges and drink it’s delicious nectar.

This tea is has a sweet and floral (peony, jasmine combo) scent. The leaves are small and very curly with green and shiny silver colours.

First steep – 1 minute – Tea is pale yellow in colour and has a light but sweet vegetal/cabbage aroma. Flavour is subtle but matches the cabbage smell. Very delicious. Smooth, green, cabbage, sweet and buttery.

Second steep – 2 minutes – Flavour is thicker and more vegetal but still fairly smooth and very fresh. Also still very sweet and a little astringent.

Third steep – 3 minutes – Back to light again but still deliciously cabbagey and with a touch of dry, floral perfume.

As far as Bi Luo Chun goes I’m really digging this white version over the green. It’s much lighter but still has the same characteristics and flavours with a lot less astringency.

Thank you Dag Wedin for this sample.

Dian Hong will always be one of my favourite teas and it’s hands down the tea that I have the most of in stock in various forms.

I also know I have been a little quiet this weekend but truth be told I have been feeling a little under the weather and a lot of my depression has re-surfaced but I hope to be more active. Perhaps the next day or two will lighten my emotions and get me back on form.

This tea has some wonderful, long and super golden leaves that feel a little hairy and very soft. The beautiful golden leaves have a sweet malted and gentle floral scent that’s very fresh and darkly fruited.

Brewing this in my Gongfu teapot – roughly 6g of loose tea and for three steeps.

Steep One – 1 minute – Tea is golden brown in colour with a thick and sweet malted aroma with a hint of dried prune.

Flavour is smooth, silken and sweet with elements of malt, fruit, flowers and honey. Very refreshing and it leaves a delicious fermented fruit after taste.

Steep Two – Two Minutes – This time it’s a little more earthern and wooden than it is fruity or sweet. A little astringent but soft enough to still be on the smooth side.

Steep Three – Three Minutes – Light golden brown in colour now. Very subtle and still with hints of malt and wood.

Overall this is a very tasty Dian Hong that is on the gentle side as far as strength is concerned. A definite recommendation to those interested in this one. :)

The only thing I would change would be to increase the steeping leaves to roughly 7g to improve the strength. This is purely down to personal taste.

I enjoyed another session with this delicious tea that starts out light and sweet and emerges in the middle steeps with a strong honey/rock candy sweetness, excellent throat feel and powerful chi. Lemon and apple linger throughout and there’s just the tiniest hint of orchid woven through the profile. Alas, my sample of this benchmark tea is kaput.

On a side note, I find it odd that I have a high tolerance for chi but a low tolerance for caffeine, so my capacity for drinking sheng is much higher than black tea, for example. Are there any other caffeine-sensitive folks that experience this?

I steeped this for four minutes ( I know, sacrilege), but it yields such a full robust taste I couldn’t resist. Very light smoke, no bitterness, with apricot, black licorice and scotch flavors. This is the best sheng I’ve ever had and truly a benchmark for all future tastings.