Yunnan Sourcing

I used 7g in a 220ml yixing pot.
Three infusions
1: 1min 90C
2: 2min 90C
3: 3min 90C

Malty slightly sweet. A bit of dark chocolate? A very slight astringency on the aftertaste.

A superb black tea.

This is the last YS black tea from my order that I’ve yet to review. I don’t frequent Steepster as often, so the thought of logging tasting notes slipped my mind. That being said, I’m looking forward to getting some new YS teas this year. :)

Here’s my tasting notes on a short steep of Yi Mei Ren (2012):

First steep tasted smooth with that “fuzzy” mouth feel. There is also a hint of fruit and black tea flavour.

Second steep brought out a new astringent flavour (I can’t describe the actual flavour so well).

Final and third steep was a really satisfying and strong cup. More of the tea body came out, along with the previous notes.

Overall, this was probably my second favourite out of the five I purchased. Not an amazing resteeper, but still pretty flavourful in short doses or a long steep.

Steep parameters: 100ml gaiwan, 5g tea leaves, rinse and 3 steeps (30s, 45, 1m)

This is manly tea; earthy, brown leaves wadded up into nuggets and smashed into a tightly compressed brick, not to mention a few bits of things that weren’t actually tea at all. From the outside I can see a little wood chip on the nei fei and a thumbnail sized black pebble that looks like flint or graphite peeking out from one of the corners.

Early steeps: Mild and sweet with sage and cedar notes with just a bit of mushroom flavor. It has a really clean taste for shu. Not as clean as the Verdant Peacock Village that I got to sample, but definitely the next most “sheng-like” that I’ve tasted. The taste is earthy, but still clear and crisp. The third steep starts to show flavors of pine and grilled corn? I know that’s a weird one, and its not smokey, but that’s the flavor I get. :P

Later steeps: Around the fourth steep the tea starts to gets even cleaner with linen, spice cabinet, and raw corn flavors, and a mouthfeel like warm milk. Around the seventh steep it starts to show an almost sparkling quality, a cappuccino creaminess, and a fresh, clean taste like a light rain. The tea started to fade in the ninth steep, but held out for a tenth.

Bottom Line: This is a delicious and very re-steepable shu, but not for you if you’re grossed out by the idea of finding “bonus content” in you tea. Personally I’m not really bothered by finding things in my pu’erh, so long as it’s relatively sanitary. “If I were a rich man” (cue pit music) I think I’d buy a few more of these bricks to stash away.

Its a beautiful day! Its dry and slightly breezy, with a temperature latching on to the mid seventies. Its the sort of intoxicatingly bright, pastel weather that makes everything seem to shine, and it feels great just to be out in it.

This is a tasty, affordable Wuyi tea. Fresh, clean flavor with notes of peach, pumpkin, and red clay with slightly roasty, mineral edge. Very mild and difficult to over-brew. Kicks the butt of any cheapish Wuyi oolong I’ve had.

To me this tea tastes like waking up on a crisp Fall morning, hiking somewhere in the Appalachians; but I suppose a lot of people would say it just tastes like tea. :P

Fancy Tie Guan Yin Oolong Autumn Harvest 2012
Dry: Rich, clarified butter, orchid-floral
Wet: Oceanic, vegetal, faintly floral, almond
Leaf: Deeply luminescent green, tightly rolled knots that unfurl to huge full leaves. 4g easily fills the volume of an 10oz pot.
Cup: Pale, lemony-golden liquor with a cloudy appearance, that clears up to a bright, glowing white grapefruit translucent hue by the 3 extraction. The cup is deeply fragrant and hints at the buttery and sweet flavors in the cup. Rich, explosive layers of resonate orchid, with a sweet oceanic depth and almost sea salt lingering. The resounded waves that bloom throughout the mouth are like the ocean against the shore, laying new sparkling moments that linger for many minutes after drinking. The splashing flavors are rich with a texture that is like holding flower petals in the mouth, only to find them vanish upon searching for them. The flavors continue, steep after steep, only becoming cleaner, more mineral, elusive and sparkling sweet. It seems to hold onto the temperature of the liquor and translate it into something that is nearing a texture, but also a physical sensation that resonates against the top of the palate and against the uvula and intensifies each whisper of incoming breath.
Directions: used 4g in 10oz glass pot, decanted into glass tea ocean and steeped for 1-2 minutes using 190 degree water (with an initial ½ oz of cold water to pre-extract the leaves on the 1st steeping. 2nd steep same. 3rd steep 3minutes. 4th steep 4 minutes. 5th steep 5 mintues.
Notes: I have been assembling over a dozen Tie Guan Yin oolongs of various grades, types, oxidation, locations, harvests and crafts to hold a free tea cupping for the local public in my Tea Around Town program. Its been a very interesting journey and quite educational, as I have draw together aged oolongs, double fired, spring/autumn harvests, China/Taiwan harvests, and variable oxidation and this particular tea floored me. I have always heard about the quality of these oolongs being defined by the characteristic of ‘orchid’ notes and the tendency for them to ‘blush’ in repeated ways beyond the first sip. I guess I have experienced some of them in the past, but this was truly an example of this all the way. Later steeping even drew out flavors of Asian pear and granny smith apple. All I can say is with such a bounty in a simple cup, why would anyone ever need to flavor these? Wow…..amazing.

Hmm, this is ok I guess. It was cheap, but the other black teas I’ve had from Yunnan Sourcing were WAY better.

It has a nice black peppercorn quality, and a sweetness a bit like maple syrup, but it also tastes a bit like wet dog… Its a smooth tea, but it’s fairly one dimensional and overall not much improvement over decent quality teabag blacks.

I wonder if this wasn’t stored very well? It may have gotten slightly damp at some point or had too much humidity.

From a sample – quite a lovely golden color, with a flavor that has mellowed over time. It tastes a hint minty and earthy at the same time. Drinking quite well in early 2013.

Man this is good! Taking a break before getting back to the finals grind.

This tea is warm and hearty like a Taiwanese black, but clean and refreshing like young sheng. There’s also some pretty interesting flavors here that I haven’t tasted elsewhere, and I really like it.

One of my favorite things about tea is the endless variety. I love trying new things, and I sort of hate to buy the same thing twice (even if I love it), and so far I haven’t bought a second batch of any tea, but I think this is one I’ll need to keep stocked in my cupboard.

But then again there IS the light roast version of this tea… :P

The dry leaves are long and twisted, sort of like a Taiwanese black or Dancong. They have a deep, full aroma of chocolate, eucalyptus, and yam.

The infusions are a slightly unexpected walnut brown, maybe this has something to do with the purple leaf varietal? Despite the deep color the flavors are surprisingly smooth and mild.

Early infusions have flavors of chocolate, eucalyptus, pumpernickel, sweet potato with a rich, malty body. The mouthfeel starts out soft like marshmallow and ends slightly ashy like Wuyi oolongs/blacks.

Later infusions become cleaner and show flavors of lemon and clover leaf. The tea is very creamy and leaves a great, fruity aftertaste of guava and lychee nuts.

This is good stuff! Pretty resteepable for black tea, and has some unique characteristics that I assume come from ye sheng varietal leaves. Seems like the love-child of Yunnan and Laoshan black, with a touch of… purple? :)

Only had a sample of this but it was enough to drink 5 different times. This is what authentic puer is all about. Still waiting for my sample from this year to arrive!

I just wanted to write this short review as an update on how some teas are responding to the pumidor. I first got this sample and the flavor intrigued me. It had a tobacco base but mainly tasted like spices and peppers. The best way to explain it is that it tasted like spilling every spice in your cupboard in some mole. I bought a couple cakes and when I tasted it, it still had the spicy flavor. According to my inventory app it says I bought the teas on February 7, 2013. Despite only having it for a month and a half a lot of change has taken place. The spicy, peppery flavors have mellowed out some and started turning into the underlying tobacco flavor. I don’t know if it’s because of being in the presence of other teas that aren’t “spicy” or just from sitting in the pumidor environment but it will be interesting to see how the other teas respond

A bold silver needle white tea taste with slight nuttiness. Aftertaste is faint green and nutty sweetness. Very good taste. Only con is the inside the leafs there are some dried brown leaf and branch I found.

Infused 3 grams of tea including the few crumbs in this sample, in a very small porcelain gaiwain. Flash rinsed x 1, then a 10 second infusion with about 40mL water at 195 degrees: a teasing impression, a little sweet, a little earthy, promising a lot more with longer infusions. It is quite nice through 10 or so infusions—where I am now—earthy, sweet, plummy. Nice stuff.

Editing to add, that this tea has an unusually nice long sweetwater phase, fruity and not just faintly sweet. Very nice pu.

This is a reliably gorgeous oolong: after buying one packet with a few other things, I bought a dozen of them to have a years’ supply of it. It’s a little floral, a lot sweet and warm and rich, and always nice.

Imperial Mojiang Golden Bud Yunnan Black Tea 2012 Autumn
Dry: Richly complex with sweet malt, spice, cedar, and elusive floral accents, finishing with a sweet, caramel note
Wet: A heady spicy, exotic wood dominance with hints Himalayan pink salt, and a juicy-roasted vegetal depth
Leaf: Lush yellow sienna hued, golden curls, light and airy and dance in the hand like fragile baby beach crabs; impossible not to be drawn to them, to handle and turn them over, to explore the delicate and textured silky down of the leaves. The leaves are deeply imbued with fragrance and this intensifies as your hands warm them and your breath draws in and out against them.
Cup: A deep, brassy hued liquor, darkening to coppery-umber with longer extractions and picking up reddish-sienna depth. The cup itself is creamy, silky smooth, sweet and initially elusive, the flavor slips along with a gentle, sweet almond-nutty threading through the citrus, malt, and lingering peppery finish. As the cup evolves with repeated extractions, waves of sweet give way to more malt and citrus, and the rise of a sea salt and woody, peppery flavor transforms the cup.
Directions: Used 4g in 8oz in 195 degree filtered water in glass tumbler for 3-4 minutes (allowing for color to dictate the adjustments in extraction time in subsequent brews. Expect 2-3 richly flavored steeps with thinner and distinct cups following.
Notes: As a lover of teas from Yunnan, I really enjoyed playing with this tea in a variety of brewing methods and styles, types of water, and steep times. I have a cured Yixing tea pot that I use specifically with Yunnan black teas (including pu-erhs) and I was surprised that this tea responded so well to other brewing methods and actually illustrated varying levels of complexity that were very clear and distinct in different brewing vessels. A tea to allow a complete chance to expand and utilizing a vessel that permits this expansion.

Importers Notes: This rare and beautiful tea can only be made from late autumn harvest is picked from established plantation bushes in the Mojiang area of Simao. The tea is carefully processed to keep its lovely appearance and guard its subtle sugarcane and malt flavors. This is an incredible and rare tea with an appearance and taste that will dazzle the drinker! Recommend using 85-90C water to brew this wonderful tea. Wash once briefly (5 seconds) and then drink the successive infusions. Keep infusion times very short initially!
Harvest time: October 2012
Harvest Area: Mojiang Town, Simao Prefecture of Yunnan

This is a great fresh green tea. I am working on my fourth steeping today, and with a one minute 30 second steep the soup is a nice green. This tea is a bit dry, but not as dry as others I have.

Awesome good white tea, the color is very pale and the flavor is bold, It does have a slight nuttiness to it and the description say “fresh and fruity” i’m not getting the fruity but instead maybe a very faint floral taste, not a specific floral taste like jasmine or any other flower that I know of just kinda generic floral type taste sensation even more so in the aftertaste, it lingers on my tongue and the back of my mouth. As far as the freshness I’m not sure that I qualify to make statement about the freshness of a tea but it taste fresh to me and the delicious lingering after taste does leave my mouth feeling “fresh”, the intake of breath following a sip of this tea is very nice too almost like i can taste it in the air and in my lungs lol just part of the aftertaste i guess.
The leafe is very beautiful, one on the prettiest teas that i’ve seen, rather large tips or needles “whatever” leaves! that are very fuzzy like a lambs ear.
I’ve never really been big on white teas but here lately I’ve been buying teas that Look pretty to me in hope that their taste would compare to their beauty and so far those have been really good and a few of them are other white teas so now maybe i’ll get into white teas a little more or at least discover some that I do enjoy like this one.

Thanks to tperez I’ve been enjoying this most of the day. I’m appreciating Dian Hongs more and more especially fine soft ones like this. It has notes of honey, cinnamon, mushroom and butter but very little pepper. Unfortunately I’m not really getting the aforementioned whiskey but that’s okay. This leaves a nice cooling, powdery sensation on the tongue, a mild camphor-like zhang experience which I suppose in a way is similar to whiskey, but much less fiery. Re-infused many times.

A nice, slightly different Yunnan black! It has a deeper, charcoal/cocoa flavor than other Dian Hongs that reminds me a bit of Fuijan blacks and the Sumatra Black Pearl from Mountain Tea Co. Instead of the sugarcane/rum type taste of some Yunnan’s I’ve had, this reminds me more of Israeli date honey or a malty Belgian ale. Its also very infusable, first black I’ve had to last an entire kettle of water.

More in depth review to come, I’ve got a headache and feeling a bit woozy today for some reason :(

Extra Notes – I’ve been trying to log this one for a while. Steepster wouldn’t let me add it for some reason and the picture (using the website’s) doesn’t seem to load either, I had to change the name in order to get it here in the site is ‘2009 Feng Qing…’

About the Tea
I won’t make extensive notes about this one. I’ll just say this is my extremely cheap to-go Puerh. Scott described it as having stronger chocolate notes, but the sample Amy Oh sent me from Mandala is way more chocolaty than this one. However, this tea is amazing, especially for the price. It has some roasty note to it that gives it the (chocolate hint). But to me, this tastes a lot like dates/raisins. Its fruitier and aromatic, like a dried fruit. I have it in a ceramic pot that with lid designed to let it ‘breath’ the scent is more concentrated there but in a good way.

This tea does NOT compare to more expensive Ripes but deserves a really high rating because for the price you are getting something nicer that you’d expect. I drink it at work at every chance.

Dry Leaf – Creamy, sweet, earthy.
Wet Leaf – Thick, creamy, bitter-chocolate, dates/raisins.
Liquor – Dark Bronze to coffee bronze (looks black).

Gong Fu in 4oz Yixing Gaiwan / 6-7g * 8 seconds wash

1st 20secs – Creamy, slightly sweet, earthy, bitter-chocolate and slightly leathery up front. As it washes down it is thick, earthy and creamy with stronger bitter-chocolate and leather notes. The aftertaste is creamy, sweet and refreshing.

2nd 8secs – (cake piece opened) Creamy, bitter-chocolate, earthy (slight leathery notes) and light sweetness. As it washes down it is thick, earthy with stronger leather notes and bitter-chocolate notes. The aftertaste is, earthy creamy and sweet.

3rd 7secs – Thick, earthy/leathery, bitter-chocolate and smooth up front. As it washes down the bitter-chocolate notes become more apparent as do the leathery ones. The aftertaste is thick, slightly earthy with bitter-chocolate notes and sweetness.

4th 7secs – Thick, earthy/leathery, bitter-chocolate notes, creamy and slightly sweet up front. As it washes down the bitterness is more apparent and last through the aftertaste. The aftertaste is is thick, leathery and sweet.

INTERMISSION All the steeps from the second to the seventh are incredibly strong and dark even though the times were kept under 11 seconds. The liquor resembled dark coffee until this point. Later steeps where a dark brown hue.

8th 20secs – Creamy, slightly leathery, chocolate notes and sweet up front. Washing down it is a bit ‘cleaner’ by comparison, the bitter-notes are bit ‘fruitier’ but still slightly resemble chocolate and have a slight leathery hint. The aftertaste starts slightly earthy and thick and turns sweet.

Final Notes
This is not my favorite brick. I like ‘cleaner’ tasting ripes, this still have some earthy that I usually find in some slightly younger ripes. If you love THICK, almost smoky tasting ripes this is for you. After the cake opens up the liquor resembles coffee and it has a strong mouth feel. What I did like about it is the aftertaste. Even though the steep is mostly bitter-sweet the aftertaste slowly becomes sweeter but once it turns sweet it is really apparent.

Received a sample of this with my last YS order.

The leaves are a dark olive brown with plenty of furry white buds. I wasn’t too impressed with the first two steepings, as they were mostly tobacco-ey and bitter. After that, however, the flavor became quite mellow and sweet. The flavors that come to mind here a ginger, almond, and wheat flour. This tea is fairly similar to my 2012 Wuliang Mountain cake, but gives a stronger ‘qi’ feeling which shines on the crown of the head. Very infusible, made about twelve times.

My initial impression was “meh”, but the later steepings were delightful; this is a nice tea.