Yunnan Sourcing

Free sample from my last YS order.

Today I woke myself up at six in the morning, packed my gear into the car, and drove out about fourty five minutes northwest to Clermont, which is sort of the Mecca of longboarders and cyclists in Central/South Florida. While most of Florida south of Gainesville is pretty darn flat, Clermont and the surrounding areas have big, rolling hills a bit like Kentucky, but well… bigger. The fastest I’d ever gone before was about 30 mph, today I made it up to 45, and man that felt great.

I spent most of the day riding down said hills and then walking back up them, which is, as far as I’m concerned, what they do up in heaven (When they’re not drinking tea, of course.) By noon I was completely exhausted and pretty much swimming in my own sweat. So, I headed back towards Orlando and (after a nice cold shower) decided to wind down with a nice session of tea, and was especially craving some sheng :)

This is just the second “fairly old” sheng that I’ve tried, and I really enjoyed both. Even with two quick rinses, the taste started out pretty mulchy and musty, but by the third steep it was much cleaner and delicious. Raisin, clove, and walnut were the main flavors I picked up on. A bit of bitter, but not enough to be off-putting. Despite it’s flavors not really being “fresh” ones, it still has the refreshing qualities of younger sheng. I got lot’s of relaxing, stimulating feelings drinking this, and by the time the leaves puttered out I was about as tea drunk as I’ve ever been.

Between the endorphins from exercise and the qi from this tea I’m feeling pretty darn good right now. I’ll probably make something for dinner and then head to bed early. Today was a pretty great day (albeit slightly hermitic), and exactly what I needed in a weekend.

5g / 90ml celadon gaiwan.
wash/5s/10s/15s/20s kept ca 20s infusions
Typical Sheng taste with pleaseant astringency.

5g / 90ml celadon gaiwan.
5s/5s/10s Kept at ca 10s as the tea seems to stay potent.

And to go with the tea, i watched some big bang theory :)

Tonight i was in the mood for raw pu-ehr and The big bang theory :)
I did a comparisonbrewing.
1: 90ml celadon gaiwan
2: 100ml ZiNi yixingpot.

5g / 100C
Quick wash/5s/10s/15s/10s….
15s infusion resulted in heavy astringency, enough to dry the tounge, so I went with 10sec infusions.

Both vessels produced good tea, however the yixing was more mellow with a slightly fuller flavour.

Astringency, slightly earthy with undertones of something.. cant really describe it but a tiny bit sweet and fresh. vegetable or ripe fruit perhaps..

Found it to be quite pleasant!

2 heaping tsps in 12 oz

Have had this a few more times since my last note. It is soooo good. I’ve decided that the texture reminds me of miso soup. It is so rich and comforting.

2 heaping tsps in 12 oz

Wow, now I don’t know if I prefer this one or the Imperial Mojiang. The leaves are gorgeous. Perfectly straight needles. Not a single one broken. It has a very rich, heavy mouthfeel. And perhaps for the first time, I am finding a tea pleasantly astringent. Usually when I find a tea astringent, I consider it a negative, but this one has a very slight astringency which balances well with its “thickness”. Hope that makes some sense.

BTW, this note is for the Spring 2013 plucking.

Next up will have to be a side by side taste test of these two marvelous teas.

First time trying ripe Pu-erh.
Infuses very well, washed a few seconds and water was already brown.

I did aprox 15 infusions in 100ml Yixing Zini Pu-erhpot.
The 12th infusion started to get lighter in color. And im certain i could have gone on for quite awhile. However since i was drinking by myself… :)

The taste was earthy, thick. Since i dont have anything to compare to i really cant say much other than it had a very complex taste.
I do prefer raw pu-erh to this, by far.

Ziniclay went rather well with ripe Pu-erh.

sweet and fruity
Beautiful cake glistens with shiny silverish golden buds. Distinct, whole leaves are easy to pry apart, as expected from a stone pressed production.
Review is based on a few sessions using approx 6g/100-150ml water in 180ml duan ni pot.

Dry leaves in warmed pot exude a strong ripe fruit aroma. Certainly the most intensly fruity sheng I have come across. Sweet, golden infusions with a tangy apricot/orange character with a slight hint of tobacco and honey. It’s somehow more like a phoenix dan cong oolong than a pu er.

Clean and crisp with zero smokiness/storage smell. There is some astringency with longer steeps.

In summary, this is a sweet, tasty, clean, very drinkable sheng. A great everyday tea and a sure bet for those used to sweet drinks and who are new to pu erh. I wonder if it will develop more qi, complexity and thickness as it ages.

4g / 220ml yixing
3m @ 85C

First try for a single infusion. Good result, powerful smoth cup with heavy body. Almost feels creamy ^
Sweet hints of honey and potato? Malty with a slight astringancy.
Perhaps i will try 2.5m next time ^ or somewhat less leaf.
Anyways this is a very nice cup. Will have to try gong-fu as well :)

6g / 220ml zhuni yixing
1m/2m/3m @ 85C

AH how i missed this flavour! Not really a breakfasttea for me. I prefer a tea with a bit more briskness/astringency in the morning. Something that really packs a punch! I feel i really have to start exploring assam teas for this purpose. Pretty much never tried assam varieties.
first cup: Brownish golden with a heavy maltiness and sweetness. There is lots of honey and ripe fruit in there.
Since i usually do consequtive steepings to prevent cooloing of the leaf with yunnan blacks second and third steeping is mixed in a pitcher.
This tea in particular turns earthy/woody if leaf is allowed to cool.
second/third cup: Now there is a hint of astringancy with less sweetness than the first cup. Still a strong malty flavour mixed with dried fruit. Perhaps now more citrus fruit.
Next time i will use a cup for all steepings to avoid mixing. Or perhaps mix all three steepings to even out the flavour more.
All in all a superb tea!
And the dry leaf is among the most beutiful ivé ever seen. long straight golden needles, none broken.

Ah, after finishing the black bi lou chun i turned to some higher quality tea. The leaf is ong needles, yellowish and black. The smell is very malty.

6g / 220ml zhuni yixing.
1m @ 80C
2m @ 90C
consequitive steepings so leaf doesnt cool in between.

first cup was divine. loads of honey blended with some malty chocolate. no astringany at all.
Second cup was less sweet and more malty. Very nice strenght.

This is a tea i will be sure to restock come spring.

Wow. This tea is just super. It will be along with feng qing dragonpearls my staple yunnan black teas.

This time around i did westernstyle brewing in 220ml Zhuni yixingpot.
1: 1m @ 80C
2: 2m @ 85C
3: 2.5m @ 85C

First cup was devine, full of honey chocolate malty delight with very little astringency.
Second was a bit to strong. 1.30m would be better. But next time i will use 6g leaf.
Third i let the leaves cool down and forgot to remove lid. Kinda killed the taste. :/

A Beutiful tea!

6.5g 220ml zhuni yixing
3 infusions @ 85C
1/2/3 min.

A perfect blend between the usual yunnan sweetness and a very slight astringency.

Malty, sweet, creamy. :)

8g / 200ml glaspot @ 75C

Several infusions.
First 45s then add 15s per infusion.

Fruity fresh with a bit of nuttiness. Like green teas in general.
I rather enjoy it. However i do prefer Bi lou chun.

1 1/2 tsp for 8 oz

Fantastic, like I said before. This is stronger than I brewed it last time. It does gain a hint of astringency this way, but just a teeny bit. I think I’ll try 3:30 next time.

2 heaping tsp for 12 oz

The best Dian Hong I’ve ever had. Thanks to Doug F for turning me on to this. It has all the classic Dian Hong flavor that I’ve come to expect with zero astringency and a very smooth, rich mouthfeel. Love love love…

I might brew it a little stronger next time to see how that goes. It is so smooth, that I bet I could get even more flavor out of it without risking too much astringency or bitterness.

Sipdown. Backlog from yesterday.
This tea has been my pregym companion for some time. A good black yunnan that is as close to a “table tea” as it gets. not super quality but comforting. However since there is lots of better yunnan blacks i will not be restocking. Farewell!

3g / 220ml zhuni yixing
Single infusion 2m @ 90C

Oh yeah! Best single infusion yet. Very sweet and smooth. Lots of honey but a little less malt. Nice when i want just one cup.

6g / 220ml Zhuni yixing
1m/2m @ 90C

yummy! Been frinking way to many 2012 teas and greens in particular. Felt almost like coming home after a vacation to taste this sweet malty rich tea. :)

6g/220ml Zhuni Yixing
1/2/3m @ just below boiling.

Felt nice with a yunnan black for breakfast. Been going through a massive amount of old clubteas lately. Some good some not so, none logged.

Anyways this tea delivers to expectation. Malty with a bit of sweetness. To me this tea is like a staple tea when it comes to yunnan teas. Kinda like a “table wine”.

7g /220ml yixing @ 90C
1/2/3 minutes

3 good infusions. A bit malty but without the usual sweetness that im used to in yunnan blacks. Instead there is some astringency.
To my taste this tea does not come near other yunnan blacks.

Id rather go for a moijang golden buds or feng qing dian hong anyday.
However it IS a quility tea that can hanle multiple infusions.

Thank you shakirah1984 for this sample.

I had to call in sick today due to a sore throat and cough and the general feeling of crapiness. My boss (my mother) is going down to Wales tomorrow for the weekend to see my grandad after he had his pace maker fitted. He had to have it done twice because one of the tubes came out apparently after it was fitted, so two operations in two days. I don’t want to give him a cold so thought it was best I stay away from them and ergo stay away from him.

I do have the task of house and dog sitting for them though this weekend, it means I will take copious amounts of tea with me to review. That’s my plan anyway.

The raw leaves are large and long with some sticks/stems present. When held up into the light I can notice small hairs that glow like cats eyes. I haven’t seen a tea so shiny as this one since drinking Golden Monkey – Tea Palace which is a golden tip Yunnan tea.

They have a distinct smoky scent with sweet and thick floral tones. Very leathery and robust.

With a 20 second rinse and a 1 minute steep using my Gongfu for 5g of Pu Erh my tea soup is light yellow in colour with a smoky and sweet woody aroma.

Flavours are darkly floral and woody with subtle sweetness and some astringency. The dark notes gradually lighten and eventually leave a fresh, light, floral after taste. Reminds me of mild Lapsang Souchong, the smokiness is definitely the strongest character.

There is something magical about drinking tea from 100-300 year old trees from a tiny village in the middle of no where. It gives me a warm glow. :)

The leaves were large to begin with but once steeped they have doubled in size and unravelled, also lightened in colour and looks very fresh. Some leaves are whole, unbroken.

The second steep – 2 minutes – Very light and fruity with double sweetness in comparison to the first steep. Now there is little smokiness but the wood tones remain. A very different tea than it’s first steep…I’m finding it hard to pick which steep is my favourite.

It’s also much more delicate and I don’t think there would be much left for me after this steep. Detecting more dryness in the after taste now too.

Overall it’s a pleasant enough Pu Erh and I can finish the rest of my sample with ease. It was however smokier than I thought it would be and needs to be the type of tea I’m in the mood for before I drink it again. Not bad for the price at all. :)

7g / 220ml yixing
1m @ 80C
2m @ 80C
3m @ 85C

All three steepings had an even taste. All full of cocoa and malt with a slight tinge of honey. This tea is so very very good. Must drink it all! mouahhaha! ;)
Just put my daughter to bed so now its safe to bring out the gong-fu table.

5g / 220ml zhuni yixing.
1m @ 85C
2:45m @ 90 C

First infusion was a bit weak. I´ve reduced the amount of leaf so i should try a little longer steeping next time. perhaps 1:30 @ 80C.
Second steeping i tried a bit longer and hotter than usual. A bit strong. Ill try 2:30@ 85C next time.
The flavour is the same superb sweet dian hong flavour as always. Honey, cocoa. Malty with very little astringancy. Sofar with this tea i prefer large amount of leafs with shorter infusions. Gong fu brewing! It gives a more intense flavour. But when all i want is a single cup? Worth experimenting on to find the perfect single cup infusion.

Perfect caffeine boost before gym. :)