Grand Yunnan Impérial

I had a cup (or two) earlier today and forgot to log. I’m sorry for flooding the dashboard with my backlogs! LOL :)

This was good and it’s almost gone…

Had this tea at a very impressive restaurant. Husband surprised me with a last minute reservation to Dirt Candy for my birthday yesterday. I’ve been wanting to eat there since foreeever! It was everything I dreamed and more. Their dessert menu featured a couple of teas from Le Palaise des Thes, proving that a stunning meal out doesn’t have to be followed by Lipton or stale coffee.

The tea came in a small insulated press pot. Elegant and convenient. I peeked into the pot and saw that this was loose leaf. Amazing. I felt that the ratio of leaf to water was a bit off, but overall, quite tasty! Sweet honey notes. Roasty. More like a dark oolong than black tea. Malty. Perfect end to a perfect meal.

Then we went next door to play with the kitties at the no kill shelter. Husband would normally stop me from doing this as I’m allergic to the cute little things, but it was my birthday! So I’m allowed to get all itchy from cat fur if I want to. :D at some point, I got a bit too wheezy so I dropped a donation and left. Made me happy. :)

I’m sick (fighting off a sinus infection… again) so this will be short(er than normal).

Bagged version of this tea, another new offering from my grocery store. First off, I don’t really like Le Palais De Thes’ teabags. They have a really thick string which wicks tea like crazy. If I leave the little tag at the end of the string on the side of the cup, by the time my tea is done steeping, there is a puddle of tea underneath the cup where it has wicked out of the cup, soaked into the tag and run down the side of the cup. Very annoying.

That being said, what’s in the teabag is pretty tasty. This reminds me a lot of A&D’s Tiger – smooth but with enough stoutness that it would not be defeated by a dash of milk, sweet and a bit honeyed. It’s a little more… floral? than Tiger was. Definitely a big thumbs up for a bagged tea.

Backlog:

The description suggests this tea to be subtle and mild, but, I disagree with that, and would say that instead, this tea is smooth and rich. Very much what I would expect from a high quality Yunnan.

A medium to full-bodied tea, it is a “well-mannered” robust tea that offers a smooth invigoration.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/10/10/grand-yunnan-imperial-black-tea-from-le-palais-de-thes/

Mmmmm very rich with aromas. Nice smell of quality black tea…
Not sure how to describe it. Can taste like honey and there’s a bit of that earthy plus hay like taste that puehrs have. Quite mild and very very tasty…
Even the colour is more dark brown than red. Excellent black leaning onto puehr…

Yumm

When brewed properly, this tea has rich earthy notes along with a hint of burnt caramel. Very nice.

Literally like tipping your tongue in the honey pot. The spicy smell of the dry leaves becomes very flowery once steeped, really inviting. Its bronze colour gives a very warm start to your mornings.

I wish I had a hot French girlfriend that I could drink this tea with and make love to while we plan our vacation to Paris to visit Jim Morrison at Pere LaChaise Cemetary.

I bought a box (20 count) of this Frenchy tea.
Not my favorite, but will eventually sipdown the entire package.
The cotton muslin teabag and string are unique.
The French / English translation and color coding makes a fun 5 min French lesson.
Didn’t have a black “pick me up” that I wished it had.

I recently tried Grand Yunnan Impérial, a black tea from Palais des Thés. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

Preparation:

- Temperature: 205°F / 96°C
- Time: 0 min, 15 sec
- Tea Amount: 5 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

After a disappointing initial attempt with a steep time of 45 seconds resulting in strong bitterness, I decided to switch to Gong Fu style brewing to explore the tea’s potential further.

For the first infusion, I steeped the tea for about 10 seconds, aiming to quickly extract the flavor without letting it become bitter.

The second infusion was very relaxing, with the expected bitterness for a black tea. However, it didn’t exhibit any outstanding characteristics beyond being a standard Yunnan black tea.

The third infusion revealed the tea’s potential as the bitterness subsided, leaving a lighter and more enjoyable experience. This infusion was particularly praised.

With the fourth infusion, the bitterness became more pronounced, but no significant difference was noted compared to the third infusion.

In conclusion, Grand Yunnan Impérial proved to be a non-exceptional yet pleasant black tea. It exhibited slightly less bitterness than expected, making it suitable for casual consumption.

- Flavor Complexity: 12/30 – Some enjoyable moments but lacks distinctive or exceptional flavors.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 15/20 – Not particularly forgiving, shorter steeps are more successful.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 15/20 – Variations in experience across infusions, some inconsistency.
- Overall Enjoyment: 13/30 – Pleasant but not memorable or impressive.

- yaro

It’s a classic Yunnan, medium body with a prominent malty note. It’s smooth and not bitter, even with a long steeping. However, there are so many similar options at a lower price point (Harney, Twinings, even Mariage Freres) that I don’t see myself purchasing a full tin of this. I do feel the single origin teas from PdT are better than their blends, which I find quite weak and lacking in general. Overall, it’s a solid basic Yunnan but I do consider value for money when I score my tea, so this one comes up short. $16USD for 20 teabags is quite dear for this, in my opinion. You could get 125g of Mariage Freres Grand Yunnan (about 40 cups and a superior tea, in my opinion) for the same price.