Award Winning Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea – Golden Tip

This is my last sample from Angel at Teavivre, and it is a good one!

The dry leaves are beautiful. Long and slender with lots of warm yellows mixed in among the black. As soon as the tea started stepping I knew there would be no need for sugar. The honey fragrance is strong. Not overwhelming, but very easy to pick up. And the taste… yum. It’s malty, sweet, and velvety. This is good. I mean really, really good. I don’t usually stick with one tea all day, but I can easily see myself steadily sipping on this while I get an order finished and in the mail today.

Hmm it seems I never properly logged this, just gave a comparison on the Full Leaf’s page, I went to edit my tasting note and it simply wasn’t there. So this is a backlog from yesterday which was my sipdown for this complimentary sample from Angel from over a month ago, when I drank it with the husband. I liked it much better yesterday follow the given parameters of 185 F water for just over 2 mins. It was smooth, sweet and a bit savory too. There are a few other black teas (Bai Lin Gongfu, Laoshan and a couple of wild picked Yunnans from Verdant) that I find either more complex or to my tastes, but make no mistake this is a very fine cup, that outshines the majority of blacks I’ve tried and is quite delicious. It also helped me with my migraine yesterday. I’ll be updating the other two versions as I finish them. but for today it will be British Blends for the Olympics!

I can’t get over how good this tea is. It’s extremely full bodied but not bitter. Its a rich caramel brew that needs no sweetening whatsoever. It has a smell reminiscent to a freshly baked loaf of bread along with some cacao notes. A truly unreal tea.

Free sample provided by Teavivre for review

Warm sweet potatoes on a cold, rainy day-need I say more?

I’ve only had a couple of Dian Hong teas, but I have really loved them. That combined with a sky-high Steepster rating sets a high bar for this tea. Never fear, Teavivre easily clears the hurdle with this wonderful tea.

The dry leaf aroma is slightly sweet with notes of buckwheat and orange citrus-quite intoxicating. The long twisted leaves are colored golden and chocolate brown. Brewed leaf aroma is mostly the pleasant buckwheat aroma. The liquor is a rather striking golden orange.

The dominant flavor in this tea is sweet potatoes and it really doesn’t need much more than that. Sometimes I catch a notes of cinnamon and orange citrus-both of which go great with sweet potatoes. There can be very subtle malty notes as well. It’s very smooth and non-astringent. For me, I enjoy this most as a mid-morning or afternoon tea. This is a tea that I really need to have in the cupboard all the time.

First infusion-1 heaping teaspoon to about 7 ounces of water. Temp 185/2 minutes
Second infusion-185/3 minutes.

Think I will use 1.5-2 teaspoons next time, because I think that I can draw more infusions out of this terrific tea.

(Free sample provided by Teavivre. Thank you!)

My schedule is being quite hectic lately, so I don’t have much time and inspiration for writing notes and reviews. However, I was really impressed with this tea, so I decided to scrap up my tasting notes and write a note.

Dry leaf: 3 gr
Water: 250 ml at 85 Celsius
Number of infusions: 1
Steeping time (in minutes): 3

Dry leaf gives away impression of hay being stacked in sunny summer day (if you’ve done it you know what I’m talking about) with mild citrus and molasses edge. I’ve drank a few good Dian Hongs in past couple of years, but this one is the most tippy of all teas I’ve had an opportunity to try. Dropping leaves in pre-heated teapot reveals more malty notes.
Tree minute steep seems to give a rather deep red infusion, almost like that of ripe Pu Erh. I’m getting the feeling that 3 minutes was a bit too much, but it doesn’t matter. Placing my nose over steaming cup reveals rich caramel-molasses and citrus notes with smooth finish.

If Teavivre’s Ripened Aged Pu-erh Mini Tuocha is intensive as espresso (check out my note), thank this tea has intensity that of a coffee. Right after swallowing a starchy dryness builds up in the throat and peppery note covers the tongue. A few sips in and I can sense some flowery hints in the background. Just delicious!
Unfortunately I didn’t have time to resteep it.

Dry leaf: 3 gr
Water: 200 ml at 85 Celsius
Number of infusions: 5
Steeping time (in minutes): 2, 3, 4.5, 5.5, 7

1st

Deep and clear red hue, typical for black teas. Wet leaf has initial citrus aroma that quickly turns into impression of wet hay and (mulja) with flowery hint that sits in between.
First sip is deep and slightly minty. Right after swallowing tongue gets covered with peppery sensation – a Yunnan black tea trademark. Few sips in and I could feel that my throat is getting a bit dry and sore.

2nd

Second infusion came out identical to first, only with amped peppery sensation. Nice.

3rd

This is where I accidentally left it to steep for additional 30 seconds (I was doing the dishes). This infusion was just a little bit weaker than previous but still it was one impressive cuppa. Peppery taste just can’t seem to dissapear and that’s where I got the idea to pair this tea to something like well seasoned red meat. I just hope it doesn’t slip from my mind by than.

4th

Again, a little bit lighter infusion, both in terms of taste and color, from the previous one. Seems like pepperyness is starting to let go since it was a little bit too strong for my taste in previous steep. Somewhere at the finish I’m starting to get a real nice sweetness to it. Makes me think of Bailin Gongfu black tea.

5th

And this is where I’m calling it a day. I drank 1 liter of tea, and even if I went for another cup or two I would certainly enjoy it, but my stomach is calling shots here. Last, fifth infusion was (again) lighter than previous but the sweetness kept its magnitude and peppery sensations seems to be totally gone.

Magnificent tea. Honestly, I thought I’ll stop after third cup but it turned out to be quite a surprise, from deep and complex character to sweetness in the end… Oh, and not to forget that peppery bite. Not to mention that this tea is really cost-effective, I might get a bag of this in my next order.

There has been a quality to Yunnan black teas that I’ve noticed multiple times across the various ones I’ve tried. Until now, I haven’t quite known how to describe it. Every Yunnan black I’ve tasted has the same earthy quality that distinguishes it from other black teas. This earthy quality is unlike that I’ve found in other teas because it’s almost dry. Most of the time, I’ve noticed that when drinking an earthy tea, it brings to mind moist soil, a forest fresh after rainfall, etc. But with these, it’s a dryness that really comes to the fore.

I love it! And I’m not even entirely certain why. When it comes to alcoholic beverages, I tend to avoid dry drinks. Leaves a weird taste in my mouth. But with tea? Yes, please!

I received this with a few other samples from TeaVivre, and let me just say… delicious! If you couldn’t tell, I’m a bit of a sucker for a Yunnan Black/Red tea. I’ve got about 3 or 4 others tucked away in my cupboard of varying qualities. Based on the dry leaf alone, this is probably middling quality compared with some I brought back from China myself. But to be fair, I brought back some really freaking nice Yunnan Black!

I love the golden tips, and this one is particularly beautiful to behold. This tea has an interesting, almost dusty scent to the dry leaf that could give a bad impression to someone unfamiliar with this type of tea. But it was exactly what I was hoping for when I opened the package. It’s sharp and lightly floral. Gorgeous.

My first infusion was accidentally a little longer than intended, so had a mild bitterness to the end. But my successive infusions were better timed and absolutely delicious and smooth.

Delicious!

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review

For anyone that has watched my steeping habits, you know that I love to resteep tea. So I was excited to see that on Teavivre’s webpage for Yunnan Dian Hong that you can resteep it 12 times! To ensure the best results, I contacted their representative on Steepster for the steeping parameters. For the short steep method, I should start with a 3 second rinse, and then steep for 30 to 45 seconds, followed by 10 to 15 seconds for each resteep.

So for today’s tasting session I chose to start with 30 seconds and then add 10 s for each resteep.

Moving on to describing the tea; inside the tea pouch I noticed very fuzzy black tea buds that have a caramel aroma.

After the quick rinse and steeping, I tasted the first cup. It was a touch sweet like honey, spicy, earthy and overall light bodied.

More familiar flavours presented themselves in the second cup. The third cup sort of “blossomed” into what I consider typical flavour for this type of tea. Very smooth and comforting Yunnan black tea goodness.

The fourth steep was remarkably sweeter than the rest, and I am definitely picking up on the initial caramel notes I sniffed in the bag. After this cup I sniffed the gaiwan before continuing on with the resteeps. For some reason the scent reminded me of banana bread and grains.

Moving on, the fifth and sixth steeps seemed a bit more floral, both in taste and aroma. These were hearty, heavy bodied, full flavoured brews. The sixth gave me a wonderful resonating feeling.

Seven and eight started progressively getting lighter, but with the sweetness staying pretty consistent. The eight steep felt somewhat different on my tongue, I can’t quite describe it but it’s not a bad feeling.

Nine to eleven were dominated by sweetness. I can still taste the familiar flavour of this type, but it is not in full force.

Finishing off with the twelfth steep, I can start to taste the flavour of my water. With hints of black tea, sweet, earthyness. Is this still black tea? Well it still tastes like it, but obviously after this many steeps it is like a distant memory of tea.

I highly recommend this tea for those of you that enjoy resteeping. It’s a very tasty, smooth, black tea that works hard to please your senses. Like most of the teas Teavivre carries, they are an excellent price to flavour ratio. :) And a final note, I’m very impressed with these steeping parameters for the gaiwan, and I can’t wait to try it again with my other excellent black teas.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsps, 12 steeps (rinse, :30s, +:10s resteeps)

This is one tasty tea, and perfect for the mornings. I’m spoiled, because I woke up to this pre-brewed by my lovely husband, who encouraged me to partake. I’ll concede that I had my morning coffee first. This is much gentler on my stomach.
While it’s downright warm right now in Houston compared to the snow covered Northeast (I have a chuckle everytime I imagine what Houstonians would do in a freak blizzard), it’s a bit chilly by local standards. After getting down to the low 40s overnight, it takes a while to warm the house back up. So this tea is so welcome as I sit and feel a little cold.
It reminds me of – forgive me for this comparison- a really, really good version of a standard Lipton tea bag. And that’s why I like it. It’s familiar, but much much better. Yum!

(Received this in a swap 5 months ago, but for the life of me I can’t remember who sent it! For that, I apologise, generous giver.)

I like to call this the “hippopotamus phase” of pregnancy—I’m 38.5 weeks pregnant which means that baby could arrive at any time… so they tell me, I’m not going to hold my breath though, considering my daughter was born 3 days after her due date (I was in false labour though for 2 days, fun times!)—since I’m very large and cumbersome and everything seems to annoy me, especially my 2-year-old. If I could, I would spend all my time at a swimming pool or spa, just floating my girth in weightlessness (I can see why it appeals to hippos). Instead, I’m stuck indoors with my tot, who is at the “Why, Mamma?” stage wherein everything I ask her to do requires an explanation. Also, here in Regina, SK, Canada we’ve received a record amount of snow… more than 6.5 feet. It’s supposed to be “spring” but the snow just keeps on falling and not melting, also not conducive to diminishing my grumpiness.

So, I drink tea… a) in order to appease my doctor and get more fluids in my system and b) because it’s still #$@*ing snowy outside and I crave comfort. Tea = liquid comfort.

This tea reminds me a lot of DAVIDsTEA’s Nepal Black, in almost every way: malty, easy-drinking without anything added, slight honey undertones. The only difference would be it seems to be slightly more astringent, but then again I brewed it with slightly too hot water, so that might have something to do with it! It’s delicious though. Delicious in a pure, unadulterated kind of way… plus, when I drink it without milk or sugar my daughter doesn’t feel the need to down my entire cup when I’m not looking. Because sometimes… you don’t want to share.

This tea has a beautiful earthy, floral smell.

The tea is crisp and light. I am not sure of the right words but it is not malty, and not roasty. It has a bit of an earthy taste, its sweet and rich, almost creamy.

Very good tea. As always, impressed with the quality of Teavivre teas.