Golden Yunnan

“Honey, I’m Home!”
And I’m so glad to be here. I got home last night, & I am convinced that the state of Florida hates me & wants to kill me. Every part of me was hurting…kidneys, guts, head, etc. I felt that way all week, with most of my symptoms gradually getting worse each day…aughghghghg.

18 hours later, I feel remarkably better, with all of the irritation gradually melting away. My appetite has returned as well. I put myself on an emergency GAPS protocol, ingesting only homemade stock (my freezer is full of single size portions) with freshly picked greens added. My guts are starting to work again! WHEW!

And finally, a cup of tea that tastes good!
(Falls to her knees, kisses the earth, reaches to the Heavens with a tear in her eye, & cries out to the Divine Universe), “Thank You!!”

Loving a small cup of this today on my sore throat. Still enough to have another last cup once I’m feeling better, but this morning, this is delicious.

i mega oversteeped this and it is still freakin delicious!
i’ll still drink some down and then add some more hot water to mellow it a bit, but seriously this is a good yunnan. the dry leaf smelled VERY honey to me. like sweetener-added in the most delicious way.
i’m so so glad that i have at least 2 big cups worth left from what Shelley_Lorraine gave me in a swap. this is a tea i could get tea drunk on cuz i’d just have cup after cup after cup!
thanks for helping me through monday.

Backlogging tea of yesterday morning….

I have some new samples of this sent to me by Nav of thepuriTea. Even though the samples are not the final sample packaging they will be using, each cardboard pouch contains at least twice what I was initially sent as this sample. And then he sent two cardboard pouches. I did pull out my gram scale, and each cardboard pouch now contains around 10 grams of tea.

I have been regularly drinking another Yunnan, and these leaves are wider and just about as long. They do have some bright orangish tips in them, and there really is a pretty good amount. I think this is a heartier, maltier tea than the Yunnan I have been drinking. There is a hint of smoke, and when sweetened, it brings out a hint of caramel. Maybe it was caramel apples. Anyway, it is definitely a complex example of a Yunnan. So glad I will have a few more tries of it. It resteeps well.

Mug method, 4ish grams of tea, 3 minute steep#1, 4 minute steep #2.

I bought two of these sample with their going out of business sale. I knew I’d love it — it’s Yunnan. But I just needed samples because I have many other Yunnan samples. :D The leaves come in a tiny tin enough for a few servings! Kind of tough to scoop the leaves out though. The leaves are mostly gold – but enough darker color to promise some chocolate flavor!

Steep #1 // just boiled // 4 min
I went with 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons. Kind of tough to tell since I had to add a little at a time in order not to spill the leaves everywhere. The taste is lovely of course… I don’t think Yunnan can be terrible. The first thing I notice is actually the texture of the tea – it actually does seem like honey, which makes sense because it tastes like honey. With just enough chocolate flavor… I guess you could say to keep it interesting… but Verdant’s Golden Fleece has NO chocolate flavor, and that blend is something amazing. But I love all this honey and a bit of chocolate. I guess at this point I’m great at being able to tell how much honey/chocolate flavor there will be just by seeing the amount of gold/black in the leaves.

Steep #2 // a few minutes after boiling // 7 min
Another lovely cup! This cup might have more chocolate than honey for some reason. I love this tea. Honey & a hint of dark chocolate. A tea like this must be a cupboard staple at all times. Sadly, it won’t be thePuritea’s blend.

This is one of the sample mini tins I got with my puriTea black reserve sampler.

I don’t drink a lot of black teas without additions but the ones I do drink plain usually come from China. This is a lovely cuppa. I am getting the honey aroma and flavor that other people have mentioned. The tea is extremely smooth and devoid of astringency. The peppery notes are certainly present with a slight note of tobacco in the finish. I also tried adding soymilk to it, and that transformed it into a golden caramel-y type of drink. Definitely versatile and good both ways. I would get some more of this!

The flavor is very Honey. The leaves are very tippy and golden. Tea brews to a medium brown.

Steep Information:
Amount: 7g / 2-3 tsp, one entire sample bag
Water: 22 ounces filtered boiling water
Tool: Cast Iron Teapot with Mesh basket strainer
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, honey, melon
Steeped Tea Smell: honey and black tea
Flavor: honey, black tea, astringent, bake-y (like eating toast or a cracker), smooth
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent, honey, black tea
Liquor: Translucent dark brown

This tea was one of 5 samples I received from thepuriTea. It arrived well packaged in pretty pillow boxes (see pictures for a side angle of the pillow box if you are unsure what I mean) with packing peanuts and business cards.

This is a smooth mellow black tea that tastes as though you already added honey. Very unique. It is not a strong cup, so I do not recommend as your wake up tea. However this would be a great during the day or while relaxing tea.

MilitiaJim is finding the peppery note when he looks for it at the end of the swallow. I just find astringency at the end of my swallow. Hmm if I chug instead of sip I am getting it as well, nice.

Resteep: 7 minutes, same taste and strength as first steep.

Iced: A strong iced tea, needed some sweetener or perhaps more water to be a sipping with meals iced tea.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/thepuritea-loose-leaf-black-tea-golden.html

My morning cup, courtesy of Terri Harplady and the BBBB. Another solid cup from the puriTea. It’s maltier than most yunnans and definitely reminds me a bit of an Assam. Very yummy! Thanks Terri!

P.s. does anyone else always want to yell out “YUNNAN” in the voice of “NOONAN”? I can’t drink one without that thought.

I thought I’d give this one a go when I ordered my sampler set from thepuriTea. I’ll say this I can certainly smell the honey as this steeps. It also has a hint of that malty smell I love. The taste is interesting as I am noting a peppery kick on the end that others have mentioned. It is very different, but I like it! I love the deep russet color of the liquid too. Very pretty and fall/winterish. :) Perfect afternoon pick me up.