Grand Yunnan Tea
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Another wonderful tea from the best tea shop in Las Vegas. There’s always a bit of mystery going into a tea that is wrapped, in a language you don’t know, and there is nothing on the website. I probably mentioned this before but I will do so again who didn’t read it in my review of some of their other tea. This is a mom-and-pop shop and they (when I met the lady) said that they can’t afford to have someone updating their website for it is just for presence. After contacting them I was informed that it is a Gu shu. The whole name means old tree single shoot.
Didn’t smell much at first but once broken up the aroma is very pleasant. Sweet and barnyard. Strangely, my son’s plastic cup worked nicely as an aroma cup and to help break up the ball without making a mess. Even my son liked the smell. The wet aroma is slightly creamy with lots of farm notes. Hay, dried pine, old farmhouse wood. The wet leaves are high in summer florals. Then we move to taste which is full of barnyard notes. Summer florals and creamy notes. Longer steeps are a bit unpleasant. Mineral and metallic.
Leaf olive green and fuzzy silver buds
This is the first white tea cake I’ve bought. I do not have a proper pu er knife so hopefully the pieces I break off with my hands/ kitchen knife work just as well flavor-wise. After doing a quick rinse there isn’t much to the aroma on the wet leaves. A bit disappointing. The first two steeps have been the same. I’m not finding much to rave about. In fact, this is a rather boring rave. You showed up to the silent rave and they have no more headphones boring. Perhaps I am doing something wrong. I guess I was expecting something more, even the usual farm notes. But like any good tea drinker, you know you must have patience. Tea takes time to fully unfold sometimes. Sometimes it needs to wake up. Wait. I think this is the third steeping now. I’ve left it in for a bit longer. There are some sweet notes. Peaches. Maybe a bit of mangos. A slightly sweet bread aroma. And now on the 5th… maybe 6th?… CITRUS! Lemony and slight candied orange. What is going on? This was unexpected. And a bit of ripe tree bark. A bit of creamy notes in this next steep. Not heavy but an almost buttery note that comes at the end. Sweet lemon candy aroma on the wet leaves. Truly fascinating.
Feel like crying? Tea
Sick? Tea.
Throw an angry tantrum? Tea.
Tea calms. It uplifts. As I sit here saying a few prayers and smelling the wet leaves I am so thankful for being a tea drinker. The wet leaf is bready, hints of rye, wheat toast, and freshly baked raisin bread. I feel the need to bake something now. The dry leaf is absolutely gorgeous. I wasn’t sure of what I had bought other than the fact that it was a red tea. The trichomes are a beautiful golden color. And 90% of it seems to be that color so I would guess that this is a bud and maybe 1st leaf picking. The flavor is also bready. Notes of wood. Varnish appears when steeped longer than 4 minutes.
Sidenote: Someone rear-ended me at school drop-off. Luckily no one was hurt. Guy said sorry and it was his fault. I knew it was already because I had come to a stop and then a few seconds later he ran into me. Now a few weeks later he has changed his tone and is trying to blame me. I have witnesses. Without me asking they also have said to me that it was his fault. I just want to get my car fixed and get this done with. _
Few things are more anxiety producing than automotive stress—in any flavor. Glad you had a few minutes of calm among the leaves.
Wanted to make sure I get a review in before I drank it all even though I am unsure of what the real name is.
If you are ever in Las Vegas forget the casino and head west. Instead of gambling with uncertainty, gamble with picking out a few teas you’ve never tried before. You will be in tea heaven. And the teaware is gorgeous. I picked up a few things on your visit but decided to start with this one. The nuggets are so unique looking. Dark brown with a bit of a dusty-looking note. Kind of like chocolate that has been scrapped. This one is a sample that she was kind enough to gift me. Everything about it reminds me of sticky rice. The moment the hot water hit the nuggets for the rinse the herbals notes of Nuo Mi Xiang drifted up. If this isn’t a sticky rice tea I am going to be really surprised. The wet leaf smell not only has notes of sticky rice but also creamy notes like a thick cream and cream of wheat. The mouthfeel is very smooth. No astringency. I think I will be drinking this for the rest of the day. So nice.