Yunnan Sourcing

This was a gift from Superanna – many thanks!

I love teas with a honey aroma. This delivers on the honey aroma, and overall has a very full-bodied scent. Superanna prefers white and green teas or herbal blends and said the aroma of this reminded her of a strong English or Irish style blend but was willing to give it a try!

This is a tea that is lovely for taking in a slow, deep breath to revel in the scent. It is so relaxing.

Both she and Ashman were surprised at how smooth and mild the tea tasted, not at all a breakfast cup that needed taming with milk and sugar. There is no astringency.

We had it western style today and I am eager to try it going fu soon!

I find this to be an extraordinary tea. A lightly-colored, white tea, but far from being “light.” Vivid flavors of eucalyptus, mint, and piney notes, juxtaposed with the “watermelon juice” as provided in the vendor description. You don’t need to search for these notes like you might have to for other white teas, they are right there, loud and proud. A top-shelf tea in my book, but maybe not my preferred profile for an everyday tea. Good for a lazier day when you have some time to pay attention to your brew and resteep it a few times. I think it is a pretty unique white tea, but I haven’t tried nearly all the white teas, so what do I know?

Not a fan of this tea at all. Flowery and somewhat fruity it is, and maybe some similarity to raw puerh, but lacks in any excitement or twists. Brews cloudy and unattractive, which unfortunately also translates to the somewhat chalky unimpressive taste. Also, I definitely feel the presence of an added “grainy” element to this tea, perhaps as a result of the wheat flower inoculation and/or the presence of golden flowers. I am not sure which, but, in any case not a welcome feeling for me and it seems to leave an unpleasant itch in my throat. Maybe I have an allergy to something in this tea? I have not had problems with gluten, but I am pretty sure these golden flowers-type teas are really not my thing!

I have always been intrigued by these types of teas, but I don’t think I have ever tried any, so thanks to whomever threw it in the teabox. I don’t know how they get these so delicately and perfectly rolled as it says hand rolled? Sadly, the appearance is more interesting than the flavor. Not only does the brew look almost just like water, but the flavor is quite mild in both steeps. Vegetal with a mouth drying quality. I actually forgot it was a white tea and not a green tea, so maybe I should have brewed it differently… The wet leaf unraveled certainly looks different than your usual tea leaf…
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon for a full mug // 30 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 32 minutes after boiling // 3 min

I do very much miss FRESH teas. haha. This seemed more fresh than the usual teas I have had lately (though I promise I’m not adding any ancient teas to the teabox). The package says 2025 so it isn’t even THAT fresh… but it is fresh to me. :) I miss this type of tea! It certainly is definitely sweet potato! Lingering maltiness, nuanced, full of flavor though not a super black caffeine bomb. Almost like a Ruby varietal. So good I actually went for a THIRD steep and the leaves definitely lasted long enough for a third steep! Very delicious, all the sips and gulps.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 19 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep

A somewhat basic black tea. It is astringent, woody, and nutty, and has definitely stronger fruity (peach) and floral (orchid) qualities than the average black tea though.

TTB. Had this gong fu over the weekend. Yammy, sweet, delicious. No astringency but plenty of flavor with short steeps (under 45 seconds). Got lots of resteeps out of it.

TTB. It’s a hectic week and my health issues have been acting up, so tasting notes are going to be fairly concise this week. I had this gong fu over the weekend and liked it. Longer steeps get a bit astringent, but under 2 minutes or so yields a malty, chocolatey, smooth brew.

This past year, I really fell in love with both chrysanthemum tea and tea resin (aka cha gao), so I was thrilled to see the two combined. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel as immediately enamored with this combination as I have with Yunnan Sourcing’s other infused resins. It’s very smooth with a pretty approachable earthiness, but I think lacking complexity. And that’s sorta saying something since cha gao isn’t exactly the mosy complex tasting tea to begin with. It’s really more about convenience than anything else. Mostly, I think I just want much, much more of the heady, aromatic florals of the chrysanthemum though. A request that a version of myself from a year or two ago would, truly, be shocked by. This just doesn’t taste distinct enough for me though, even if I maybe just slightly get some of the cooling qualities of the chrysanthemum in the backend of the sip…

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVUOj1FErzB/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF_GWDAwPSU

Gongfu!

It took a little while for this weird little bundle of tea and citrus to open up, but it ended up making for a pleasantly smooth and flavourful session. Bright, lively notes of fresh and zesty oranges on the front end of each sip, with a solid amount of body from the white tea and undertones that gave off the feeling of crunchy autumn leaves. A touch malty, and just a bit of a dried apricot note as well. The back half of the sip was more starchy tasting with a complimentarily thick and soupy mouthfeel. Definitely giving the vibe of sticky rice, but with more of a honeyed grain-like taste. It brewed for what felt like forever, and the flavours were surprisingly very even across the full tea session!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DU_vhoXEqol/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90peQM_jBeA

TTB, This tea sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. I removed the bamboo before brewing, not sure if that is the intended way. The black tea was quite mild, possibly due to its age. I brewed it at a full boil for a few minutes on the first steep and it did not have any bitterness. It had subtle floral and woody notes.

Dry leaves smell toasty sweet like caramel, roasted nuts and orange. Wet leaves then smell even more of flowers, but also a bit marine and like popcorn.

This Dan Cong is a bit on the side of lighter roast, which comes through in a fairly intense bitterness and astringency. The taste is strong overall, sour and flowery with notes of nectar, ghee, and citrus aromatics.

10g sample sipdown! Longan and jasmine-like white florals and brioche. Huigan of organic chinese broccoli.

A tad too fruity-sweet the first steep at 95C so I lowered it to 90C and it became more balanced with the floral, pleasant bitterness.

Thermos brewed with two pieces of the resin for my 16 oz thermos!

It’s smooth, aromatic, and surprisingly, really naturally sweet with undertones of honeycomb toffee in addition to the really fresh, lush feeling floral notes of the rose. I’ve actually been so impressed with all of the floral-infused tea resin (aka cha gao) that I’ve been able to sample so far! Bonus points also have to be given for the super cute heart shapes, and coloured foil wrapping.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTd6sWpki1a/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8nbTUdag7A

TTB 2.0 The ingenuity of tea farmers never ceases to amaze me. Not only do they get a sense for the minor variations that change in flavor from year to year in their tea, but they also experiment in many fantastical ways. Putting tea in something may seem simple, but it’s a process that requires careful consideration. Tea is hygroscopic, meaning it will absorb aromas around it through water droplets in the air. So you can’t stuff it into just anything. And then there’s the bamboo. For matcha, chasen masters will only harvest them at a certain time of year and when they are at a certain age. Etc… The really cheap ones that come with a desiccant packet are made of bamboo that is actually not yet ready and will mold without that packet. Anyway, let’s drink some tea…

Forgot to take it out of the bamboo and poured the water on it. ^^; I’m using bioling water for a rinse, so I’m not worrie,d but it may affect the flavor.

This reminds me more of a pu er. With the 1800s house notes. Old fireplace, rotting wood, straw (wet and dry), old timber, and some charcoal notes. A third infusion reveals a bit of soft wood and creamy notes. Maybe a bit of plain cream of wheat, too.

The wet leaf aroma is fascinating. It has the usual wet wood smell, along with an old log cabin, but within a few seconds, it morphs into a tannic liquor that reminds me of a wood barrel-aged port.

Only very brief notes as today’s workday was a busy one, but for this session I used approx 6g of 2024 “Rock Spirit” which I received as a free sample with a resent YS order. As usual, I started with a 10s rinse.

1st steep (10s) – smooth, savoury-sweet, brothy, raw wood
2nd steep (15s) – ditto
3rd steep (20s) – ditto, developing creaminess
4th steep (25s) – creamy and sweet. Brothy/woody flavours diminished
5th steep (30s) – ditto
6th steep (40s) – ditto, liquor paling
7th steep (50s) – ditto, liquor paling and creamy sweetness also diminishing
8th steep (60s) – watery

Overall impression; pretty nice, didn’t last quite as long as I expected it to before the flavour faded, but I’d be willing to give it another go sometime. I enjoyed the more savoury notes in the initial steep, which were a nice change of pace from the sweeter shous I’ve been drinking lately.

Finally got around to a shou session now the workday routine is back in place post-Christmas! This came to me as a free sample with a recent Yunnan Sourcing order, and sitting there by the kettle it was calling to me today. I’m using around ~6g of leaf (approx. half the sample). As usual, I started with a 10s rinse.

1st steep (10s) – softly earthy, smooth, hints of cream.
2nd steep (15s) – ditto. Also some light astringency, and hints of raw wood.
3rd steep (20s) – ditto, astringency diminished.
4th steep (25s) – softly earthy, smooth & creamy, sweet; crystal sugar.
5th steep (30s) – ditto
6th steep (40s) – ditto
7th steep (50s) – smooth, creamy, sweet. Diminishing earthiness and overall flavour.
8th steep (60s) – liquor beginning to pale. Smooth with delicate sugary sweetness.
9th steep (70s) – ditto
10th steep (80s) – liquor very pale, flavour much diminished although still smooth and delicately sweet.

Overall, a pleasant and inoffensive shou. with a really enjoyable creaminess. Great for beginners, and also as a daily drinker that doesn’t require too much thought. I would consider purchasing more in the future.

This is such a high quality black tea. Sometimes you can’t exactly put into words why a tea tastes so good but it just has that IT factor. This is that tea. There is a robust malty flavor that stays steady and fades slowly. Highly recommend.