Ancient Golden Yunnan

Thank you Ubacat for sending this to me in our swap package. Always happy to try new teas. This is one that I should like, but I thought it was a bit strange for a Yunnan black. It’s pretty fruity, lighter than most that I’ve had. Interesting but not quite to my tastes.

Happy Friday, everyone!

I’m really excited, because I got some GREAT news last night – I may have a steady freelance gig for the next few months, starting next week. I still have to do some negotiation, but I hope to sign the contract before the end of the day.

Oh, and ALSO: The Balzac’s Cafe in the Reference Library changed their lineup of teas, and one of the new teas that they’ll be stocking will be Silver Linden tea! Unfortunately, they don’t have any yet, and the cafe person didn’t know the vendor/manufacturer’s name, but STILL – do you have any idea how hard it has been for me to find linden tea locally? I am so excited.

Anyways, this tea. The first time I brewed it a few days ago, I overleafed it despite my gut telling me that the instructions on Rishi’s website were wrong. Today, I went with my gut, and did a leafing of around 1 tsp per cup.

The tea is still astringent, but it’s much more palatable this time. The leaf itself is quite tippy, with the tips being golden and visible when dry. Brewed up, the liquor is a nice deep brown, and has a malty, bready flavour. This is the kind of tea my mother would like – just give her plain old Orange Pekoe, none of this fancy flavoured business!

A nice, straightforward tea to start the day. I feel more comfortable rating it now.

Thanks again, ubacat!

I really like Rishi teas because their teas are always perfectly described on the box and you know for sure that you will be getting those tasting notes. This one is malty and rich with accents of plum and raisin just as the box says and it is delicious!! It doesn’t have any astringency or bitterness either.
I am really enjoying this tea and love its creamy, sweet scent too. The liquor is so dark like coffee. This is really yummy black tea!!!!

My tea doesn’t say Ancient on the box but it’s organic Golden Yunnan. Don’t know if it’s the same as this but think so. I made a mistake in picking this up. With the name Golden Yunnan I was thinking it was very light like a green tea. I don’t like a lot of black teas and this one is quite strong. It does have that rich raisony/plum flavour (which it said on the box! I just had tunnel vision.) I agree with all the reviews but it just doesn’t agree with me so I don’t want to give this a too low rating. Maybe I will grow to love it or can use in a swap.

When I decided to order this tea again, I was excited because it’s one of the teas I first tried, and one that opened me up to Chinese teas. Yunnan blacks are very unique, and I immediately fell in love with them. This golden Yunnan has just a few golden leaves scattered in a sea of black leaves. It’s not the most golden of Yunnan blacks, but it would cost a lot more if it was more golden.
The unique Yunnan taste is definitely there. There is an earthiness similar to cooked puerh in the background, with the spiciness of Yunnan teas up front. My only complaint is that this tea is bit tannic. It has more of a brisk breakfast tea tannic note than a softer tannic note I’m more used to in Golden Yunnan.

This tea is a great reason to wake up in the mornings. I started buying it without having really experienced chinese teas much, or yunnans at all. The color is beautiful, it is the perfect morning cup. I also appreciate I can steep it aa second (sometimes even a third time). This one is staying in my cupboard!

I didn’t drink this exact brand. It was clearance from Target of their own brand, but it’s decent enough. Helped to wake me up.

This is a high quality tea, but neither me nor my father can get into the flavor (He bought it, didn’t like it, I tried it). I think we both prefer the more darjeeling side of black tea (verging on oolong), and perhaps anything described as “malty” isn’t what we like.

Are we talking about the same tea here!?

I can only assume the current offering from Rishi “ANCIENT Golden Yunnan” is not the same Yunnan that is being reviewed here. Either that or this is simply a lesser grade.

Even at different steep times, this tea is weak and uncomplicated. The malty, cocoa character is noticeably muted. Surprising astringency for a Yunnan. Very little of the signature Yunnan profile.

With the reviews here and at $20-$25 cheaper PER POUND than others, I had to see what the buzz was about.

I found out you get what you paid for.

The bias towards Rishi teas is pretty obvious here so I don’t expect my review will be posted but FWIW both Adagio and Replubic of Tea have far better offerings.

This tea isn’t bad, I’ve been a strict Earl Grey drinker for the past few months so it was nice to try a non fragranced or non flavored tea. The one thing I might add though is that it tasted a bit weak at a tsp per cup (although Rishi suggests 1 tbsp per cup for this and many of their teas which is wayyyy to much imho). I’ll have to give this another go around and update accordingly.