Master Han's Wild Picked Yunnan Black

I had a bit of this on Saturday while running around like a crazy person and also half-dead from a severe sinus infection. I can’t claim that I actually tasted it at all. But no worries, I have more and will be able to provide notes soon.

I really want to be talking about the ‘92 Menghai that I had yesterday and the ’05 Haiwan I’m drinking right now, but the “add a tea” functionality is failing hard, so they will have to wait until the technical gremlins subside.

Meanwhile, please stand by [cue Girl from Ipanema]

I’ve tasted and written many notes on Verdant teas but I
haven’t posted many because mine seem to be usually quite
different than what the website says and what reviews by
others say.
I brewed this one in my yixing but I steeped it western style
as suggested on Verdant website.

Steep 1 Was most delicious very malty taste with hints of
caramel,slight pepperlike spice, slightly vegetal/citrusy on
the end.

Steep 2 Was even better, nice and malty still with the caramel and maybe even chocolate type notes. It was a little nutty even with a pepperish type spice.
Vegetal notes on the end at first,Then the vegetal notes go into an aftertaste almost like citrus in the back of the mouth.

Steep 3 Was better still strong caramel and malty but a little
more nutty this time. Pepper type notes still present,
slightly vegetal on the end still followed by citrus almost
floral aftertaste. I’m really enjoying this Tea a lot :)

Steep 4 is yummy Caramel and Whiskey? Yep. this time it has kind of a watered down whiskey type flavor about it but still caramel notes tho and still slightly nutty with a slight
pepperish spice and citrusy floral after taste.

I just not really getting some of the things that other people here seem to be tasting, Oh well I still really enjoyed this tea a lot even if my experience was different than others :)

http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2013/07/master-hans-wild-picked-yunnan-black.html

I’m almost out of this one. Casey moved his stuff out yesterday, and he brought my teapots with him. I had accidentally sent them to his parent’s place. We used to share an Amazon account, and I guess I forgot to change the default shipping address.

I brewed this per the instructions, and it’s much better than I remember it. I think I will brew the second steeping like I would a more typical black, and see how that turns out. This is definitely among the very lightest in body of Chinese blacks that I have. I could have used something stronger this morning.

Oh well, off to go walk the Fritzy with my mother.

I don’t have time for a proper review of this tea, but I will mention some flavours – olive, fruity, sweet, careful not to overbrew – can grow bitter very quickly. But a very special and delicious tea.

Master Han’s Wild Picked Yunnan Black – Verdant Tea
Dry: Spice, Floral, Soft malt, Himalayan salt, elusive citrus and roasted tomato. There is an elusive autumn rain, oceanic note that is more impression than specific aroma, like a memory hidden in the scent, but a memory of many cups of teas drawing their roots in Yunnan mountains, and a history of cherishing this region and having its breath woven in a lifetime of cups.

Wet: Summery canopies of wet leaves, basking in a moments relief, capturing a quick splash of rain, with notes of minerals, earth, damp wood, distant and long abandoned camp fires, and spicy new growth. Hidden citrus emerges.

Leaf: Large, golden-umber leaves with dark oxidized stems and occasional reddish leaves that burnish from the gold and the black, reminiscent of the hues of Oriental Beauty oolong. The buds have an almost animal pelt-like appearance, fuzzy and layered in hue, coated in blonde pollen.

Cup: Bursts open with a rich, clean, and bright mouth feel. Luminous summer squash, golden-orange liquor that wafts a gently citrus aroma. Flavors of bitter orange, spice, citrus and soft leather balance lively against its crisp finish and lingering blush of savory sweetness. An indefinable nutty flavor swims around, almost like when a raw almond is split against the teeth.
Three extractions delivered consistent and vibrantly hued cups, with the flavors evolving and becoming increasingly subtle.

Brewing: Used 5g of leaves in 10oz glass pitcher, poured from varying height and steeped for 3-4 minutes in 190 degree water.

Notes: It is important to share that I have a long and deep love affair with the teas of Yunnan. I often cherish these teas and find them frequently, yet save them and share them and reserve them for a cured Yixing pot, adorned with dragons and who has no other region pass through its belly.
From the growing collection of pu erhs to the fuzzy crab curls of Imperial Golden Yunnan and so many others by that name, there are few teas so splendid to look upon, to hold in the hand and its golden, rusty liquor is a welcome homeland.
Over the years, as this affair has built, I have pursued cup after cup from this region, under many names; some offering an experience bordering on transcendental and others lacking and coarse. I still recall the mystery when one year I found a golden Yunnan whose heart was woven with seasonal blueberries, in such a natural blushing flush, that all who cupped it had their eyes opened as malt and citrus carried them to this new frontier, where flavors bloomed thick and deep.
Over the last few years, it has been noticeable that the cup has grown more and more elusive, rain showers and oceanic notes thinning the malt, citrus and fruit. The body has thinned, the cup has become a layer of veils, the flavors growing nutty and soft, regardless of the pollen glittering depths, or the gorgeously sensuous leaves. The transformation has born in me a curiosity that seeks to know what is happening, what is changing in those mist laden mountains, to know what is nestling in the earth around the roots, what is informing the leaf.
David has found a rare and wonderful offering, raw and wild, captured in the hands of a passionate master. Its worthy of the land and of the plant, of the tea and the cup and I hope bodes for the evolution of the region; harboring more and more compassionate and passionate hands to pluck and cherish these leaves. Perhaps with more hands like Master Han’s, the dragon will find a new voice and share further layers and return the depth and complexity back into the heart of Yunnan, or translate more fully the crisp, young voice that is emerging from the wise and aged arms of Yunnan’s amazing legacy.

i can’t really find the steeping parameters that I enjoy. This tea is just not appealing to me. hopefully I find the good spot soon.

1/24/14 Afternoon cuppa. 3g/6oz/212F/4min. First impressions. Lovely pepper scented leaf in the bag, brewed a nice gold/dark amber. Not really a fair tasting for this tea though – I’m in a lousy mood, feeling physically whomped, and just can’t give this the attention and thought it deserves.

Even with all that — it’s a very nice cuppa, is helping lift my mood, and I definitely look forward to tasting it again in a few days, and trying out the different brew styles with it.

Tea #6 from the HHTTB

I thought that this tea tasted very much like Hong Jing Luo from thepuriTea. Sometimes, though, I don’t remember tastes so well after having so many different kinds of tea, but I vaguely categorize them along the way (man-ly tea, mushroom tea, honey tea.. some of my categories probably aren’t so useful for the rest of you, sorry!). I wasn’t sure what type of tea the hong jing luo was, so I looked it up and lo and behold it says “Fans of Golden Yunnan will like…” so it seems I wasn’t too far off this time, and I didn’t even have to use a unique-to-me descriptor.

Hong Jing Luo was briefly a favorite of mine, but that didn’t last long. I can’t say exactly why I don’t like it so much anymore, but I just don’t. So, naturally, this tea isn’t going to be a favorite either.

This is a delicate, smooth, and sweet black tea. Not sweet like honey, but more like sugar-sweetened tea. Nothing not to like here, so don’t ask me what my problem is :p

I’m not very sure how to describe this one. There’s a brightness to this tea in both color and aroma. I definitely taste rich, fruity olive notes. Honey, but sparkling and lively, rather than sweet. In that respect it reminds me of Butiki’s Mi Xian Black. Leafhopper taste. In the second steep, the olive and honey notes intensify and gain more resonance. It’s much more SAVORY and nutty, while still remaining a relatively light-bodied tea. At the end of the cup I’m left with an intriguing hint of spice and sweetness. VERY good. Third steep…the honey sweetness explodes across my tongue like fireworks, and the meaty coconut taste steps forward. WHOA. I keep burning myself trying to sip the too-hot liquid. (: Still relatively light, not heavy or filling. Very pleasant sweet fruity aftertaste. Fruity creamy nutty. Wow. I’m seriously regretting not adding more this to the order I placed not half an hour ago. Many thanks for the sample!! I’ll probably steep this until there’s no flavor left. It was the last of the 7g that I had. ):

Another tea from CrowKettle. This one… I actually kind of like. I need to revisit it, as I chugged it while I was rushing around this morning. So far, it’s really light, but nice.

The Phoenix Pearls from ZenTeaLife.com are similar, but probably not as good. (PS. ZenTeaLife.com has restocked! They also have free shipping in BC!)

Later: I shall drink the tea in a thoughtful manner, and also compare the two.