Has the phrase “heavy pungent nectar quality” ever crossed your tea bucket list?
It wasn’t on mine, either; but now that I’ve tried this tea, you might want to add it to yours.
This tea tastes like flowers and honey. (And “heavy pungent nectar.”) It also supposedly tastes like “sweet potato,” which I’m not really getting, but I am not a nuanced person. I just get the big brushstrokes.
If you’ve ever wondered what being a honeybee was like, this tea is your answer. You’re flitting between flower and hive here, getting your job done in sweet, sugary, natural beauty. The sun dapples the prairie of bobbing flora. The wind rustles your fur. You are getting your job done.
Just like in the real world, you’re getting your job done, because black tea is naturally caffeinated. Thank goodness, right?
Instead of a digression about myself, today we’re going to get two digressions: one about the area this is from and one about bee hair. You should hang in with me on this. I’ve found out a lot.
THE TEA’S REGION:
This tea comes from China’s Guangdong Province, also known as Canton. You know, the place where “Cantonese” (the dialect) comes from. In the 1800s, an opium war occurred there.
Currently, it’s a huge commercial center, mostly because it has the port closest to Hong Kong. This province touts the highest GDP and population in China.
Only 7% of the population (SEVEN) claims to be religious, which, here in America, sounds crazy. And maybe a little amazing.
They have several soccer (European football) teams, a futsal (like soccer, but smaller, and indoors) team, plus basketball, baseball, and volleyball.
BEE HAIR:
Bee hair looks like mammal fur, but it’s totally different. It’s made of chitlin, instead of the mammilian keratin. It comes straight out of the exoskeleton.
It has different uses, but mostly it’s a pollen-gathering tool. Bees don’t have backpacks. They use their hair instead. Bee hair has a branched-out structure that enables it to sweep up pollen like a broom. The hair also generates a lot of static electricity, like socked feet on carpet, which sucks pollen in like a vacuum.
The fuzzy bumblebee uses its hair for heat regulation (like mammals), but scientists don’t think that bees rely on that like mammals do.
Finally, the bright, patterned color of bee hair serves as a warning:
Don’t screw with bees. Don’t eat them.
Just drink this tea instead.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Yunnan Sourcing
Description
This tea is no longer available but the 2017 version is. Click below for more information.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Purple Needle Black Tea of Jing Mai Mountain * Spring 2016
Had to open up the aroma wheel for this one. There are some black teas that I have such a hard time finding descriptors for.
This is a very pleasant tea. No harsh after taste. An intriguing liquid color. Golden brown perhaps? The flavor profile is so amazing. Slightly citrus but the more I sip it the more I am tasting woodsy notes at the end. Flashes of walking through a slightly damp Washington state forest come to mind. Keep spinning the aroma wheel we aren’t through yet.
Even with the citrus and woodsy flavors it can also be defined as sweet. Almost like honey. The sweetness gathers all the flavors in a way that makes you feel as if you are drinking a royal cup of tea. Something truly unique.
Something must also be said about the leaves. Look at how tightly rolled they are!
From the pain-staking process of picking only the young tender buds from the purple trees (See the web page below for more details!), to the processing, and up to the end where it is packaged- all care is taken with this tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea/Purple Tea
Where to Buy: Yunnan Sourcing
Description
Purple leaf “Zi Cha” was harvested in Late April from the Jing Mai mountainous area in Lancang county of Simao. The fresh purple leaves were then processed into a flat needle style tea. The processed tea leaves are black with tiny golden shoots on some.
The brewed tea is citrus fruity sweet and very vibrant in the mouth. The smell is floral and grapefruit. The tea soup is a deep red-orange with hints of purple and vert clear.
A unique tea from “Zi Cha” purple tea leaves which is quite different from “Wild Purple / Ye Sheng” varietal black tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Yunnan “Purple Beauty” Green Tea from Lancang Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing. . .
I think it’s time to highlight a Yunnan Green Tea on Sororitea Sisters. It’s been a while. Therefore, I declare, Yunnan “Purple Beauty” Green Tea from Lancang Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing – the tea of the moment!
Yunnan “Purple Beauty” Green Tea from Lancang Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing certainly IS unique! This is a Zi Juan “Purple Beauty” varietal that was grown in Lancang county in the Jingmai mountainous area. First flush of spring tea leaves were used and processed into a green tea. This is the first ever Purple Beauty Green Tea Yunnan Sourcing has offered.
This infuses to grey-purple color and the brewed leaves remain dark even after many infusions. It’s soup-like, brothy. It’s vegetal. I can pick up on seaweed and/or mushroom-like undertones while sipping on this. It has a nice sweet and bitter yin and yang going on, too! Yunnan Sourcing says the taste of this tea is Dan Cong meets Yunnan Assamica Green Tea.
I have to say that Yunnan “Purple Beauty” Green Tea from Lancang Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing is unlike anything I have ever sipped on! It’s pretty fantastic! I’m sure it will appear on at least one of my TOP LISTS to be released soon! Be on the look out!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Yunnan Sourcing
Description
This is a Zi Juan “Purple Beauty” varietal that was grown in Lancang county in the Jingmai mountainous area. First flush of spring tea leaves were used and processed into a green tea. This is the first ever Purple Beauty Green Tea we have offered.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pure Gold Jin Jun Mei Black Tea of Tong Mu Guan Village *Spring 201 from Yunnan Sourcing
Hairy! Fuzzy! I’m NOT talking about Sasquatch! I’m talking about Pure Gold Jin Jun Mei Black Tea of Tong Mu Guan Village Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing!
The dry leaves – upon opening the package – are gloriously wonderful to look at! Two-toned brown in color, thin and crimped, with fuzzy hair that adheres to your fingers when touched. Pure Gold Jin Jun Mei Black Tea of Tong Mu Guan Village Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing is one of those teas I LOVE to look at.
Pure Gold Jin Jun Mei Black Tea of Tong Mu Guan Village Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing is also one of those teas I LOVE to smell! Dry – it smells like caramelized brown sugar with bakey and malty scents. Once infused this smells like non-crusty baked goods…similar to muffins, perhaps! There are baked, malt, brown sugar aromas that fill my cup and I LOVE it!
Once I start sipping on Pure Gold Jin Jun Mei Black Tea of Tong Mu Guan Village Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing I immediately fall in LOVE. Okay – perhaps I fell in LOVE even before I took my first sip – but this sealed the deal! On the tongue and throat this tea provided a sweeter-malty flavor with the slightest-hint of underlying smoke. But not a bitter smoke or even a smoke like you would get with a Lapsang, for example. Maybe a better visual would be the smoke left over from torching the top of creme burlee. As this cools a bit at room temperature I grow even more fonder of this. There are more malty notes that come out to play and the bakey flavors morph into a bit of crust. Yup! Pure Gold Jin Jun Mei Black Tea of Tong Mu Guan Village Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing MUST go on my FAVES LIST!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Straight Black Tea
Where to Buy: Yunnan Sourcing
Description
Pure Gold Tips expertly processed to enhance and preserve the hairy fuzz on these tiny little buds. Tong Mu Guan Village near Wu Yi in Fujian is the most famous place in China for the cultivation of Jin Jun Mei and this year’s harvest (April) is among the best in recent memory.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bai Ye Varietal Dan Cong Black Tea Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing
Behold…Bai Ye Varietal Dan Cong Black Tea Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing!
This Bai Ye dan Cong was picked in late April 2016 and processed through May. Instead of being processed like Dan Cong Oolong this tea was processed into Black Tea by wilting in small cloth bags in the sun and then shade. I had to think for a moment which category to put Bai Ye Varietal Dan Cong Black Tea Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing…an oolong or a black tea…so I put them under BOTH.
Dry – Bai Ye Varietal Dan Cong Black Tea Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing – smells absolutely outstanding! Much like Sweet Potato and honey. Once infused this smells like roasted sweet potato, rice, and something savory that I can’t quite put my finger on
The infusion color of Bai Ye Varietal Dan Cong Black Tea Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing is that of a medium brown. I was having a hard time waiting for this to cool a bit before tasting because the aroma is so enticing! YES! Bai Ye Varietal Dan Cong Black Tea Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing actually TASTES like baked sweet potato! It’s really quite amazing! There are nectar notes that remind me of coconut nectar that I really LOVE, too! Perhaps a honey-liking, even. It’s both sweet and savory. I like I’m in LOVE. I know I am. I’m still getting a little bit of a sticky rice hint as well. Gosh! This in incredible! As it cools it has a malty flavor that comes out to play, too! Bai Ye Varietal Dan Cong Black Tea Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing is wonderfully complex and offers layers and layers of flavor that just won’t quit! WOWZA! I think I will have another cup (or 10!)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea/Black Tea
Where to Buy: Yunnan Sourcing
Description
Bai Ye Hong Cha has thick sweetness and a very pronounced baked sweet potato taste that lasts many many infusions. This tea is both excellent and peerless. You simply can’t have a similar experience with any other tea. Highly recommended for Dan Cong and Black Tea aficionados alike!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!