Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Chi of Tea
Tea Description:
New! Organic Royal Golden Yunnan! Delicately twisted leaves with a high concentration of golden tips distinguishes this tea from other black teas. A full-bodied infusion deep red with a honey-like sweetness, a subtle milkiness and light coppery finish.
Yunnan tea, also known as Dian hong steeps a reddish brown after brewing. Golden Yunnan is characterized by a bright red color, a subtle flavor and a sweet taste. Lychees, rose and longan are mixed with the tea leaves and left to ferment. This combination contributes to the final aroma of the tea brewed from the leaves. The taste is sweet and features a subtle aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a superb Yunnan! One of the very best I’ve tried.
I brewed this in my gaiwan using short steeps, starting with 1 minute for the first infusion, and adding 15 seconds with each subsequent steep. I think that the first infusion could have actually gone just 45 seconds or perhaps shorter, because this is a strong infusion, but still, I do not find it too strong.
It is certainly full-flavored and aromatic. I can taste the notes of fruit and rose that were added during the fermentation process, the rose is especially noticeable at the finish and just a moment or two into the aftertaste, and it’s really quite a lovely moment when that flavor reveals itself.
There is a beautiful undertone of spice to this tea. It is not a dominant flavor but, always present. Chocolatey tones are also present as well as a delicious caramel-like sweetness. This is a wonderfully complex Yunnan that stands up to multiple infusions (I extracted four full-bodied infusions from this tea!)
After a visit to the Chi of Tea website, I find that this – as well as most of their other teas – are out of stock. I didn’t take the time to check them all, but the ones that I did check were out of stock. I hope this does not mean that this company is closing, because not only is this Yunnan one you should try, but they also happen to carry my favorite yellow tea. If anyone knows anything more about the status of this company, do please let me know!
Organic Dian Hong from Basic Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Basic Tea
Product Description:
This organic Dian Hong is an exquisite black tea from the Yunnan Province of China. Also translated as “Yunnan Red” due to the reddish infusion of the tea leaf, this handmade, smooth tasting tea can be compared in taste to top quality Assam teas from India.
Taster’s Review:
This is a very interesting tea. Delicious and quite different from any black tea that I’ve tried, while at the same time, very similar to many different black teas I’ve tried. Yeah, like I said, it’s very interesting!
The dry leaf reminds me quite a bit of a Formosa Oolong. The leaves are dark, twisted, and long and tangled, just like a high quality Formosa might be. In fact, I was so certain this was an Oolong that when I went to look for more information about it before brewing it, I looked in the “Oolong” section on the Basic Tea website. I certainly did not expect to find it in with the black tea.
But upon tasting this tea, it becomes quite evident that this is a black tea. But then again, this is a very curious tea in that it doesn’t taste like a typical Yunnan, although there are notes that are quite similar to a Yunnan, and yet this Dian Hong is a bit more even-toned than a Yunnan, and its the smooth, mellow notes that remind me quite a bit of a Ceylon. There is also a rich, malty quality to this tea that is quite similar to an Assam! Hmm… curiouser and curiouser!
I can taste some piquant Lychee flavors in the background as well as a hint of rose that sort of lingers on the tip of the tongue in the aftertaste. This is really one of the most fascinating teas I’ve ever tried!
Dian Hong Pu Erh from Cloudwalker Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu Erh
Where to Buy: Cloudwalker Teas
Product Description:
Sweet, smooth and sparkling. As with all of our teas at Cloudwalker, three year old Dian Hong is a high level pu erh tea. It combines an aquamarine floral taste with fine up-lifting chi characteristics. Dian Hong is a loose leaf pu erh tea processed similar to that of a black tea. It is already deep and rich with full and complex flavors. It is at once enlivening and cooling. A full, floral and rich tea. This tea is an excellent introduction to pu erh, or to entertain guests who have not yet experienced the earthy nature of these fine Chinese teas.
Taster’s Review:
This Pu-erh is so unlike other pu-erh teas that I’ve tried!
I’ve said it before: I’m not a big fan of Pu-erh. I am, however, acquiring a taste for it. And I’ll say this – if this were the first Pu-erh tea that I tried, I don’t think I would have disliked it for so many years! This is good!
The dry leaf lacks the strong earthy aroma that many other Pu-erh teas possess. It does have a slight earthy quality to the scent, but, not nearly as strong as other Pu-erh teas I’ve experienced. Likewise, the brewed liquor – while slightly more earthy than the dry leaf – is still not nearly as earthy as other Pu-erh teas.
This Pu-erh reminds me more of a black tea than of a Pu-erh, but without the bitterness that sometimes accompanies black tea. This is very smooth and rich in taste, and brews up very dark (most Pu-erh teas brew up darker than the average black tea). There is an earthy note to the taste, but again, like the aroma – it isn’t as earthy as a typical Pu-erh.
The flavor is sweet with notes of flower and even hints of dark cocoa in the background. There is a deep sweetness in the background that reminds me of burnt sugar. There is a damp woodsy note to it as well.
Overall, this is one of the most pleasant Pu-erh experiences I’ve ever had (if not THE most pleasant). I really like this one, and it is one that I could easily enjoy on a daily basis – unlike a typical Pu-erh which is something I drink only on occasion.
Like I said at the start – this is a Pu-erh that is like no other that I’ve tried!
Dian Hong Tea from Cloudwalker Teas
Tea Type: Pu-erh
Where To Buy: Cloudwalker Teas
Product Description:
Sweet, smooth and sparkling. As with all of our teas at Cloudwalker, three year old Dian Hong is a high level pu erh tea. It combines an aquamarine floral taste with fine up-lifting chi characteristics. Dian Hong is a loose leaf pu erh tea processed similar to that of a black tea. It is already deep and rich with full and complex flavors. It is at once enlivening and cooling. A full, floral and rich tea. This tea is an excellent introduction to pu erh, or to entertain guests who have not yet experienced the earthy nature of these fine Chinese teas.
Tasters Review:
Many of the Pu-erhs I have had from Cloudwalker Teas are making me change my mind about Pu-erhs overall!
Dian Hong is semi-woodsy and semi-malty! There is an ever-so-slight sweetness to it but it’s still fairly masculine.
I agree with the product description that if you are new to Pu-erh or have had not-so-impressive Pu-erh experiences in the past to give this one a try!
