Longan

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Black

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!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea