Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Damn Fine Tea
Tea Description:
We’re galloping into the New Year on a 150 horse-powered infusion of Yunnan Gold Tips. Care to join us? Like a chestnut mare with a brilliant golden mane, this special tea has the might to carry you through good times and bad, and a gentle, unassuming beauty that will stir noble feelings in your breast. We wish the year of the snake a fond farewell, perhaps even a tip of the hat as it slithers away into the bushes. Now it’s time to face the road ahead. Welcome to the year of the horse — saddle up this damn fine steed and ride out to meet it!
We’ve teamed up again with our pals at Aesthetic Apparatus and made 150 tins of one of our favorites, Yunnan Jin Hao Gold Tips tea. This full-bodied black tea from China will remind you of a classic Yunnan — it’s good and strong — but the gold tips add a soft, velvety smoothness. Brew it in boiling hot water for at least five minutes and you’re off to the races. Cross the finish line and re-steep the leaves for another ride.
Learn more about this limited-edition tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been chomping at the bits to order this tea for months now, ever since it was announced. However, I have quite a bit of tea as it is, and I always seem to go a bit over my budget when it comes to tea spending, so I held off on ordering this as long as I could. I didn’t want to miss out on it – since it is a limited edition! – but I also couldn’t justify ordering it when it was announced. I waited and waited for a “free shipping” offer from Damn Fine Teas, but I never found that opportunity.
Then they offered free shipping to Canadians for Canada Day, and when I looked at this tea, I saw that there were only 6 tins of it left! Egad! I was freaking out, worried that I’d miss out on this tea while I was waiting for the 4th of July when (hopefully) they might have free shipping in the states (which they did), but I worried that this tea might sell out before the 4th arrived (it didn’t). But I still didn’t want to take that chance, so I paid for the shipping and declared that my budget be damned! It was time for some Damn Fine Tea!
I mean, it’s not like I haven’t had a golden tips Yunnan before, I’ve had quite a few lovely opportunities to try this type of tea. I didn’t really feel like I was missing out on something as far as the tea goes, but, as I’ve admitted in the past, I’m a sucker for packaging. And I didn’t want to miss out on a numbered tin which is beautifully appropriated with a vivid, yellow label with a cool horse on it. I didn’t want to not have this tin. I also needed to find out what cool little extra they’d send along with the tin. They always have a nifty little toy or something with the tin … something that corresponds with the tea. This tin came with a little rubber horse head finger puppet toy. Cool.
Yeah, go ahead and say it. I’m a nerd.
This Yunnan Gold Tips is an enjoyable tea and a nice selection for the celebration of the Year of the Horse (which was the reason behind this limited edition series). I don’t know that it’s the best Yunnan tea that I’ve ever tasted, but I’m enjoying it and happy to have it as part of my tea stash while it lasts.
The dry leaf is beautiful with it’s chocolate-y brown leaves tipped with gold. The aroma is earthy and rich, and there are hints of sweetness. The leaves brew up dark and produce a flavorful liquid that smells sweet – like molasses!
That molasses-y note translates to the flavor, and I can taste notes of sweet molasses that seem to mingle with an undertone of caramel-like flavor. It’s a hearty, robust tea with enough gusto to get someone up and running (or galloping!) on the days when you need that sort of thing. It has a leather-y, earthy quality to the flavor which is a nice contrast to the sweeter notes.
But what I like best about a Yunnan are the spice notes. And this tea has those too. They are warm and comforting, and I think that’s why I enjoy a good Yunnan like this one so much. It is an invigorating drink but there is a certain comfort to drinking it. Like waking up even though you don’t want to, but then walking into that hot shower and it feels so good that all the sudden you’re not minding waking up so much. That’s what this tea provides for me.
A really awesome tea, I’m glad that I finally ordered it. I just wish that I could have gotten the free shipping on it. Hey … Washington is right next to Canada … and I live in a city that is often confused as a Canadian city. That should count for something, eh? (See, I’m even trying to sound Canadian.)
Jungpana Estate 2nd Flush Golden Tips Darjeeling Tea from Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Description:
JUNGPANA GOLDEN TIPS is by far one of the finest available teas. It comes from the prestigious JUNGPANA TEA ESTATE. This tea is special as it has been made with utmost care. The tea is made from the finest clonal plants from the plantations at an altitude of 6000ft. The leaves were handpicked with a trained group of women. The manufacturing process was also done with utmost care.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I adore Darjeeling tea, and some of the finest Darjeeling teas that I’ve ever tasted have come from Darjeeling Tea Lovers! This Jungpana Estate 2nd Flush Golden Tips Darjeeling Tea is a perfect example of the fantastic quality teas that come from this fantastic company.
The dry leaves are beautiful with their golden tips, and they brew up a liquid that is coppery in color and that smells sweet with notes of fruit, earth and wood.
And I like that what I smell is also what I taste. The tea is delightfully sweet without being too sweet. There is a lovely fruit note to this, wine-like, with notes of currant and muscat grape. The finish has a gentle astringency – very slight! For those of you who tend to avoid Darjeeling teas because you aren’t wild about the astringency … I think you’d find this Darjeeling to be more to your liking! The finish is less dry than the typical wine-y Darjeeling.
There are notes of wood, earth and hints of flower to this tea as well. It is quite smooth for a Darjeeling, and I note more body to this … it is not quite as “light” and “sparkling” and in place of the sparkling lightness is a smooth body that is very satisfying.
Another remarkable Darjeeling from Darjeeling Tea Lovers!
Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea – Golden Tip from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Dian Hong black tea, also known as Yunnan black tea, is one of China’s most famous black teas. This is the highest grade Dian Hong generally available in China – called Golden Tip Dian Hong. It has lots of orange pekoe in the dried tea, and brews into an absolutely great tasting, golden coloured tea, with very rich taste and aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I know that for some of you who might read me regularly, it may be kind of boring to read just how excited I get over tea … cup after cup after cup! But, really, I love tea so much, and when I find a good cup (and I do find them quite often!) I want to share that joy! And yes, I really do get this excited over tea!
And it’s easy to get excited over tea when it tastes as good as this tea does.
The dry leaf is absolutely beautiful. The colors of the leaves ranges from bright, golden yellow to a rich brown, and the leaves are curled and twisted. But even more magnificent than their color is the flavor of the tea that they produce!
It is sweet with caramel-y undertones, and there is a hint of smoke to this tea as well. The smoke melds with the caramel in such a way to give it a distinct flavor that is both savory and sweet. I love the contrast! The mouthfeel is very smooth and even has a certain thickness to it (almost velvety!) that enhances the caramel experience even further.
If I were to categorize this tea into a season of the year, the season for this tea would be Autumn. The flavors remind me of autumn, not just the warm, smoky caramel, but, I also notice a warm spice to this tea. Almost like a mild nutmeg with a dash of pepper, just enough to tantalize the taste buds.
And then there is the sweet-potato/yam-like flavor, another flavor of fall! All of these flavors accent each other quite nicely – a delicious autumnal medley of tastes in one teacup. Truly a memorable cup of tea!
Ceylon Silver Tips from Empire Tea Services
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Empire Tea Services
Product Description:
Carefully hand picked tender buds from Glentilt Estate in Sri-Lanka (Ceylon).
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of the nicest white teas I’ve encountered. From start to finish, it is such a joy! The leaves are just like the picture above: long needles, and that same silvery-white color! They are covered in fuzz. They have a light scent that is slightly grassy, reminding me of a freshly cut grass smell in spring.
The color of the liquor is very pale – in fact, had I not measured the tea myself, I would have thought maybe someone to put tea in the teapot. In fact, everything about this tea is light: the color, the scent, and the flavor.
But, don’t mistake that for being flavorless, because it isn’t. Delicate, yes … but, it is also so delicious. It tastes fresh with hints of flower in the distance. It has a creamy taste and texture to it. It is crisp and soothing. It is delicious sipped hot, and it even tastes great as it cools.
What I like best about this tea is that it has a very relaxing quality to it, I sipped it later in the evening and found that it let me just enjoy my evening, but I also find my thoughts traveling back to the thoughts of this tea. It has that memorable kind of quality to it.
If you love white tea, you really should try this one. You’ll be glad you did.
Moon Swirl White Tips from Imperial Tea Garden
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Imperial Tea Garden
Product Description:
At 16.65% by dry weight, moon swirl green tea is one of the highest polyphenol antioxidant teas rated by independent lab tests. The quality of this hand made luxury green tea is evident from the fuzzy white tips that slowly unfurl with each steep. Moon Swirl White Tip is grown at nearly 5000 feet above sea level in the mountains of the Hunan Province. The early spring growth is hand plucked from only the top buds and skillfully rolled by hand. When infused, the grass, wheat, and mild sweetness are well balanced with assertive astringency. Due to these conditions, only a few thousand kilos are manufactured per year.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea is incredible. Truly enchanting; this tea seems to draw me in deeper with each sip, revealing more of itself to me as I sip it.
The first couple of sips were remarkably sweet and smooth. By mid-cup, a dry, cleansing astringency develops, which prepares the palate for the next sip. The flavor is of sweet grass and hints of hay, reminding me of the air in the hay fields of the small town where I grew up. On the days when the hay would be harvested and bailed, you could actually taste the hay in the air.
But, this tea has a lightness to it too, which makes the aforementioned comparison to the air quite apropos; it has a clean, pure kind of taste to it that reminds me quite a bit of a white tea.
Overall, I’m finding this tea to taste incredibly fresh and delicious. No bitterness to speak of, although if you wish to keep the astringency to a minimum, steep at a lower temperature. I don’t find the astringency bothersome, in fact, I like the way it refreshes the palate. It has a natural sweetness to it, this is one that doesn’t need sweetening as the addition may overwhelm the delicate balance of flavors here.
An excellent green tea, not too vegetative a flavor, but enough to remind you of what you’re drinking, and a very memorable sweetness. Very nice.