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.)
Yunnan Breakfast Black Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Our Yunnan Breakfast is a wonderful Chinese black tea with rich awakening flavours. Its invigorating fragrance and glossy red liquor offer a robust taste with a peppery finish. Enjoy this bold tea hot.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
Before I get started in the review of this tea, I just want to remind all my readers out there that the time grows short to take advantage of the free teapot offer from Simple Loose Leaf. Learn more about it here.
Nice! I am in total agreement with the above description, this is indeed a bold, robust tea! It’s invigorating! And I’m enjoying it immensely.
The leaves are a beautiful chocolate brown with some golden tips. They brew up a dark, glistening copper colored liquid that tastes exactly how I expect a good Yunnan tea to taste: rich, full-flavored, warm with pepper-like notes. I love the spice notes to this Yunnan Breakfast Tea!
There is a pleasant sweetness to this as well. There is a thin molasses undertone that contrasts nicely with the warm spice notes. The sip begins with a hint of that sweetness, followed by that bold flavor of black tea. It’s earthy, rich, and beneath those stronger, masculine tones of earth and hints of wood is just a touch of stone fruit. Plum? Maybe a hint of black currant too. Then my palate begins to pick up on the notes of pepper. My taste buds tingle long after the sip is over from the zesty spice notes of this tea.
As the sip nears the finish, I notice some dryness. It has a moderate astringency, nothing too overpowering, nothing that disrupts the sip. The aftertaste is lightly sweet, reminding me of molasses, like the sweetness you’d experience if you were to eat a gingersnap cookie.
This Yunnan Breakfast Tea from Simple Loose Leaf is a really enjoyable way to start the day. It would take the addition of milk and sugar well, if you like to add those to your cup of breakfast tea. If you really want a treat, try adding about half a teaspoon of brown sugar instead of the ordinary table sugar to the cup. This really enhances the molasses tones and gives it just a little something extra special.
Then again, it’s quite good without anything added – I like it straight with no additions. It’s got an edge to it that I need when the morning starts before I want it to! Just what I need!
I just love Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club – it’s a wonderful way to get some great teas delivered to your mailbox every month at an affordable price! Save even more when you use this code: SISTERSELECTION25 Get 25% off when you sign up for the Selection Club! (This discount is not applicable on the retail selection of teas, and is only good for the selection club subscription.)
Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
A cup of Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea will not only attract you by its taste, but also by its appearance: so dark and strong with tight and long tips. This tempting appearance is produced in Yunnan. While if you want to describe its taste, you can use the word elegant. It can serve you a cup of elegant gongfu tea or afternoon tea.
High mountains and proper environment produces good tea. Chinese Red has a price of high value. Its special tea tree and superb making skills make this tea carrying a unique fragrance as rich as perfumes. The top notes make you delighted; the middle notes fresh your mind; the base note of strong floral fragrance make you intoxicated.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ahhh-ma-ZING! This tea is truly remarkable. Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea from Teavivre is one of those memorable black teas that I believe all tea lovers should try!
The tea brews up dark and has a thick, silky mouthfeel that seems to coat the palate with it’s full-flavored goodness. I taste notes of deep, dark bittersweet chocolate and an undertone of rich, creamy caramel. It has that “baked” quality to it, the kind of taste that evokes thoughts of freshly baked bread.
There are notes of malt and there is very little – as in next to NO – astringency to this tea. In fact, I mention the astringency only because just now I took a sip and really focused on what I was experiencing to see if I could notice any astringency. And when I’m very focused on it, I can detect a slight dry sensation toward the tail. It’s ever-so-slight and those who tend to be astringent-sensitive shouldn’t worry about this tea.
For those of you who remember Dawn from Simple Leaf and miss it (and let’s face it, if you remember the tea, you miss it!) this tea would make a really good substitute for that tea. It reminds me a lot of that tea. It is rich with notes of cocoa, sweet, caramel-y undertones and notes of stone fruit (plum-ish) mid-sip.
A really memorable, delicious tea – and it’s just as flavorful with the second infusion, too!
Silver Bud Ya Bao White Tea from Tea Source
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Tea Source
Tea Description:
This rare white tea from Yunnan is a winter-pluck tea with huge downy buds and leaves from wild growing tea trees and produces a liquor that is mellow, sweet, slightly fruity (ripe plums?), and lingers with a soft floral finish. Can also be aged, as a puer.
Learn more about this tea here.
To subscribe to Steepster Select, click here.
Taster’s Review:
I was happy to find this Silver Bud Ya Bao White Tea from Tea Source in this month’s Steepster Select box, if for no other reason than I enjoy Ya Bao teas and even though I do enjoy them, they are not often a tea that I put in my “cart” when I’m shopping for tea. It was a nice surprise to find this among this month’s tea selections.
I took this tea for a few steeps, because Ya Bao teas are one of those types of teas that the flavor develops over the course of several steeps – it’s definitely worth the effort to brew this one more than once!
The early infusions were very light in flavor. Very delicate. Sweet with hints of vegetation (on the grassy side) and notes that are reminiscent of honeydew melon. I taste a hint of nutmeg – a warm, gentle spice – with maybe a hint of white pepper. I love the subtle flavors here … although I do find myself wishing that they were a little more pronounced.
That wish was granted with the later infusions. The flavors began to develop with the second infusion, offering notes of peach and sweet, creamy notes. I am tasting less of the aforementioned spice notes now, and the vegetal notes have become more hay-like to me. This cup is sweeter and the flavors are more defined.
With the third infusion, I noticed the flavors beginning to wane and became less distinctive, which tells me that a fourth infusion may be futile. However, the three infusions that I did get from this tea, I really enjoyed them.
A really lovely Ya Bao! Thank you, Steepster, for selecting this tea for this month’s box! If you’re interested in the Steepster Select subscription program, click here to learn more.
Four Horsemen Black Tea Blend from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
A delicious blend of four of our most loved black teas. Rich and malty Assam provides an aromatic chocolatey note to the floral and sweet Darjeeling, while the crisp Keemun and peppery Yunnan create a strong backbone to this incredible blend. The varying flavor profiles balance each other perfectly to create a smooth, strong breakfast tea to suit any palate.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s customized subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
As you may remember when I wrote my review of Simple Loose Leaf’s Madagascar Coconut White Tea, with this month’s subscription package, I also received several samples to “replace” last month’s tea which was one I wasn’t particularly fond of. This Four Horsemen Black Tea Blend from Simple Loose Leaf is one of the teas that I received in that package … and I’m loving it!
This tea would make a spectacular breakfast blend for those of you who want something with a little more heft than the typical English Breakfast Blend. This tea has got some gusto! This is the kind of tea that grabs you and shakes you, and then kicks your butt out of bed and out the door so that you can face the day.
And if that’s a little too edgy for your liking, you can always soften the edginess of this tea by adding a splash of milk and a drizzle of honey, because it also makes a great latte.
The Keemun and Yunnan give this tea a substantial body and a rich, full flavor. There are hints of smoke and a touch of peppery warmth to the blend courtesy of these two teas. The Assam comes in and adds a little more richness to the cup and some sweet, malty tones. And the Darjeeling helps to lighten the cup just a little bit and give the cup some sweet fruit notes and extra complexity. This is a well-rounded, delicious cup of tea.
I’m really glad I got to try this tea! Thank you, Simple Loose Leaf, for providing excellent customer service and sending me some of this tea to follow up on a less than stellar experience. This tea MORE than makes up for it! This tea is wonderful!