Another Yunnan Tasted

I got this sample of Golden Yunnan from The Republic of Tea.  (It says Golden Tippy Yunnan on the package.  I wonder what the "Tippy" means?) After giving it several tries, using different amounts of tea and varying steep-times, I'm ready to cast my vote.

When I opened the packet I noticed the same green smell that was present in the In Pursuit of Tea Yunnan.  Not quite as strong, but still, a definite green smell.  The leaves are a mix of gold, green and black and it seemed to me they were overall smaller and shorter than the other Yunnan's I've tried. 

I noticed this tea also steeps to full strength quite a bit faster than the others.  The first cup was much too strong.  I had been watching the color develop (that's the beauty of the IngenuiTea pot, you can see what's going on as it steeps) and I didn't trust my eyes or my nose.  I kept thinking I ought to let it steep at least as long as I did the others.  Let that be a lesson to me.  Trust my eyes and my nose. 

The second steeping was better, using the same leaves, but still the time needed was pretty short.  After a bit of experimentation I got the balance right.  Less than a teaspoon of tea leaves (for a one cupper like me), and steep between 1-2 minutes.

The good thing about this tea was - no green taste in the first cup.  With the IPoT yunnan I got that green taste in the first cup, and I decided I didn't like it much.  With this tea, even though the smell was present in the leaves, it didn't come through in the first cup.  And I did notice a sort of malty flavor which I liked.  And it does have the same smooth comforting earthiness that the others have.

In final comparison, I think I still have to rate the Adagio Yunnan Gold highest for my taste.  But this one comes second. 

Comments

[Cindy W.]

I'll be posting some golden yunnan comparison notes to my blog soon, but my favorite so far this spring comes from an ebay vendor -- yunnansourcing. A few of us have been exchanging samples as we search, and I recently snailmailed them with some samples from the rather large batch (it's a big volume order!).

Christine, if you'd like to try what I think is the strongest mocha-cocoa yunnan experience this year, just email me with your snailmail address. I'll put some in a box and get it out to you to try -- maybe I'll include a few others, so you get to taste the range. I'm not selling it, just wanted to share with a fellow tea blogger. :)

Cindy