Yunnan Jig

T&C TTB Tea # 17 Backlog May 28

Cannabis is one of the flavors listed for this?? weird. CANNABIS? Ok, people, whatever you say!

This one wasn’t bad, I didn’t really get any chocolatey notes. There seemed to be a bit of a sour/bitter note on the end of the sip… It was ok.

I decided it wasn’t worth keeping because I have so many other tasty black teas. So I put it back in the box.

I finally ordered from Adagio. I see I should have done this sooner, but not for the reasons you’re thinking. You see, thanks to Steepster, Lupicia might have brought me to this board, but I went straight to Butiki, Andrews & Dunham, Verdant and TeaVivre after that. I kinda went straight in with the big guns, and now I have Adagio. Hmmmm…..

Now, don’t get me wrong, this tea isn’t bad. It has a very light mouthfeel….I steeped for 5 minutes, but it could have gone longer. The oak/cannabis/mineral(?)/light malt top note is balanced well with the chocolate bottom note….but it isn’t a stunner. This tea is a good intro to “boutique teas” if a friend comes over and you want to share your passion, but don’t want to give them something over the top (like Laoshan Black or Congou Keemun). I wouldn’t turn it down, but I wouldn’t buy more, knowing what’s out there in big world of teas these days. Photo here: https://twitter.com/squeediebeebert/status/477864371922948096

Post script: Even as it cools, it tastes nice. And that’s how I’d describe this tea….nice.

Smooth malty with a pepper finish left on the tounge and the mouth.

T&C TTB#18: This one was just okay. Bit of mild hay and dust. Not much malt. It’s drinkable but I’ve had better yunnans, that’s for sure.

This was once upon a time my favorite black tea. I have had this tin for quite sometime, so it doesn’t have the punch it once had., but I still love this one when I’m in the mood for a stronger black tea.

It’s dark and sort of honey/copper colored and smells quite malty. It has a subtle honey like flavor, that I believe I remember being stronger when this tea was fresher, but it is still there. Mostly it’s malty goodness. I’m enjoying it right now with and english muffin and I think it goes great with grain based breakfast. I enjoy drinking this with a hearty oatmeal.

One of my go-to daily teas…smooth & comforting on a chilly spring day.

So against my better judgement and the safety of my wallet, I’ve been considering an order from Andrews & Dunham teas (in addition to a golden moon order). Specifically of their Yunnan Gold Tips, which sound oh so tasty, but is oh so expensive for a tea I have no idea if I’d like or not. Unfortunatly I have very little set distinction between the differences of Assam, Ceylon, Yunnan, Keemun, etc aside from what they’re vaguely supposed to taste like and what people say. I’ve been mostly concentrating on flavored teas since I started. One day I’m going to get solid examples of each and make them all and compare. But that’s a project for another time.

Anyway, I found this Yunnan in my Adagio samples and figured that it would give me something vaguely to expect, though probly comparing this and the A&D tea is like comparing apples and cherries. XD But it was something.

Dry this smelled chocolaty and rich ish. I only had about two tsp left so I dumped the rest into a strainer and added a bit over my usual 12oz. Now this is where I may have gone wrong, or possibly the temp (205*), or even the time (3min), but this cup is pretty undrinkable to me.
It’s fruity and chocolaty smelling, and the very beginning instant of the sip is good, but it immediately turns bitter and astringent. So I’m not sure if it was me or the tea, though I remember making a fine cup when I first got the sample, so it’s probly me.
But now it makes me question whether I want to take the chance with the fancy A&D yunnan tea. /sigh/ making this cup didn’t help and now I’m dissatisfied. Meh. But then again, it means that I’ll just have to brew another tea to make up for this one. Lol.

This was a soothing tea for this sick day. I won’t say much more at this point as I doubt my taste buds likely are not functioning properly.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about Yunnan Jig. It’s a decent black tea, but I’d say it has a bit of cigarette to the flavor. It grew on me as I drank it, so I’m a bit back and forth.

Delicious!