Tippy Yunnan

I don’t know why I got this tea. I picked it up the last time I was at home, but it took me about a month to get around to trying it.

It’s good. Oh, it’s good.

The leaves smell kind of musty, like opening up an old book. It actually kind of smells like a library, in a way.

It’s so smooth. I poured the water over the leaves, and as it passed through the strainer it immediately turned gold. I worried a bit – was it going to get too strong? My morning teas usually end up with about a 7 minute steep because I brew them on my way to class.

It wasn’t astringent at all. It wasn’t even overly malty, which can turn my stomach if I’ve not eaten anything. It was strong, but really, really smooth.

After that class, I filled the mug up with hot water. I wanted to resteep the leaves, but I didn’t feel much like drinking it during my next class. So I left it there, and let it steep until lunch (~3 hours). I know that the water I resteeped it with was less than boiling, maybe 180 or so.

And it wasn’t astringent at all. In fact, there was a beautiful sort of honeyed sweetness that came out of that.

I really regret only getting 25g. The next time I’m in Boston with Boy, I’ll make him stop in so I can get some :)

A tasty everyday tea.

This is one of those wonderful teas that’s ready to drink pretty much right away (albeit lighter than standard, but sometimes that’s how I want my tea), or you can just let it sit for a while and it stays mellow (not like Assams which seem to go straight to evil and bitter in a matter of seconds.)