Imperial Pure Bud Yunnan Black Tea of Simao

oh Terri…my lovely tea sister. thank you for sharing this one with me. I love this one quite a bit. I’m currently sipping on this while reading on the balcony. It looks like i finished up enough of work this morning that i get to visit our friend on his birthday. This means at least one game + baby time AND i’ll get fed :) tomorrow we’re also going out for Summerlicious here in toronto and we’re going to try out a brazilian restaurant so that will be something to look forward to after what i imagine is going to be a crappy day of work lol

Not enough sipdowns today but at least i’m now under where i started after the drop off from variatea and cavocorax last night haha

5/29/14

Origin: Yunnan Spring 2014

Dry Leaf: All buds that have turned to golden, tender, soft downy pretties!!! Scents of honey, malt, butter cookie.

Method: Western 190F 1.5 tsp 8oz H2O steep 3’ 22oz ceramic teapot

Wet Leaf: All milk chocolate brown colored buds, all the same size,,honey and cocoa scent.

Liquor: Wild dark honey color,,beautiful with scents of malt, cocoa, the wild honey, and butter cookie.

Flavor: Surprising citrus note up front with some pepper then honey and malt blend in to finish.

Very beautiful tea that I must do Gong Fu style but this morning just wanted a big mug of goodness and this tea is definitely good!!!!

5/31/14
Gong Fu session this morning,,,,190F, 1.5 tsp 3.38 oz pot
10” rinse
30” golden sunflower liquor,,malt scent with a hint of orange cream and honey
40” deeper golden color,, malt
1’ flavor fading, citrus notes leave and subtle malt is left
1’10” liquor a lighter golden, leaves saying farewell. Beautiful tea :)

Powerful nose smells like molasses with hints of cocoa. Powerful flavor is complex and earthy. Molasses is also a strong element of flavor. Excellent, long finish. The taste is somewhat unusual. I think I’m going to need to get used to it. Second steep is more normal. Still fairly strong, but less distinctive.

(Note: I have the Spring 2014 version)

Another beautiful tea from the generous Terri HarpLady :D

I love the look of the dry leaf on these fancy yunnans. So shiny and fuzzy and golden. I love tea I want to pet!

The taste is all malty and sweet. Bold and full bodied with a nice kick, too. Everything a good black tea should be :)

I can see why everyone is enamored with these Yunnans! I’m enjoying this very much. Thanks again, Terri!

Wow, very malty tea! It tastes very similar to that malted drink powder that you put in milk, without all the sugar. I mean that in a nice way. :) My husband just took a sniff and sip and declared it to be artichoke tea. I can see the comparison, but it still tastes malty to me. Never thought of artichokes as malty before. Huh. I don’t know if it is sacrilege to think of blending this, but I bet it would be fantastic with a strong chocolate flavor mixed in, just like a chocolate malty shake.
This tea is really quite nice!

I am reviewing the Spring 2012 harvest.

This is one of the few Yunnan blacks that I will gladly steep Western when in a hurry, and is a favorite when working at my desk in the afternoon.

I use 4 grams to 236 ml of 190 F water at 1/2/3/4 minutes, with the last steep reduced to 177 ml. The leaf responds quite well to this treatment. I get aromas of cocoa, honey, malt and occasional hints of vanilla. Although the cocoa does not translate into the cup the sweetness does, especially in the later steeps, accompanied by pleasant citrus notes and a hint of ginger over a medium black tea base. I find myself going “Mmmm” out loud without thinking about it.

Today instead of a hint of citrus I got significant Meyer lemon notes, which was extremely tasty. I’m not sure if it’s because this tea is changing as it ages or if I did something different and did not notice. I’ll pay attention to the next few sessions to see if that is a trend. If so, no complaints!

I’ve already got the spring 2014 harvest on my wish list for my next YS order, and am looking forward to comparing harvests two years apart.