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Lol, used a bit too much leaves (the whole sample) and the taste(and the smell) I got is impressively similar to a fried flatfish. Never got anything like this from a proper amount of leaves so the moral is: do not use too much :)

By ordering this tea I was moderately sure that this might be something to become my favourite yunnan black but it ended up not to be the case. It is very-very good though, do not take me wrong. Just that it has some features that prevent it from being “all-time-favourite”.

The most prominent featurs of Golden Fleece, I’d say, are its smell and its aftertaste. Such a strong smeel of dry leaf is not something one expects from unflavored tea. I can’t really place what it smells like other than “Golden Fleece” (lol I know, not much of a comparison) but it certainly is nice.

Speaking of the afertaste – it IS the most complex aftertaste I have ever experienced and there is no yunnan black comparable to this that I know of but at the same time it is kinda heavy. You wouldn’t be able to enjoy a session and just go with your daily routine. THIS will linger on your tongue for hours. While the aftertaste is undeniably great, it is not always desirable to have it there for such a long time.

Also video directions on the site are kind of misleading. I hadn’t had much success with the taste using as little tea as shown there. Being generous while measuring up next portion helped a lot.

And the most important part – the foreground of Golden Fleece is, to me, inferior to Fengqing 58 Classic. It is, of course, great(as pretty much everything from Verdant), but lightness and sweetness of fengqing is unparalleled, imo, and Fleece cannot really reach the level of enjoyment I had with Fengqing.

Overall: a really great tea but due to high cost and an aftertaste that is a bit too strong for its own good – not an “everyday” one. Maybe a tea for “once a week”.

Essentially the same as this one(so my tasting note from there can easily be applied) : http://steepster.com/teas/jk-tea-shop-online/27011-2011-spring-premium-mt-wudong-huang-zhi-xiang-gardenia

The difference in taste and smell is negligible enough to make 2 different names for this tea look kinda strange.

Compared to JK’s this one has weaker smell when put in water but retains taste for more steepings. Tbh, I’d go with JK Tea Shop’s version as their smell is way more powerful.

After trying Laoshan Northern Black(Verdant), Yunnan Golden Buds(Verdant) and Bailin Gongfu(Teavivre) I can safely say that this tea is THE best yunnan black for me :) I didn’t really find Bailin that special, Yunnan Golden Buds were OK, but their most interesting note is emphasized hundredfold in Imperial Breakfast(Verdant) which is is waaaaay better that pure Golden Buds and while I enjoyed the background of Northern Black immensely it’s an occasional tea, while Fenqing 58’s sweet notes and general profile make it a perfect everyday tea.

While better than pure Yabao I still don’t understand what is this tea all about >_<

Yup. Still using yesterdays’s leaves. Obviously, the taste lost much of its depth, but it is still present. Very smooth and actually quite nice. And this – after eight 5 minute long steepings. This tea really can handle multiple infusions…

Sigh, sometimes you just take a cup, have one whiff and lose sense of reality. Which is what happened to me this time. Almost sad to be back in real world. The smell of this chai is so rich it’s criminal. Not as aggressive as their spa blend or so mulled wine~ish as yunnan golden chai. This one is deep and whole. I was actually reluctant to take a sip and sat there savouring the scent until I accidently shook the cup and tasted some :) At first it seemed that taste is very different than the smell(as I expected something extremely sweet with such a scent) but then the aftertaste kicked in and it became obvious that both aspects of this tea actually match. Not exacly sweet, but very full and satisfying flavor that I just can’t compare to anything.

I will have to brew this a bit more to decide if I place this blend into my usual rotation but it has all the chances.

Even though I have a lot from Verdant to try, I just couldn’t resist tasting YGB’s honey undertone once again. As a result, I unpacked smaller of the two bags with it I received recently :)

UPD : This tea really starts to shine on its second steeping and after it has cooled quite a bit. Have in mind.

Lol, this one tastes more like mulled wine than a tea :) Kinda nice, but not something I’d drink regularly.