Yunnan Golden Buds

First of all, the music for today is the album Beethoven: The Late String Quartets by The Emerson String Quartet. Anyway, I was generous with the amount of leaves I used, and I let it steep a bit longer than usual, but the result of the first steep was still great. The tea is blacker than my ex’s heart, but very warming when you actually take a sip. The flavor is intensely malty, with some nice cinnamon undertones, which results in a pleasant tingling sensation that lingers on the tongue for about two minutes. It’s a very intense experience, and was perfect for waking me up (I’m barely sentient until I have my caffeine). Anyway, this tea pairs well with my music and my activities (reading a bunch of books and articles to study for finals), so I’m really glad that I picked it for today.

The second infusion is still malty, but the cinnamon as gotten more prominent, the taste has sweetened a great deal, and the overall experience is smoother. The aftertaste has a smooth, almost-mineral quality to it. It’s like the tea is starting to become creamy, but it isn’t quite there yet. This is probably due to how strong I brewed the tea, but I’m certain that the next cup will have the creamy goodness that I remember. In the mean time, I’m going to enjoy the current flavor as much as possible.

The third infusion is malty, creamy, and a touch spicy due to the cinnamon flavor. There’s no linen (not that I’ve ever tasted the illusive linen flavor of this tea before), and the citrus flavors hasn’t made an appearance yet. Regardless, it is a well-balanced cup of tea, where the flavors harmonize quite well. On a side note, I switched my music over to J. S. Bach’s Das Musikalische Opfer, a delightfully complex piece of music to complement the tea’s development. My recording is even better because it is a Historically Informed recording, played on period instruments with a tuning system that Bach preferred. The end result is an astounding. Anyway, the tea is getting more complex, and it’s various flavors mesh together well to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

Ahh… I think I shall be sipping on this tea for a while, because I want to enjoy the many infusions that the description promises. This tea is so delicious. The first infusion is sweet and tastes like honey. There are mere hints of a smoky, spicy background that is masked by this sweetness. These background notes peek out every once in a while, just to let me know they are there, and enticing me to continue to sip so that I can move on to my next infusion and taste more.

To my recollection, this is the first tea that I’ve tried from Verdant, and it’s solid gold! I love it.

MY ORDER FROM VERDANT TEA CAME AND I CAN’T EVEN CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT!

Included in the package were the four teas that David generously let me custom pick for a sampler pack, a generously sized sample of the Wuyi Mountain Big Red Robe, and a nice handwritten note from David! Verdant is truly such a wonderful company and I can’t wait to order from them in the future!

I got my package last night on my way home from a Fair Trade event that I hosted at our school with the Environmental Club (it was pretty successful, a good number of people came!) and my mom handed me this package in the car! I freaked and ripped it open (in the car :P) with the cap to a soda bottle (one of the ones that are reminiscent of a beer bottle)! Obviously I couldn’t try them at 9 at night, so I had to wait until now to try them! I picked this one because a black tea always makes sense to me in the morning.

Dry, this one smells so good! It’s got kind of a peppery scent, with a sweet aroma somewhere in the mix! I followed the directions and used a tablespoon and a half of leaves for my cup. I used a bottle of filtered spring water for this because I’m a firm believer that high quality teas should be made with pure, untainted water. Steeped, the aroma is very similar, but a honey like scent has come out. The color is a really nice golden amber. This is a fine example of a beautiful cup of tea.

The first steep is yummy! A nice honey taste is present and there’s a slight spiciness in the background, crawling around. It’s a bit dry on the swallow, but a nice juiciness arises just before the finish. Alright, I’m breaking down and adding a little bit of honey to this for good measure! I didn’t add too much, but OH MY GOD! This is delicious! I agree with every other review-this tastes like you’re drinking honey candies! I’m not generally a fan of pure honey, but this is so nice! Sweet and then there’s still that spicy note in the background. This is delicious. Truly liquid gold.

Second Steep-Boiling water for 3 and a half minutes. OMNOMNOMNOMNOM! This one is so good! Even better than the first! The honey is more subdued and the other flavors come out more! There’s still as nice lingering sweetness, and the astringency has all but disappeared! This is very good! I can’t wait to try the other teas I got!!!!

2 reviews this morning made me desire this. Brewed basket style with generous leaf: This tea after 3 minutes of steeping is all sweet honey with spicy cinnamon cream. Hints of soft cocoa. I will be enjoying this rest of the day. I have to increase the score….

This tea is my least favourite of Verdant’s black tea offerings. That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with it, but I love different, intriguing flavours in straight blacks (if I’m going to drink them), and this one is simply too reminiscent of a bagged black tea. It is clearly infinitely better than bagged, but the flavour profile is similar, there is no overwhelming sweetness, no chocolatey notes. Perhaps I should have gone with the recommended 3 minute infusion instead of 1.5 to bring out more flavour (I have lots left and can try this later), but I don’t think the flavours I’m looking for will be present.

Where to begin?

First…this is FAB!

But this is also DIFFERENT…but in a GOOD way! Here are my thoughts…

Most Yunnan Golden Buds I have tried are very strong – some cigar like, some super malty, some have even a grainy texture.

Verdant’s are smoother, creamier, not cigar-like – it’s sweeter and I can taste the honey notes the product description mentioned! It’s quite nice!

Multiple infusions!!!!!! More notes coming soon!

I know I just complained about drinking hot tea, but I just have so many new samples from generous Steepsterites that I can’t resist!! So, I cranked up the A/C, and now it’s time for some hot tea! Woot! :D

This one in particular is verrrrrry exciting! I thought it was Golden Fleece, but it’s actually Yunnan Golden Buds. Which means I received yet another awesome Yunnan Verdant tea from Kittenna!! You rock!

The brewed tea aroma is resplendent! Can I say that to describe a tea? I think so. Resplendent!!! After the first sip, I sighed with pleasure. This tea is just…I’m speechless. It’s just incredible. Amazing. It has natural notes of cocoa and malt with some honey thrown in for good measure. Sooooo good!!!!

It’s a good thing I’m home alone, because this tea is evoking some salacious sounds from me, hehehe. ;) I was originally planning on steeping the Golden Fleece right after this to compare the two. But now I kind of want to hoard it, haha! The second steep for 2.5 minutes is just as delicious as the first! Nearly identical, only slightly milder and smoother.

I’m probably gonna’ go for at least four infusions here. There just aren’t enough adjectives in the English language to describe how spectacular this tea is. Thanks soooo much for sharing Kittenna!!!

First Review of this lovely black Yunnan Golden Bud tea. Each infusion 3 minutes. 1TB Leaves used per instructions on the Verdant Website Per Cup. traditional method (PIAO 1 glass pot used).

1. Beautiful medium golden brown (with a twinge of green) colored liquor. There is a very pronounced honey scent that picked me up and carried me away…I mean it…all through this first tasting…to my crazy place! (You should all be afraid!) I went to my cupboard and pulled out some honey. Buckwheat honey…yuk…not that one…too strong. Then the local Prairie Wildflower Raw honey (Copoco)…which was closer to the scent( I’ll get back to this later). I needed to taste this tea! The flavor reminds me of those honey seseme candies…but slightly astringent on the finish. Juicy and bright.

2. This I was hoping would be the ‘MegaMillion’ Pour. Soooo much darker! Rich and silky looking caramel orange liquor. The same color that you don’t want your tanning lotion to do to your body! This smells like a slightly floral honey…here we go folks…that Prairie Wildflower Honey! Sumptious and bright on the tongue! Juicy! I just HAD…yes HAD to add sweetening to see what would happen to the honey and it was the best thing I ever ate. No, that’s a show…but it was so darned good! That sweet addition brought up the cinnamon and spicy pepperiness which made a huge difference to the whole cuppa experience. I have to say that when I finished this second cup, there was a feeling and coating on my tongue like whipped creamy honey thick and gooey.

3. The liquor is getting lighter now but still nice and amber. What to expect here? No floral notes but still some honey flavor exists. What is so pronounced at this stage is cinnamon and pepper. If you are a spice-aholic…this is where you jump for joy and say “Mama Mia! "
(I’m thinking Verdant is going to bar me from writing comments about their tea!)

How fantastic to have honey and cinnamon in your tea without having to add it! It’s there already naturally! This is worth a try!

I’m brewing this western-style since I only have one gaiwan, and I’m using it for oolongs. I hear you are only supposed to use a gaiwan for one type of tea?

First steep:
Wowww, this is so good! My only other encounter with a Yunnan black tea was Davids wild yunnan or something, and it tasted like baked goods, like soft pretzels or something. This is like that too, only with more natural sweetness and a strong honey note. The aftertaste gives me the impression of a very dark chocolate. I haven’t had a cup of tea this nice in awhile.

Second steep:
This cup doesn’t have as much of an aroma as the first one did, but the taste is just as intense. The baked goods taste is still there, and the sweetness, but less honey. I think I like this steep better actually! There’s something almost cakey about it, and I can pick up a bit of the cinnamon people were talking about.

I know this would be good for a couple more steeps, but I have to go to work :C
MASSIVE SADNESS.

Way to go, Uniquity. This is another tea that I have been hoarding/savouring since ordering it from Verdant. 1.5 years ago. I have another order dreamed up and am just waiting to see if a co-worker wants in so I am really feeling compelled to finally drink up the beautiful teas I got last time. Despite it’s age this has been stored well (score!) and maintains a lovely sweet yunnan smell. I’m thinking more hay than pepper or cocoa. I am likely in a better position now to appreciate this tea than I was when I bought it, so this is for the best, right? :)

Steeped for 3.5 minutes, the beau and I shared a pot while he finishes Silent Hill Downpour. He’s been finishing it for days, but who am I to judge? I’m the “just one more page/chapter/book” girl. After pouring the tea, I even gave a bit to my tea pet (also from Verdant way back when). Aren’t I generous? Steeped, this almost puts me in mind of chocolate cake. It smells rich, sweet and decadent. Sweet hay remains a strong aroma.

First sips are clean and sweet, not as bold as other yunnans but very tasty. I get some light cocoa, and the sweet hay continues to dominate. For now I am going to sit back and enjoy it. Then maybe steep it again. Mmmmm. I think this is one of those teas that would be impossible to over-steep. I feel confident that I could steep this the whole time I drank it and it would only get stronger without ever going bitter. Lovely!