Yunnan Black Tea

Fully oxidized tea leaves for a robust cup.


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May 7th, '09, 06:21
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by Faramir1976 » May 7th, '09, 06:21

I'm a newbie concerning Yunnan tea and have some Yunnan Gold at home. While dry I get hints of chocolate comning from the leaves.. infused it gets this mildly smoked aroma and it comes over as a very pure tea. It has yet to win me over and I'm still preferring Ceylon tea when it comes to black.
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May 7th, '09, 09:43
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by Rainy-Day » May 7th, '09, 09:43

Beidao wrote:I have had one peppery Yunnan Gold and when I drank it, I immediatly realized what peppery means, like in fresh grounded black pepper.

I have had one Yunnan Gold that I keept in a metal tin in a humid wardrobe for a year and it became sort of aged and very good. I've also had one Yunnan Gold that I keept in a plastic box in non-humid environment and after a month, it was impossible for me to drink it, the aroma and flavour was rotten and unpleasant.
Was it the kind of plastic box you can close so that it forms a seal? I don't think I ever kept any tea in any plastic box...

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May 8th, '09, 04:53
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by Beidao » May 8th, '09, 04:53

Rainy-Day wrote:
Beidao wrote:I have had one peppery Yunnan Gold and when I drank it, I immediatly realized what peppery means, like in fresh grounded black pepper.

I have had one Yunnan Gold that I keept in a metal tin in a humid wardrobe for a year and it became sort of aged and very good. I've also had one Yunnan Gold that I keept in a plastic box in non-humid environment and after a month, it was impossible for me to drink it, the aroma and flavour was rotten and unpleasant.
Was it the kind of plastic box you can close so that it forms a seal? I don't think I ever kept any tea in any plastic box...
Yes, it was sealed. I have keept teas in plastic box sometimes though I prefer metal.
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May 11th, '09, 17:30
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by Rainy-Day » May 11th, '09, 17:30

I had an old baggie of 'yunnan pure gold ' from teaspring sitting in the cupboard for the last half a year or so, and I wasn't drinking it because of the issues I had with it as I mentioned above in this thread. Well, I just tried brewing it again, (because I don't have any other black teas left!), and it's pretty good now. It's not nearly as good as when I first opened it but.. definitely very drinkable. I think it's either that I get tired of YG taste very quickly or it sours on contact with oxygen and then needs time to restore itself. Maybe I should store them in small one-serving sealed bags....

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May 12th, '09, 01:49
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by sneakers » May 12th, '09, 01:49

I'm certainly very confused. I'm going to my tea shop this week, and want to add Yunnan to my repetoire, but you've described it with ever descriptor possible: malty, chocolate. peppery, chocolate, floral, honey. Does the flavor vary from one estate to the other, or with different harvests?

I don't buy from Adagio, but at a shop in NY, frankly, to avoid the shipping charges. Their Yunnan Gold is $22/2 oz, way beyond my means. Honey and chocolate flavors you mentioned appeal to me, I know I DON'T like the smoky flavor of Keemun, and I've been drinking mostly Assams or Ceylons. Can you recommend another Yunnan?


One more thing:please describe "tippy" flavor.

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May 12th, '09, 01:59
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by entropyembrace » May 12th, '09, 01:59

There is quite a bit of variation in Yunnan black teas, since you're shopping locally give them a sniff before you buy that'll give a good idea of what to expect when you brew it :)

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May 12th, '09, 10:09
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by Rainy-Day » May 12th, '09, 10:09

sneakers wrote:I'm certainly very confused. I'm going to my tea shop this week, and want to add Yunnan to my repetoire, but you've described it with ever descriptor possible: malty, chocolate. peppery, chocolate, floral, honey. Does the flavor vary from one estate to the other, or with different harvests?

I don't buy from Adagio, but at a shop in NY, frankly, to avoid the shipping charges. Their Yunnan Gold is $22/2 oz, way beyond my means. Honey and chocolate flavors you mentioned appeal to me, I know I DON'T like the smoky flavor of Keemun, and I've been drinking mostly Assams or Ceylons. Can you recommend another Yunnan?


One more thing:please describe "tippy" flavor.
I never tasted chocolate or honey in YG. The best YG flavour is pure, light, smooth smoke then developing in peppery/floral sweet flavour. At best, YG is much better than Keemuns and Assams, but as I mentioned before, I only get the best results from first few pots out of a bag. Both teaspring and hou de have pretty good YGs that are about $10 or so for 2oz. If you get a bunch of teas from these shops, savings and quality far offset shipping expense, so I'd highly recommend that. It's hard to match them locally for freshness, variety and quality. Teaspring has very good keemuns and sichuan gongfu as well, and a lot of reviews so you don't have to order blindly.

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May 12th, '09, 23:59
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by sneakers » May 12th, '09, 23:59

>>If you get a bunch of teas from these shops, savings and quality far offset shipping expense, so I'd highly recommend that. It's hard to match them locally for freshness, variety and quality. Teaspring has very good keemuns and sichuan gongfu as well, and a lot of reviews so you don't have to order blindly.

This is not a small-town shop. Silver Ttips carries 150 teas in special airtight canisters, and they do have a rapid turnover as this is in the NYC metro area, and it's the only quality tea shop in a county of 1 million people.. The owner is the sister of Rajah Banerjee, the "Lord of Darjeeling" of the Makaibari estate. I try out new teas with lunch there.

But I will try some online also. So far my experiments with Chinese are all smoky and not to my taste.

May 26th, '09, 20:46
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by marlena » May 26th, '09, 20:46

Beidao wrote:I have had one peppery Yunnan Gold and when I drank it, I immediatly realized what peppery means, like in fresh grounded black pepper.

I have had one Yunnan Gold that I keept in a metal tin in a humid wardrobe for a year and it became sort of aged and very good. "{I've also had one Yunnan Gold that I keept in a plastic box in non-humid environment and after a month, it was impossible for me to drink it, the aroma and flavour was rotten and unpleasant.}


I think it's the plastic "what done it" I personally would never use plastic for that reason. M

May 26th, '09, 20:50
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by marlena » May 26th, '09, 20:50

I often buy a bunch of samples of Yunnan and then buy a larger supply of the ones I really like. Personally, I generally like the Yunnan Gold the best. What is Yunnan Jig? This the first I have heard of it.

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May 27th, '09, 07:43
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by Beidao » May 27th, '09, 07:43

Marlena: yes, I've noticed the same thing with another tea I kept in plastic box, destroyed. I promise never to do it again... Yunnan Jig is one of Adagios Yunnan teas, they seem to have music in there tea names as often as they can! I don't think any other seller has a Yunnan tea called Yunnan Jig.
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Jun 3rd, '09, 15:26
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by Faramir1976 » Jun 3rd, '09, 15:26

Yunnan Gold has completely won me over. I still love the hint of chocolate when I open the canister.
This tea is so smooth and has a little smokeyness about it. This is my favorite blackie!
Ki tai ichi!.. followed by some tea

Jun 5th, '09, 21:40
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peppery

by jim109 » Jun 5th, '09, 21:40

The peppery is definately like ground black pepper, in the background but nicely there. Had it with my first Adagio order in 2007, havent found it since.
. Really liked it!! jim

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Jun 5th, '09, 23:42
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by Riene » Jun 5th, '09, 23:42


The Yunnan teas have become my favorites in this last year. To me they have a definite chocolate aroma, and yes, I think I can get a bit of the pepper-spice flavor. I like Yunnan Jig, Gold, and Noir, with Noir being my "tea of indulgence." It's just rich, lush, dark, and strong. Wow.
Although my neighbors are all barbarians,
And you, you are a thousand miles away,
There are always two cups on my table.
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Jul 22nd, '09, 16:43
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Re:

by Bubba_tea » Jul 22nd, '09, 16:43

Beidao wrote:I have had one peppery Yunnan Gold and when I drank it, I immediatly realized what peppery means, like in fresh grounded black pepper.
+1

This is what lead me to these boards in the first place. I had been searching for the fresh cracked black pepper yunnan hong cha - but it's very difficult to find. I don't think you'll find anything like it from YSLLC. It was commonplace 10 years or so ago, but I've never found anything like it since and so I moved onto other teas. Even worse, if you try to find it, most shop owners have no idea of what you're talking about. I think the adagio noir is the only one I've tried in the last couple of years that has even a hint of the pepper. If you ever find one though, you'll see what the fuss is about.

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