Yunnanese black teas

Fully oxidized tea leaves for a robust cup.


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Apr 6th, '12, 16:17
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Yunnanese black teas

by Pawel » Apr 6th, '12, 16:17

I like Yunnan blacks a lot and stimulated by Stentor's post, I browsed TeaChat and the books I own, wrote a brief summary and started a new topic. I hope this will help us a bit. :wink:

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Tea makers harvest the leaves when the tips are as large as possible but before they have begun to form whole leaves. The tips ( sweet, as they are in white teas) contain extra sugars to help the bud grow into a full leaf.
Following that, Chinese black teas are more enticing with the incorporation of extra buds. With more tips, the teas are sweeter but also lighter, with less body.
I found in several same sources the best Yunnanese teas consist solely of buds or are comprised of large , brown- black leaves and only an appropriate quantity of juicy buds.
100 % golden tip tea is called Dianhong (Golden Buds), but the same pluck may be slightly or tightly spiraled and is called Golden Snail or Curly Golden Buds. Yunnan Buds are an early-plucked teas.
King of Yunnan Golden Needle is the finest leaf with the largest amount of long tip, another Chinese black - Golden Monkey – is a slightly larger leaf with less tip, but the most concentrated flavor.
The most well-known plucking standards are mao feng (bud and two leaves) and mao jian (bud and one leaf). Other standards require a bud and three or four leaves.
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Recently I tried:
1) Golden Needle from Le Palais des Thes
http://www.palaisdesthes.com/en/china-j ... -d-or.html
2) Golden Needle SFTGFOP1 from Mariage Freres
http://www.mariagefreres.com/boutique/U ... T2023.html
and
Golden Buds from Le Palais des Thes
http://www.palaisdesthes.com/en/china-j ... flush.html
3) Yunnan Black Special SGFOP1 from my local vendor Five o’clock
http://www.fiveoclock.eu/pl/produkt/41, ... GFOP1.html

I would rank the three above (1,2) subjectively by my taste as I can’t really differentiate the quality difference between them neither by taste nor by the appearance of the teas. I realize they may be a bit overpriced, I saw several very similar looking buds/leaves on ebay, but was a bit suspicious (I found almost nothing about the vendors there ) , thanks to browsing TeaChat I found interesting Yunnan Sourcing l ink and others which I probably try next time.
I will add photos later when drinking. I enjoy the Black Special (3) only if I overbrew it much – then to be honest I can’t see much difference and for me it’s also tasty in a different way.
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How to differentiate between various qualities of Yunnan blacks?
Is the Golden Needle and the Golden Buds really the same tea?
Could you please give any interesting links on the topic?
Which vendors do you recommend at the moment?

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Apr 6th, '12, 17:17
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by teaisme » Apr 6th, '12, 17:17

50+usd for 100g in those first three links....ouch! It's almost like those vendors are buying from another small vendor who is buying from a bigger vendor....On the other hand it could be some very seriously well made stuff...but probability is low imo

I recommend you save some of those teas to compare with yunnan sourcing spring selections. Keeping in mind my limited knowledge of yunnan blacks, I will still say this....Yunnan blacks are surprisingly good and surprisingly cheap.

I've only tried a few vendors for yunnan blacks, houde, floating leaves tea, teaspring but my gut tells me yunnan sourcings' are cheaper and likely equal if not better quality since he is very familiar with the area, the people, and that specific tea region is his specialty/home.

In a few weeks I can let you know how 3-4 of them are when I place a puerh order.

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Apr 6th, '12, 20:39
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by Pawel » Apr 6th, '12, 20:39

teaisme,
Thank you very much for the reply. Perhaps you are right - the teas I bought may not be worth the money...


Moreover, I searched for Yunnan Black topics concerning Yunnnan Sourcing and those vendors I already bought from.
I come across 2 new topic I must have omiited before (lots of interesting, new info for me again :D ).

I don't know whether I may join links from previous topics, but if sb doesn't want to search I guess it may turn out to be useful
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... ck#p156876
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... k&start=30
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... cing+black



I see, I must defenitely try the teas from Yunnan Sourcing next time.
teaisme wrote: In a few weeks I can let you know how 3-4 of them are when I place a puerh order.
Let me know, please :D

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Apr 7th, '12, 11:56
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by Poohblah » Apr 7th, '12, 11:56

Yunnan Sourcing's blacks are fantastic. Highly recommended. There are several different varieties; each has a unique flavor profile. Try some out!

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Apr 7th, '12, 13:53
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Yunnanese black teas

by debunix » Apr 7th, '12, 13:53

Yunnan blacks are the only black teas I really enjoy, and I've had lovely versions from pretty much every source I've tried--Yunnan Sourcing, Norbu, TeaHabitat, Rishi, Chado, and Wing Hop Fung. I'm sure it must be possible to find bad versions, but I've not found one yet. I've also not paid enough attention to compare price/quality among the different suppliers.

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Apr 9th, '12, 08:17
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by Pawel » Apr 9th, '12, 08:17

To tell you the truth, I can't see any difference concerning the apeparance of the leaves (between those I have now and these of Yunnan Sourcing), as I am not familiar with this.

What worries me a bit is that the prices in YS are such low in comparison to those of teas I have, actually they are the same as of those in my country for such a tea like from the last link.

However, unless I try I won't know and as a result I may continuously buy overpriced teas and waste lots of money.
I will order from Yunnan Sourcing next time.

Thank you all for advice. It helped me much.

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Apr 9th, '12, 08:48
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by Poohblah » Apr 9th, '12, 08:48

From what I can tell, YS has relatively low prices due to close relations with the producers (i.e. there are fewer middlemen than usual) and because Yunnanese teas are simply cheaper in general; whether this is due to low demand, high supply, an underpaid labor force, or some other reason, I do not know.

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Apr 9th, '12, 20:11
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by SlientSipper » Apr 9th, '12, 20:11

I too notice that when I see Yunnan teas in my china town area I notice them to be the cheapest of all teas and yet they are just as good as others.
I've seen some cheap Yunnan online too but, the site is now gone.
Mhmm...

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Apr 10th, '12, 05:16
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by Jack_teachat » Apr 10th, '12, 05:16

I get the impression that Kevin at YS can afford to sell his Yunnan red teas at a more reasonable price due to him working closely with the farmers/processors meaning there is less middlemen involved.

Speaking of YS, I think the red tea cakes he sells are absolutely superb!

http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/pro ... oduct=1933

I might be alone here, but I actually prefer to drink Yunnan hong cha after it has had a little time to age, and in the spring I would much rather be drinking leaf from the previous Fall harvest. I just feel it takes on a more rounded and fuller character after a bit of time.

:D

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Apr 26th, '12, 09:31
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by Tead Off » Apr 26th, '12, 09:31

I sat down with the Spring 2012 Imperial grade Pure Bud Simao black tea from Yunnan Sourcing this evening. Wow. What a pleasant experience. Beautiful buds, sweet smelling, brewing into a deep reddish amber liquor with a heady, toffee-like aroma and a full flavored rich toffee/malty flavor that was like silk on my tongue. Flavor never faded after 7 brews. There's more there. Super smooth with no bitterness or astringency. A great discovery for me.

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Apr 26th, '12, 15:35
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by teaisme » Apr 26th, '12, 15:35

ooooo sounds enticing

unfortunately I will have to wait a couple more weeks before I can start exploring these, they all look so good can't wait!

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Apr 28th, '12, 05:41
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by Tead Off » Apr 28th, '12, 05:41

Yunnan Sourcing's Feng Qing Dian Hong Spring 2012 tea is very good. For me, not as rich and deep as the Simao Buds but enjoyable with similar flavor profile.

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May 1st, '12, 21:34
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by bagua7 » May 1st, '12, 21:34

Tead Off,

The Simao "Spring Tips" bears a strong resemblance to Jin Jun Mei.

How do they compare if you have any experience with the Fujian's red.

Cheers.

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May 1st, '12, 21:37
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by Tead Off » May 1st, '12, 21:37

bagua7 wrote:Tead Off,

The Simao "Spring Tips" bears a strong resemblance to Jin Jun Mei.

How do they compare if you have any experience with the Fujian's red.

Cheers.
Never had jjm. Simao Pure bud is a fine tea. Whole leaf, deep, rich, flavor. Handmade tea.

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May 1st, '12, 22:18
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Re: Yunnanese black teas

by Poohblah » May 1st, '12, 22:18

I suspect that JJM will generally be higher priced than a similar quality dianhong from Yunnan, since JJM is a "famous name tea," and Fujian teas seem to be higher priced than Yunnan teas anyway.

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