Tea: Yunnan "Black Gold Bi Luo Chun" Certified Organic Black Tea
A Yunnan Gold from Yunnan Sourcing - Organic
Brand: | Yunnan Sourcing |
Style: | Yunnan Gold |
Region: | Simao, Yunnan, China |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Loose? | Loose |
# Ratings: | 2 View All |
Product page: | Yunnan "Black Gold Bi Luo Chun" Certified Organic Black Tea |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1453 teas reviewed
✓ 27 of Yunnan Gold
✓ 42 of Yunnan Red
✓ 33 of Yunnan Sourcing
✓ 10 from Simao, Yunnan, China
✓ 81 from Yunnan, China
Review of Yunnan "Black Gold Bi Luo Chun" Certified Organic Black Tea
September 10th, 2021
Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
6 of 10 | 4 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 82 of 100 |
Good | Good | Reasonable |
This tea was quite singular, unlike most of the other teas from Yunnan Sourcing. I thought it was a good tea but it was a bit too much for me. It's strong, both by flavor and caffeine. I am reviewing the Spring Harvest from 2020.
This tea took up a lot less space than most all the other Yunnan Teas I've tried. The dry leaf is tightly rolled and has a muted aroma that is soft and pleasant, almost resembling jasmine rice, with hints of malt and dried fruit. I liked the density of this tea; it made it easy to handle and ration out, although it is possible to brew it too strongly if you go by "spoon size", so I recommend being sparing as the leaf expands greatly.
Brews a dark cup, with deep, fruity notes. Surprisingly sweet, tasting like raisins or dates, but also with considerable bitterness. Aroma also has notes of malt, but overall is more subdued. If brewed more strongly, the aroma takes on a strong floral, honey-like quality, and there is also a faint hint of roast. In these regards, it is much like some green oolongs, especially Taiwanese ones. But overall, I liked it much less than these oolongs.
Resteep was decent. I liked it more than I thought I would. The flavor stays bold and strong, and the cup stays aromatic enough, although this tea is still more flavor than aroma. I usually steeped this twice, but it's easy to get three or probably more steeps out of it if you prefer. I think this would work with gong fu brewing better than most black teas.
This tea seems highly caffeinated (both based on flavor and how I feel after drinking it) and can easily make me a bit jittery. I find it produces less of a calming feeling too. Yet another reason to go easy on the leaf. Oddly, I sometimes found this tea gave me a headache (which is weird, as caffeine often tends to have the opposite effect on me.) Overall, the way I felt after drinking it was my least favorite aspect of this tea. It just made me feel kind of bad, and I couldn't pinpoint why.
I might recommend this one if you like green oolongs, especially Taiwanese ones, and also Yunnan teas, as it combined elements of both such teas. However I caution about it if you are sensitive to caffeine or if you otherwise tend to react oddly to teas like this. I can't pinpoint what is causing it.
Price is cheap for a tea of this quality. but I enjoyed this a bit less than most of Yunnan Sourcing's teas, not because it wasn't a good tea but mainly because it was too strong (in flavor and caffeine) relative to its aroma and I didn't like how I felt after drinking it.