Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: needle shaped, lots of golden tips
Ingredients: black tea
Steep time: 5 minutes
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: deep reddish brown
My biggest soft spot is probably Yunnan black teas, especially pretty ones with lots of gold. They’re the teas that make me relax and say “Ahhh…” as soon as I take my first sip. That’s exactly what happened with this handmade selection from Wild Tea Qi. Notes of burnt sugar (a la crème brûlée) and cacao accompanied a really nice malty element. I did at least six infusions before the flavor started to fade. Even then, it was still pretty darned tasty. The mouth-feel was fairly silky and there was no bitterness to speak of. This is a tea that no milk or sugar should be added to. Trust me, you’ll loose much more than you would gain. I enjoyed this tea while catching up on House of Cards with my boyfriend and found that I had trouble focusing. Jason caught me with my nose in the gaiwan on more than one occasion. JT Hunter and Shana Chang offer some truly amazing teas and this one was a great example of that. I love that they show profiles of the farmers for every tea in their catalog. It shows that they are connected to their source, something that is very important to me.
Artisan Yunnan Black Needle sample provided by Wild Tea Qi.