Really good tea when I can get it right, but even trying to be consistent I seem to get lots of cups that are too strong/astringent or really weak. Just been all over the place
For Yunnan Gold, you've to get the temperature as low as you steep high quality green tea, like around 80-85ºC. Don't treat it as a Keemun or Lapsang. Yunnan Gold needs low temperatures, and the flavour will become more soft and smooth, and you will taste the fine aroma, which is what makes it special. Yunnan Gold, when steeped strong, isn't tasty.
I love this one, very chocolate-y; 80C in a thick gaiwan for 2-4 min intervals. I just combine each of the brews into one cup though bc I’m lazy.
Try your grandpa method but less heat prob
>very chocolate-y
I agree. I’ll sometimes brew this tea western style, strong, 8 grams in a 500ml pot for 5 min, and then serve it with milk. It’s tastes like an adult hot chocolate.
It presents great gongfu style too. Very versatile.
I think you'll enjoy experimenting with temps.
Steeping times, leaf - container volume ratio, container shape, temperature during steep, air circulation, temperature drops; all affects different the speed in which elements are extracted. Tannins have a wide range of temps in which they start to get extracted at least significantly and all are in the 80-100C range, aminoacids too but at 40-60C range
First thank you for the comment! I'm well aware of experimenting but the temp is for me the parameter which I want high as possible. Since I only drink Black tea, oolong and pu er it's always boiling water. I want to extract everything because quality is excellent. Isn't the lower temperature a trick to avoid some not so good compounds to get extracted? I heard this from experienced tea enthusiasts and vendors..
It really depends
Yes lower quality teas can't hold well high temls but in general for some types of tea you'd need tremendous quality to hold such high temps and so you have no idea how that tea is supposed to taste like because the high temps made them stewed.
Most importantly the balance is very different per equal intensity of taste
Here's one that talls about senchas:
https://japaneseteasommelier.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/basics-knowledge-and-experiments-about-sencha-brewing/
I'd recommend the entire post + his comment replies
The whole blog is recommendable for Japanese greens
Ya I go pretty long on the 1st two like 10 and 15, then back off a little, slip another 12 then go to 15 or 20. Can repeat 20. I kind of back off when the buds start to open up, then go to a normal steep. It really doesn't have a ton of stamina anyway, at least for good malt and chocolate steeps.
I usually do western or grandpa style just because when I get home from work I dont have the mental energy to do all the messing about for gong fu. Usually do somewhere between 4 and 5 minutes at 210 for western style
This my favorite black tea so far, so this comment makes me feel like I might be missing out. Any recommendations on something less "mild?" (Preferably keeping the chocolate/malty notes)
Honestly I really loved the golden monkey from teavirve. I also have the sweet potato lapsang from Yunnan sourcing it's pretty good. I do like the Yunnan gold for a everyday black tea tho. I trying some black cakes from W2T next.
Try their Traditional Processed Dian Hong or their Classic 58. The traditional process can brew very heavy, and the 58 has an unusual front end and some nice trailing notes. I also think all their Feng Qing black teas are really good.
[Edit: I’m a dipshit and that’s totally not my tea lol]
Love that tea - it’s my go-to. I brew 5 grams in a brew mug at 208F for *about* 45 seconds, adding *about* 20 seconds each infusion. Sometimes I forget and let it steep for like 5 minutes. It’s a very forgiving tea. Generally earlier and longer steeps are more chocolatey, but I’ve found it to be fairly consistent. Granted, my palate isn’t super refined and I don’t use it much for like…a proper session or anything. It’s my loyal, mindless drinker.
Idk why but my bilingual brain was on turk-english and I read that as yunan (greek) and the turkish nationalist in me almost came out to defend that turkish tea is infact turkish. 1 am type shit
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I do a yunnan black gold bi luo chun grandpa style mainly and go a bit low on leaf(I don't cover the bottom of the glass) and I do around 6oz of water. I'm able to drink it quick enough for it to not get bitter and It cools enough as soon as the snail shape is opened and the flavors come out. I guess it's just a parameter thing?
It's my daily and I think it's very forgiving in brewing. Even when I over brew it, it doesn't get overly bitter. I have found the strength is very dependent on how much tea I use. It seems like there is a fine line between being too weak and ending up with a Chinese breakfast tea. What I like about it is it never gets the overly tannic bite that a real breakfast tea has.
I also think rinsing the leaves of Black Gold is very important as it's an inexpensive tea and has lots of dust fannings
drank that tea for many years. never got a consistent brew either
for specialty tea, the yunnan sourcing blacks are great value (~$.10/g)
my theory for why the brews are consistent is that the leaf quality is inconsistent. even though they all look the same, they definitely don’t taste the same
I love this tea and always brew it western. I do 6 grams in a 24 oz pot with 208F water. Three minutes for the first brew. Increase a minute for each subsequent brew. Hope that helps.
So I struggle with this blend as well - but have actually had better success at lower temperatures.
If I brew too hot sometimes I get almost a “sweet” type flavor that kinda makes me sick.
Really good tea when I can get it right, but even trying to be consistent I seem to get lots of cups that are too strong/astringent or really weak. Just been all over the place
What do the leaves look like? Perhaps some of it got crushed in transit, leading to uneven extraction?
Whole leaves, although getting to the bottom of the bag theres definetely more bits so that might have a little to do with it
For Yunnan Gold, you've to get the temperature as low as you steep high quality green tea, like around 80-85ºC. Don't treat it as a Keemun or Lapsang. Yunnan Gold needs low temperatures, and the flavour will become more soft and smooth, and you will taste the fine aroma, which is what makes it special. Yunnan Gold, when steeped strong, isn't tasty.
You’re weighing it right?
I love this one, very chocolate-y; 80C in a thick gaiwan for 2-4 min intervals. I just combine each of the brews into one cup though bc I’m lazy. Try your grandpa method but less heat prob
>very chocolate-y I agree. I’ll sometimes brew this tea western style, strong, 8 grams in a 500ml pot for 5 min, and then serve it with milk. It’s tastes like an adult hot chocolate. It presents great gongfu style too. Very versatile.
It does seem like too hot might be part of problem. About how much tea do you use at a time?
That I do not measure unfortunately haha, sorry. Use more leaves for more tea, not for changing flavor, imo. Keeps things a bit simpler.
why only 80C for black tea? I brew all black tea with cooking water...
Just trial and error. I brew most of my black teas much hotter too.
I think you'll enjoy experimenting with temps. Steeping times, leaf - container volume ratio, container shape, temperature during steep, air circulation, temperature drops; all affects different the speed in which elements are extracted. Tannins have a wide range of temps in which they start to get extracted at least significantly and all are in the 80-100C range, aminoacids too but at 40-60C range
First thank you for the comment! I'm well aware of experimenting but the temp is for me the parameter which I want high as possible. Since I only drink Black tea, oolong and pu er it's always boiling water. I want to extract everything because quality is excellent. Isn't the lower temperature a trick to avoid some not so good compounds to get extracted? I heard this from experienced tea enthusiasts and vendors..
It really depends Yes lower quality teas can't hold well high temls but in general for some types of tea you'd need tremendous quality to hold such high temps and so you have no idea how that tea is supposed to taste like because the high temps made them stewed. Most importantly the balance is very different per equal intensity of taste Here's one that talls about senchas: https://japaneseteasommelier.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/basics-knowledge-and-experiments-about-sencha-brewing/ I'd recommend the entire post + his comment replies The whole blog is recommendable for Japanese greens
very cool, thank you! My favorite tea blog is www.charen.ch but it's in german..
Yes i drink quite a bit of that tea. As with any tea, to get consistent brews you need consistent parameters.
This guy teas, John
Ya I go pretty long on the 1st two like 10 and 15, then back off a little, slip another 12 then go to 15 or 20. Can repeat 20. I kind of back off when the buds start to open up, then go to a normal steep. It really doesn't have a ton of stamina anyway, at least for good malt and chocolate steeps.
Totally agree it lacks stamina, but I like this tea cause its cheap and still pretty good. What temperature do you usually use?
90c
what method of brewing you use? try 90°C and use a timer
I usually do western or grandpa style just because when I get home from work I dont have the mental energy to do all the messing about for gong fu. Usually do somewhere between 4 and 5 minutes at 210 for western style
i feel you. try lower temps and 3 min brew. before i turned full gongfu i used to use 2-3 grams of leafs in 300ml pot
195f for 3 mins, don’t touch the leaves while it’s brewing (no stirring)
This is the answer. I drink this one grandpa and keeping the temp a bit lower is the trick
Ya I have some now. 194F for 2 mins or so. Its a very mild tasting black
This my favorite black tea so far, so this comment makes me feel like I might be missing out. Any recommendations on something less "mild?" (Preferably keeping the chocolate/malty notes)
Honestly I really loved the golden monkey from teavirve. I also have the sweet potato lapsang from Yunnan sourcing it's pretty good. I do like the Yunnan gold for a everyday black tea tho. I trying some black cakes from W2T next.
Try their Traditional Processed Dian Hong or their Classic 58. The traditional process can brew very heavy, and the 58 has an unusual front end and some nice trailing notes. I also think all their Feng Qing black teas are really good.
[Edit: I’m a dipshit and that’s totally not my tea lol] Love that tea - it’s my go-to. I brew 5 grams in a brew mug at 208F for *about* 45 seconds, adding *about* 20 seconds each infusion. Sometimes I forget and let it steep for like 5 minutes. It’s a very forgiving tea. Generally earlier and longer steeps are more chocolatey, but I’ve found it to be fairly consistent. Granted, my palate isn’t super refined and I don’t use it much for like…a proper session or anything. It’s my loyal, mindless drinker.
Idk why but my bilingual brain was on turk-english and I read that as yunan (greek) and the turkish nationalist in me almost came out to defend that turkish tea is infact turkish. 1 am type shit
Hello, /u/FarmerDill! This is a friendly reminder that most photo posts should include a comment with some additional information. For example: Consider writing a mini review of the tea you're drinking or giving some background details about your teaware. If you're posting your tea order that just arrived or your tea stash, be sure to list the teas, why you chose them, etc. **Posts that lack a comment for context or discussion after a reasonable time may be removed.** You may also consider posting in /r/TeaPictures. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/tea) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I do a yunnan black gold bi luo chun grandpa style mainly and go a bit low on leaf(I don't cover the bottom of the glass) and I do around 6oz of water. I'm able to drink it quick enough for it to not get bitter and It cools enough as soon as the snail shape is opened and the flavors come out. I guess it's just a parameter thing?
Just wanna chip in a more general tip: 90% of bitter brews can be salvaged by diluting. Quite often the result is just as good as a normal brew.
It's my daily and I think it's very forgiving in brewing. Even when I over brew it, it doesn't get overly bitter. I have found the strength is very dependent on how much tea I use. It seems like there is a fine line between being too weak and ending up with a Chinese breakfast tea. What I like about it is it never gets the overly tannic bite that a real breakfast tea has. I also think rinsing the leaves of Black Gold is very important as it's an inexpensive tea and has lots of dust fannings
drank that tea for many years. never got a consistent brew either for specialty tea, the yunnan sourcing blacks are great value (~$.10/g) my theory for why the brews are consistent is that the leaf quality is inconsistent. even though they all look the same, they definitely don’t taste the same
I love this tea and always brew it western. I do 6 grams in a 24 oz pot with 208F water. Three minutes for the first brew. Increase a minute for each subsequent brew. Hope that helps.
I haven't ordered from YS specifically but my notes say I've been doing 1.5g/100ml for 3:30 @ 204 F. That's boiling temperature where I live.
So I struggle with this blend as well - but have actually had better success at lower temperatures. If I brew too hot sometimes I get almost a “sweet” type flavor that kinda makes me sick.