canton yunnan gold
Mojiang Town, Yunnan Province, China
Grower: Yang Zheng
This unusual Yunnanese black tea is called Golden Snail (or Golden Bi Luo Chun) because it’s made with the very top buds of the bush, which are gently hand-rolled into tight curls. The ‘snails’ are covered in a delicate fuzz of hair which turn gold when the tea begins to oxidise. What do golden snails taste like? Caramel soft, chocolate rich and probably unlike any other tea you’ve tasted.
£18.95
This variant is currently sold out.
read the leaves
infusion
-
3g
-
250ml
-
2-3 mins
step 1: leaves
For one cup, measure out 4 grams (around two tsp) into your teapot or brew mug.
step 2: water
Heat 250ml of water to 90°C (if you don’t have a thermometer, boil the kettle and leave to cool for a few minutes).
step 3: time
Pour your heated water over the leaves and steep for 2-3 minutes. Drink.
Top tip: You can infuse these leaves up to two or three times. Just make sure you strain out all the excess water before re-brewing.
flavour
A rich and silky black tea with notes of sugarcane, milk chocolate and brazil nuts.
Cold mountain temperatures slows the growth of the tea bush, allowing aromatic essential oils, antioxidants and health-giving polyphenols to build in the leaves. Mountain fog also filters the amount of sunlight that reaches the plant – in response, the plant produces more chlorophyll which in turn produces darker leaves, less astringency and a more complex flavour. Moistened by the fog, the leaves are softer and more tender – bringing a more delicate texture to the tea. And the natural drainage of a mountain tea farm reduces the amount of water in the leaves, helping preserve and intensify the existing flavour compounds.
origin
Known as Golden Bi Luo Chun in China, this spectacular Yunnanese black tea is an unusual version of a famous green tea from Jiangsu, Bi Luo Chun – the name translates as Green Snail Spring due to its tightly curled leaves.
The tea is produced in the Mojiang Town area of the Pu'er Prefecture, Yunnan, by grower Yang Zheng. The Yang family originally came from Zhejiang and settled in Yunnan in the 1930's. It wasn't until the early 1980s that they began growing tea, starting with high grade green teas. In the early 2000s and with access to the new varietals (in this case, Yun Kang #100) they began to experiment – and started to produce some of the best Yunnanese black teas in the world.
Picked at 1400 meters above sea level in early Spring 2021, the tea is slow-grown and has all the attributes of a high altitude, early spring tea: spectacular flavour and a wonderfully creamy mouthfeel.
delivery & returns
You can choose your delivery options at checkout. We deliver internationally, and prices are calculated at checkout based on weight and shipping zone. Find out more about our delivery options here.