Black Tea: loose leaf

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.

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read the leaves

 

Worker stood in the fields of Yunnan China. Mist rolls across the hills.

 

infusion


 

  • 3g

  • 250ml

  • 2-3 mins

 

 

step 1: leaves


For one cup, measure out 3 grams into your teapot or brew mug.

 

step 2: water


Heat 250ml of water to 90°C.

 

step 3: time


Pour the hot water over the leaves and steep for 2-3 minutes. Strain and drink.

 


 

flavour


Two Women Roasting Tea Leaves in Yunnan ChinaMan Roasting Tea LeavesA 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


Map of Yunnan China

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.

Woman Sat Looking Contemplative by a Window with a Tea Set in-front of HerMan Smiling Stood at a Market Stall in Yunnan ChinaPicked 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.Wide Shot of a Person Stood in a Field in Yunnan China

 


 

delivery & returns


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