I was ecstatic when Yuyun contacted me on Instagram and offered to send me a box of their tea. Yuyun are a Yunnan tea specialist company, sourcing single origin blends from this very specific region of China. I’m honoured to have my hands on their Yuyun Classic Gongfu Yunnan Black Tea box!
In the box is a generous sample of their loose leaf tea, a unique postcard that I’m looking forward to sending, and plenty of information on their tea. Oh, and don’t worry if you’re new to tea – it’s actually quite straightforward to brew and you can even use a Western method.
My full review below covers the flavour notes, brewing methods and origins of this beautiful tea offering from Yuyun.
Fengqing Yunnan Black Tea at a Glance
- Origins: Big leaf tea cultivar, harvested March-April, Fengqin Yunnan, China
- Flavour: Smooth, malty and slightly fruity black tea
This is a very elegant and refreshing Yunnan black tea. Notes of stone fruits, malts and tannins create a well-rounded and full-bodied yet light black tea.
Full Review – Yuyun Classic Gongfu Box
- Type: Loose leaf
- Tea: Big leaf black tea leaves
- Origin: Fengqin, Yunnan, China
- Flavour Notes: Black tea, malt, fruity, sweet
- Aroma: Stone fruits, plums, malty, tannins, minerals
- Milk or Lemon: Milk and sugar, if brewed Western
- Where to Buy: Yuyun Official Website
This tea is a real treat. It’s smooth and full-bodied like any good black tea, but it’s also quite elegant with light notes of malt, stone fruit and a hint of sweetness. The initial aroma you get from the dried tea leaves is only slightly malty with a touch of tannins – plums and other stone fruits mingle in the scent as well. It’s delicious!
I brewed this tea western-style using the method below and was left with a crystal clear, honeyed gold tea liquor. The aroma of the brewed tea is a little less complex. Notes of malt, tannins and minerals create a great balance.
As for the flavour, it’s beautiful. The silky-smooth texture of the tea glides across your mouth, leaving a slightly sweet finish with notes of malt and tannins. It’s slightly fruity too, although I can’t detect any nuts (which Yuyun list as a tasting note). I love how the aftertaste clings to your throat but has a slightly drying effect on your tongue.
Overall, the warmth of this tea is comforting and soothing.
How to Brew Yuyun Classic Gongfu Yunnan Black Tea
Surprisingly, Yuyun Classic Gongfu Black Tea comes with instructions to brew it in the western style, rather than the gongfu method as the name suggests.
They also suggest that milk and sugar can go with this tea when it’s brewed western… but I don’t advise that.
I used 2g of leaf for a 250ml pot, letting it brew for 2 minutes in 95°C water. This produced that very light but flavoursome tea pictured above. Adding milk or sugar would quash the elegance immediately. Besides, the tea has a natural sweetness anyway.
If you wanted to brew it in the gongfu style, use 4g+ of leaf and steep for a few seconds at a time, gradually increasing the time increments with every steep. This is a great way to pull out and detect some of the more delicate, hidden flavours within the tea leaf.
Why Yuyun, Yunnan Tea Specialists?
Yuyun reached out to me and sent me a sample box, but you can buy it as 5g, 30g, or 90g, depending on your tea appetite. You will really adore the packaging. It’s wrapped in ribbon and comes in a neat box. It feels like a gift – something to treasure.
The tea quality is brilliant, as you can see from my photos. The packaging is great too – the inner bag that holds the tea is not actually plastic, it’s a biodegradable material. You can see all the packaging in my Instagram unboxing video.
As for the company, Yuyun are based in London, and they offer free local delivery on all orders if you’re located close enough to their base. They have a range of black teas, green teas, and pu-er teas to discover all from the Yunnan region of China. I also highly recommend you check out their blog. They have some useful articles from an iced tea recipe to a guide to tea leaf composting!
Summary
This is a delicious single origin tea that I won’t hesitate to recommend to everyone. I think the price, in particular, is amazing for what you get. The miniature tea guide booklet, the postcard, the exciting packaging – it all comes together to create an amazing tea session. Buy this for yourself, or for the tea lover in your life.
Tea Recommendation
If you’re interested in discovering more single origin teas and their distinct flavours, head to my Tea Review Index. This is where I list all the teas in my collection. You can even browse reviews by country and region, to pinpoint tea from all over the world. If you have any recommendations of single origin teas to try, I’d love to hear from you! You can message me on Instagram or leave a comment below.