Description

Yunnan Golden Special – Buttery Golden-Tip Yunnan Black Tea

Our Yunnan Golden Special is a premium black tea grown and crafted by skilled tea farmers whose families have cultivated tea for many generations. It's grown at the highest altitudes of Yunnan, China, in a cool climate surrounded by natural woodland, and harvested between the end of March and mid-April, when the young leaves and buds are at their very best.

The leaves are mesmerizing to behold — bright golden and, at first glance, similar to fine tobacco leaves. Yunnan Golden Special brews a bright copper cup with a buttery, strong and malty flavor, finishing with lovely cinnamon notes. It's an awe-inspiring black tea with the soft, earthy signature character of classic Yunnan.

Tasting Notes

Dry leaf: bright, glistening golden tips
Liquor: bright copper
Flavor: buttery, strong and malty
Character: soft, earthy Yunnan signature
Finish: warm, lingering cinnamon notes

Why You'll Love It

Yunnan golden teas are prized for their smooth sweetness and lack of bitterness, and this special grade is a standout. It's rich enough to satisfy strong-tea lovers yet smooth enough to enjoy plain, and it rewards you with multiple delicious infusions.

Grown at high altitudes in Yunnan
Crafted by generations of tea farmers
Beautiful golden leaves
Buttery, malty with a cinnamon finish

How to Enjoy

Enjoy it plain to appreciate its natural buttery sweetness, or with a splash of milk for a rich, comforting morning brew. It's lovely brewed gongfu-style for several infusions, and pairs beautifully with pastries, chocolate and spiced baked goods.

Golden, smooth and deeply satisfying, Yunnan Golden Special is a true treasure of Chinese black tea.

Write your own Review

Jd Aragon

November 2024

If you're looking for a nice mellow tea this is it! The surprising thing about this black tea leaf is that it has plenty to offer. Don't worry about using too few leaves. I was able to get a minimum of six steepings out of a good portion of around 4 or 5 oz worth of leaves. You can let this one steep for an extended period of time with a lot of wiggle room for forgiveness as this does not get bitter at all. I get very vegetative flavor notes, The longer you let it steep you'll get notes of spinach or squash definitely a nice mineral and sweet aftertaste. Mind you that the minerality may depend on the type of water that you use but As far as the water I use I definitely get those mineral notes at the end. This tea packs enough boldness to where it is a good morning tea yet it is not as sharp so if you enjoy a more mellow taste this is perfect for a smooth round finish.

Sascha Uncia

April 2024

Very nice black tea with a wonderful aroma. Full bodied and fruity with malty tones. Mellow and not too bitter, overall a solid choice for black tea. I do prefer the yunnan silver needle but this is good too.

Jackie Allen

April 2023

Absolutely delicious. I generally prefer Chinese teas like Yunnan or Keeman over Indian teas, as I find them.sweeter and less astringent.But even with these I usual add a splash of milk. This tea is so lovely it needs no milk at all.

Nikau Ferguson-Spence

August 2021

Wonderful flavor, hints of stone fruit and caramel. Very highly recommend, best black tea I have had.

brewing suggestion for gaiwan: use 7g, pour just boiled water in, then immediately pour into cup. Lasted for about 9 infusions, pretty much full flavour the whole time

See all 16 reviews

Brandon Salveson

August 2021

This tea tastes exactly like eating some fresh baked sweet potatoes at thanksgiving. Go figure.

Austin F

May 2021

Usually drink many of my black teas with a bit of sugar but this one is phenomenal without any sweetener have bought again and again!

Myriame Tricker

February 2021

This is truly lovely! Smooth no bitterness. Steep multiple times. Very similar to the more expensive Yunnen Golden Monkey Imperial. Every bit as good!

Ben G

November 2020

This is the literally the holy grail of black tea. Don’t bother with anything else, because you have found the droids your looking for.

Tracy S

June 2020

This tea is amazing! I love how it has a faint smell of chocolate! It’s smooth and just lovely! Brews great! I will be buying again!

Jim Mccubbin

April 2020

I'm becoming a fan of Chinese black teas. This one is delicious. A nice treat for myself and will definitely purchase again. Full of flavor, with or without milk, and no bitterness whatsoever. Beautiful, golden dried leaves. Awesome.

February 2020

This is such an incredibly good black tea. I used to drink cheap bags of finely ground black tea, so I was shocked to realize the potential black tea really has. This is indeed a golden tea, with a rich color and malty taste/feel.

I was able to get three steeps out of the tea, though for me, I had to drastically increase the steep time for each steep. 1st: 3 min. 2nd: 5 min. 3rd: 10 min. Maybe I'm not using enough leaves. And the first steep definitely tastes the best, giving you the full flavor profile.

Dale D

December 2019

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS TEA!

Ig: Faustian_Luminary

April 2019

When I first opened the bag I was baffled by the sheer level of pekoe/ fine orangey golden hairs lining the bag and tea.

This tea I found to magnificent. There is a fruitiness to it, like apricots and other stone fruits. A sort of maltiness as well. Very low bitterness and astringency that turn to juicy sweetness, with a syrupy mouthfeel.

After enjoying 3-4 infusions I will cold brew it over night for the next day, and the flavour profile persists for at least 2 cold infusions.

I also figured out that if you cold brew this tea in a 1:1 ratio with Da Hong Pao Superfine (from this website), and add a little bit of lemon, salt and sweetener, you something really special. The minerality of rock oolongs seems to work really superbly with this tea.

Awesome!

R. Snyder

April 2019

I have been a loose tea drinker for over ten years and this is my absolute favorite. This tea proves that when you have a nice high quality tea you will never need to worry about milk or sugar. Steep it for 2-3 minutes and it will produce a delicious full-bodied cup with satisfying (but not overpowering) malty and chocolatey notes. A great "first thing in the morning" tea. It might look weak because it is not very dark in color, but I believe it is as effect in waking me up as any cup of English breakfast tea. If you want it stronger, steep it longer. It only gets bitter if you steep it for more than 5 or 6 minutes (and even then it's still pretty good). It delivers a good second steep too, so that's worth bearing in mind if you are deterred by the cost. I would steep the first cup for 2-3 mins and the second for 3-4 mins.

Alexander

July 2024

I find this to be quite bitter even on the second steep. I like the Golden Monkey tea more

Sherriswang Wang

November 2025

It tasted very old and not fresh; it needs a deep clean to remove the bad smell.

Yunnan Golden Special