Golden Needles
Golden Needles shows Yunnan black tea at its most polished. This first-flush, pure-bud harvest comes from high slopes around Fengqing in Lincang, picked in a short spring window when unopened tips are dense with sugars and aroma. The tiny, downy buds brew a clear amber cup with plush texture and calm sweetness. Think malt biscuit, cocoa nib, and a honeyed finish that lingers without any bite. Careful oxidation keeps the profile clean and grain-sweet rather than jammy. If you enjoy smooth, naturally sweet cups over brisk or tannic ones, this Yunnan Golden Needle black tea is an easy daily choice that also rewards slow sessions.
Bud harvest
Golden Needles is all about the pick. Only tight, unopened spring tips make the grade, gathered over a few weeks when new growth is most tender. Each bud wears a fine gold fuzz. Those trichomes signal youth and translate into silky texture in the cup. Bud-only harvesting is slow and precise, so yields are limited and flavor is focused. Buds carry less catechin than mature leaves, which means very low astringency and a friendly, honeyed aftertaste. The result is clarity without sharpness, thickness without heaviness, and a finish that stays tidy from first sip to last.
Place & craft
Fengqing sits at 1 800 m on red and sandy loams with forest cover and cool nights. That growing environment (soil, altitude, climate) shapes taste by slowing growth and building sugars, so you taste soft cocoa and clean cereal notes. Spring days bring steady sun and misty mornings that support even withering. Smallholder families deliver fresh leaf quickly to nearby workshops to keep green aromas intact. Processing favors restraint. A measured wither relaxes the buds and develops aroma. Gentle rolling starts oxidation without bruising harshly. Controlled oxidation preserves biscuit-like sweetness. A low-temperature dry sets the fragrance while keeping the liquor bright. The tea plant variety here is large-leaf assamica, common in Yunnan, which gives body and a honeyed line when fully oxidized.
Cup character
In the cup, you’ll find a steady arc across short steeps. Early rounds are silky and cocoa-forward with a hint of vanilla pod. Middle steeps add malt biscuit, warm grain, and a light blossom note that recalls dried osmanthus. Later cups settle into honeyed cereal with a whisper of baking spice. Texture is the headline. It is thick yet composed, a hallmark of tip-only material grown high and handled gently. Golden Needles sits within the Dian Hong family, the Yunnan black tea style, but leans creamy-sweet rather than brisk. It is versatile for daily drinking and focused enough for a slow, quiet session.
FAQ
What does “pure bud” mean in Golden Needles?
Only unopened spring tips are picked. Buds carry fine down and concentrated sap, which brew into silky texture, calm sweetness, and very low astringency compared with leaf-and-bud grades.
Why is the yield naturally limited?
The picking window is short and selective. It takes many hands and hours to gather enough tight tips, so output stays small and flavor stays focused.
How does 1 800 m elevation shape the taste?
Cool nights slow growth and concentrate sugars. You taste that as cocoa, malt biscuit, and a clean, long finish rather than brisk tannin.