A cluster of golden yunnan black tea leaves.
  • Black tea
  • Caffeinated · 40–60 mg
  • Loose leaf or sachets

Ying'sYunnan

4.95 · 21 reviews
$36.00 $0.90 a cup · about 40 cups
Feeds a shelter cat for 7 days. per pouchWe send money, not kibble.
Variety
Black tea
Notes
Sweet potatoCocoaCaramel
Origin
Pu'er Prefecture, Yunnan Province, ChinaGolden Yunnan
Caffeine
40–60 mg per 8 oz cup A cup of our coffee is about 95–120 mg.
Ingredients
Golden Yunnan black tea Nothing else. No added sugar, no artificial flavour.
Type
How often
Quantity
Ships same business day when ordered by noon ET. Standard delivery 3–5 business days.Express delivery available at checkout (+$5).
  • Blended & shipped daily
  • Free shipping over $35
  • Carbon neutral

This bag feeds a shelter cat for 7 days. per bag

We send money, not kibble. Shelters put it where it's needed that week: food, vaccines, spay and neuter, a vet bill.

Every order this month supports Lebanon Humane Society.

Illustration of Ying

Meet the cat

Ying

Yingwas my sweet heart kitty. She was rescued way back in 2005, the first kitty to truly be mine (if you are old enough to make that decision at 12, which I felt I was). When we rescued Ying, she was covered in fleas and flea dirt. The very first thing we did was give her a bath and the water ran a reddish-brown, but I think it was the first time she ever felt truly safe as after this she had a lifelong love of sitting in the bathroom when the shower was running. Truly, whenever I turned the shower on she would come running and sit staring at the water as it ran.

Ying was a connoisseur of plant life, which makes her a perfect representative for tea. She was allowed outside strictly supervised, but her only goal was to sample the different grasses growing in the yard. She also had a penchant for cantaloupe, insisting she be allowed either a bite or the remaining rind whenever one was cut up.Ying, unfortunately, developed cancer and left us in 2021. Until the end, she was a loyal and devoted cat. Even when I had to leave for college, she did not shun me on visits home, always coming to great me at the door.

The tea on this page is named after Ying.

A pouch of Ying tea

The tea

Chocolate and caramel, from the birthplace of tea.

Golden Yunnan is the black tea that tends to convert coffee drinkers. It is soft and sweet where a breakfast blend is brisk, with real cocoa and caramel character and a sweet potato note underneath that sounds odd written down and makes complete sense in the cup.

Yunnan Province is generally thought to be where tea started. This is a decent argument for why it stuck.

You'll like it if
you like a smooth, malty, naturally sweet black tea and drink it without milk
Maybe not if
you want something brisk and light to wake you up

Getting it right

How we'd steep Ying's.

If it tastes good, it is good. These are guidelines, not gospel — start here and move whichever way your cup wants to go.

Water
195°F
Time
5 minutes
Leaf
2.5g per 12oz

One sachet per 12 oz mug. No measuring, same numbers otherwise.

  • We'd start here

    Hot, in a mug

    Infuser basket, water at 195°F, 5 minutes. Try it black first — the caramel is the point and milk covers it.

  • Over ice

    Brew it double strength — twice the leaf, same water — then pour it straight over a full glass of ice. It dilutes to about right instead of washing out.

  • A second steep

    Loose leaf only, and worth it with this one. Run the same leaves again a minute longer — the chocolate comes forward as the malt steps back.

If it's not right

Too weak
Add leaf before you add time. Past five minutes black tea gets bitter, not stronger.
Too bitter
Pull it a minute earlier, or use slightly less leaf. Water temperature isn't the culprit with black tea — it wants the full boil.

Reviews

21 people have opinions.

4.95
4.95 out of 5 · 21 reviews

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Ying's Yunnan · 3.5oz Loose Leaf 7 meals