TeaHQ

Golden Needle

A Yunnan black tea made entirely from single buds rolled into fine straight needles. It is the visual counterpart of Silver Needle white tea from the same kind of material, and it is sweeter and thicker than any leaf-grade Dian Hong.

Black teaModerate intensityAccessible to appreciateForgiving to brew金針
Brew at 88–93 °CUse 1–1.5 g per 100 mlFirst steep 150sWestern brewing (teapot or mug)Full schedule and equipment →

Character

Thick, honeyed and almost syrupy, with essentially no astringency. It is the most immediately likeable Chinese black tea there is.

Flavour
Sweet, Chocolate, Nutty
Aroma
Honeyed, Malty
Mouthfeel
Full bodied, Silky, Rich
Complexity
Moderate
Notes
honey, malt, sweet potato, cocoa
Aftertaste
Very sweet and long.

Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.

Provenance and production

Origin
China
Region
Yunnan
Cultivar
Yunkang 10
Oxidation
Fully oxidised
Harvest
Spring
Processing
Withering → Strip rolling → Oxidation → Drying

Brewing

No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.

If you like this

Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.

Editorially linked

Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.

  • Gu Shu black tea

    Same region, same sweetness, far more mineral depth. The old-arbour material is where Yunnan black stops being simply pleasant.

  • Bailin Jin Hao

    Two bud-only Chinese blacks, both honey-sweet with almost no astringency. Yunnan is thicker, Fujian is brighter.

  • Golden Monkey

    Two export names for bud-heavy Chinese black teas, one Fujian and one Yunnan. Neither name corresponds to a single Chinese product and both describe appearance for a Western market.

Similar sensory profile

Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.

  • Yunnan Bai Hao black

    Shares 7 descriptors with Golden Needle: sweet, nutty, full bodied, silky, rich, honeyed and malty.

  • Assam golden tips

    Shares 6 descriptors with Golden Needle: chocolate, sweet, full bodied, rich, malty and honeyed.

  • Assam orthodox tippy

    Shares 6 descriptors with Golden Needle: sweet, nutty, full bodied, rich, honeyed and malty.

  • Assam second flush

    Shares 6 descriptors with Golden Needle: sweet, nutty, chocolate, full bodied, rich and malty.

  • Dian Hong

    Shares 6 descriptors with Golden Needle: sweet, chocolate, full bodied, rich, honeyed and malty.

Compare this tea with another

Written comparisons

Where TeaHQ has set this tea against another in full, rather than deriving the comparison.

  • Jin Jun Mei vs Golden Needle — Two bud-only Chinese black teas that look nearly identical and differ enormously in price. One is a protected Fujian origin, the other a Yunnan style.

Journeys featuring this tea