Ye Sheng black tea
Black tea made from wild-arbour Yunnan stock with purple-tinged leaf, taxonomically distinct from ordinary Camellia sinensis var. assamica. It produces an unusual plum-and-pine character with a slippery, almost oily texture that cultivated Dian Hong does not have.
Character
Plummy and resinous with a texture more like aged sheng than black tea. Divisive, and unmistakable once met.
- Flavour
- Fruity, Woody, Sweet
- Aroma
- Stone fruit, Honeyed
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Silky, Complex
- Complexity
- Layered
- Notes
- plum, pine resin, camphor, honey
- Aftertaste
- Cooling and resinous, unlike other Yunnan blacks.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- China
- Region
- Lincang
- Oxidation
- Fully oxidised
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Withering → Rolling and shaping → Oxidation → Drying
Authenticity: 'Wild' is heavily overused on Yunnan labels. Genuine ye sheng material is limited and the purple leaf is visible in the wet leaf.
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1–1.5 g/100 ml · 88–93 °C · 1 authored infusion
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
4–5 g/100 ml · 90–95 °C · 5 authored infusions
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.
- Yunnan Bai Hao black
From the sweetest conventional Yunnan black to the strangest. Expect plum and pine resin instead of honey, and a texture closer to aged sheng.
- Gu Shu black tea
Both sold as wild or old-tree Yunnan black tea, and the terms are used loosely. Ye sheng refers to a botanically distinct purple-leafed population; gu shu refers to tree age, which is unverifiable.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Darjeeling muscatel
Shares 6 descriptors with Ye Sheng black tea: fruity, sweet, woody, complex, stone fruit and honeyed.
- Gui Hua Xiang
Shares 6 descriptors with Ye Sheng black tea: fruity, sweet, full bodied, complex, honeyed and stone fruit.
- Mi Xiang oolong
Shares 6 descriptors with Ye Sheng black tea: sweet, fruity, full bodied, silky, honeyed and stone fruit.
- Moonlight White
Shares 6 descriptors with Ye Sheng black tea: fruity, sweet, woody, full bodied, honeyed and stone fruit.
- Yiwu sheng pu-erh
Shares 6 descriptors with Ye Sheng black tea: sweet, fruity, woody, silky, full bodied and honeyed.
- Aged Baozhong
Shares 5 descriptors with Ye Sheng black tea: fruity, sweet, woody, full bodied and silky.