Jin Die (Golden Butterfly) organic black tea is comprised entirely of hand-rolled golden buds (hence its name). Jin Die is one of our favorite and most-recommended black teas in our Saratoga Springs flagship store.

Golden bud teas like Jin Die or our Yunnan Da Ye black tea are unique among black teas because they are made not from the mature leaves of the tea tree, but the buds. Usually in tea picking and processing, we associate bud teas with white teas, which are comprised of the unoxidized buds or buds and first few leaves of the camellia sinensis tea plant. In the early twentieth century, tea cultivators began experimenting with oxidizing the buds, creating Golden Bud black tea. Golden Bud black teas like Jin Die (Golden Butterfly) are characterized by smooth liquors with mellow tannins but satisfying body and a naturally sweet flavor profile with notes of malt and caramel.

Jin Die is silky smooth and mouth filling with flavors of sweet brioche and salted caramel. Though this organic black tea has a mellow tannin profile, it still holds up extremely well to a little milk and honey. You will enjoy these hand-rolled buds unfurling as if a golden butterfly from its chrysalis as you steep your morning cup.  

Tasting Notes

Amber-colored liquor with mellow tannins and notes of sweet brioche and salted caramel

Origin & Ingredients

  • Hunan Province, China

Black Tea (Camellia Sinensis)

How to Brew

Brew 5 grams (~2 flat tsp) of Jin Die in 16 ounces of 205° F water for 3-4 minutes. Resteep 1 time for 3.5-5 minutes.

What is Tea?

Did you know all tea comes from the same plant?!

Learn what makes green tea different from black tea, why herbal tea isn't really tea at all, and how tea goes from the fields to your cup.

How to Brew Tea

While every palate is slightly different, there are a few basic concepts that will help you brew the perfect pot of tea, every time! Explore our in-depth guide to brewing tea at home to discover everything you need to know about how to brew each of your favorite teas and herbal tisanes.

About Saratoga Tea & Honey Co.

White bags of loose tea on shelves at Saratoga Tea & Honey Co.

Our passion for teas...

We are delighted to be able to share one of the largest and most varied collections of single origin traditional teas on the East Coast with our communi·tea. Personally curated by owner Hayley, these teas come to us from small farms and collectives and represent the best of their terroirs and production styles. While wondering our shelves in-person or online, you will discover familiar favorites like English Breakfast and Long Jing (Dragonwell) alongside rare teas like Shan Lin Xi and herbal tisanes blended for mindfulness, inflammation, and much more.

wall of monofloral raw honeys at Saratoga Tea & Honey Co. in Saratoga Springs NY

& bees...

Raw honey is one of nature's most marvelous gifts. Not only is honey a marvel of energy-giving carbohydrates fortified with antioxidants, minerals and beneficial enzymes - making it the healthiest natural sugar - honey comes in a rainbow of flavors and varieties with something for everyone to appreciate and enjoy. From dark, robust honeys like Buckwheat and Chestnut to light or amber honeys like Tupelo or Orange Blossom, the subtle and sometimes not so subtle flavor differences between varietal honeys lend themselves to extraordinary flavor combinations and experimentation in the kitchen, on the charcuterie board, or in your favorite cup of tea.

all started with our Queen Bee!

A trained chef, Hayley's vision for Saratoga Tea & Honey Co. has been her entire lifetime in the making. Though she was still drinking espresso at the time, the Tea & Honey seeds were planted in the kitchens of Michelin-starred restaurants with training and appreciation for food and beverage as not just sustenance, but experience and hospitality. Her time spent as a chef-instructor at Jacques Pépin's French Culinary Institute introduced her first to matcha (and its ability to enhance sustained and steady focus), then to the subtleties of single-origin traditional teas like high mountain Taiwanese oolong. As a celebrated and awarded taster and master of culinary arts, in 2015 Hayley opened the doors to Saratoga Tea & Honey Co. Since then, she has cultivated a communi·tea for discovering rare and exciting teas, extraordinary raw honeys & unique gifts produced by small farmers and artisans from around the world.