Yellow tea is extremely rare (it makes up about 0.11% of the total tea production in China and it is not produced elsewhere). Even if I wanted to review more, there are simply not many varieties around. Or should I say not many varieties that I can possibly afford?
This one has a twist. It comes from Yunnan, which means that the leaves are made of big leaf camellia sinensis var. assamica plant. This tea has been processed as green tea but an additional step of ‘yellow sealing’ is added. My other posts about yellow tea, discusses the long and laborious stages of yellow tea production.
My experience concerning this tea was two-folded. First, I like the taste, but it had astringency, slightly but more than other yellow teas I have tried so far. Secondly, this was the second tea that impressed me with the scent it left on the empty cup. The first one was this gong ting pu-erh. Given that both of these teas were made from the similar material (same plant variety), maybe this is to do with picking time, and/or proportion of the buds they contain. The aroma of the tea itself was also pleasant however, it was not as effective for my personal taste than what was left in the cup. It was a mixture of sweet citrus and floral notes. Simply amazing, for me this yellow tea delivered on the aroma rather than the taste.
The dry leaves had more of a vegetal and woody aroma while the taste was slightly astringent with a lingering grassiness. I could not taste the sweetness, but I smelt it. Whatever it was, it was not boring. I also have a feeling that, its taste will improve over years.
Tea Profile:
Type: Yellow
Origin: Fengqing, Yunnan
Harvest time: 2019
Leaf colour: Shades of green, yellow and brown
Liquor colour: Yellow
Tea aroma: Woody on the dry leaves; Vegetal on the infused leaves; citrus sweetness on the empty cup
Tea taste: Medium-bodied with vegetal notes and subtle astringency
Steeping/brewing: I placed about 4 gr in my tea pot and steeped for 20 sec. I added around +10 sec for consecutive steeping. It steeps multiple times.
Shelf life: Can be aged