Yellow Tea (้ป่ถ): Gentle, Rare, and Refined
Yellow tea is one of the rarest and least understood categories of Chinese tea. Lightly fermented and uniquely processed, it offers a smooth, mellow character without the grassy sharpness of green tea.
This refined tea was once reserved for emperors โ elegant in taste, subtle in aroma, and limited in production.
๐พ What Makes Yellow Tea Different?
Yellow tea is similar to green tea, but it undergoes a slow โyellowingโ step (้ท้ป):
- After withering and pan-firing, the leaves are wrapped and gently oxidized, allowing grassy flavors to soften.
- This creates a silky texture and a more rounded, less astringent flavor.
The result: a delicate, almost buttery tea with floral notes and light sweetness.
๐ Famous Yellow Teas
- Junshan Yinzhen (ๅๅฑฑ้ถ้)
From Hunanโs Junshan Island โ the most prestigious yellow tea, made from silver needle buds. - Meng Ding Huang Ya (่้กถ้ป่ฝ)
From Sichuan, a historically tribute-grade tea with vegetal and floral tones. - Huoshan Huang Ya (้ๅฑฑ้ป่ฝ)
A traditional yellow tea from Anhui, known for its gentle aroma and smooth body.
๐ต Brewing Yellow Tea
- Water temperature: 75โ85ยฐC (167โ185ยฐF)
- Steeping time: 2โ3 minutes
- Use glass or porcelain to observe the pale, golden infusion.
Yellow tea often reveals its full flavor across multiple steepings, becoming sweeter and rounder with time.
๐ Cultural Note
Yellow tea is produced in very small batches, often by hand, and many artisans have moved away from the technique due to its complexity. This rarity gives yellow tea a quiet prestige in connoisseur circles.
๐ก Did You Know?
- Junshan Yinzhen was a favorite of Chairman Mao and Qing emperors.
- Yellow tea is often confused with light green teas โ but its flavor is much more mellow and less grassy.