Green Tea/Yellow Tea

Yellow leaves yellow tea

It found that when green tea is roasted in a certain way, the leaves turn yellow. Yellow tea is similar to green tea in terms of the production process. The only difference is that yellow tea has an extra step ‐ stewing. This stewing process is the defining characteristic for yellow tea production, and is what separates green tea from yellow tea. After stewing, the leaves turn to yellow, and then dried. Famous teas such as Jun Mountain Silver Needle tea from the Hunan province of China are known for the way the tea leaves line up next to each other "as many knifes and swords" when brewed. Because of the special production process of yellow tea, it cannot be mass‐produced and therefore is quite rare.

Yellow tea (Big), yellow tea (Small) and young leaves yellow tea

Yellow tea has three categories: big, small and young leaves. This is dependent on the tenderness and size of the leaves.

Yellow tea (Big): Picked from older buds with 2 to 5 leaves. Varieties include the big yellow tea from Anhui province, and big leaves yellow tea from Guangdong.

Yellow tea (Small): Picked from young buds with few leaves. Varieties include the Weishan yellow tea, Beigang yellow tea from Hunan province, Luyuan yellow tea from Hubei province, and Pingyang yellow tea from Zhejiang province.

Young leaves yellow tea: Picked from very tender single buds or buds with only one leaf. This process can be quite time consuming. Examples include the Jun Mountain Silver Needle tea from Hunan province, Mongolian yellow tea from Sichuan province, Huoshan young leaves tea from Anhui province, and Mogan young leaves tea from Zhejiang province.

The best yellow teas

1. Jun Mountain Silver Needle

Jun mountain silver needle is the best yellow tea. It is only produced in the Jun Mountain Island of Dongting Lake in Hunan Province. Its leaves are straight, covered in white, and shaped like needles, hence the name "Jun mountain silver needle." The brewed tea smells fragrant, fresh, with a clear, apricot colour. The taste is quite mellow. The young leaves are very tender. They can even be eaten after drinking tea.

2. Huoshan Young Leaves yellow tea

Huoshan young leaves yellow tea is another rare tea. It has a long history from the Tang Dynasty and was only supplied to the royal people in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. The colour of the tea is gold and has a very fragrant aroma.

Brewing yellow tea

Yellow tea is lightly fermented and similar to green tea. Their brewing methods are similar as well. Yellow tea should be brewed in glass, especially for "Jun Mountain Silver Needle”.”This is because it makes it easier to see the changes in the leaves during the brewing process. The leaves rise, drop and then become suspended midway. This movement has a special name: three ups and downs. Eventually the tea leaves settle down at the bottom of the cup, standing erected. The erratic movement of the tea leaves is due to the changes in weight as the leaves begin to soak up the water.

The benefits of yellow tea

There are a lot of studies about green tea and yellow tea in general that you can refer to for information. But in Chinese Medicine, green tea is generally known for its cooling properties. As such, green tea is usually used to cool down heat and dry symptoms. This tea is best taken during summer.