Mengding Mountain Snow Buds, Huang Ya

I’ve never had a yellow tea that I can recall, so thank you to Michelle for sending this. I don’t notice any particular aromas from the dry leaf as I pour it into my brew basket. The leaves look like Dragonwell green tea, long and flat, but (wait for it …) they’re yellow. Or rather, a yellowish brown. Once the water hits, this tea does have an aroma. Though I’m more inclined to call it a smell. Goodness, I’m not sure I like it. I can’t quite place what it is, but it’s very strong. The liquid, on the other hand, is very light. It reminds me of a white tea in the way that it looks and tastes. Meaning, I don’t taste much of anything. White teas taste to me like lukewarm water, no matter what I try. I guess yellow teas might be the same, for me at least. There is a bitter, tannic flavor/sensation, but otherwise it is tasteless. I’m sorry I didn’t like this one – it seemed so fancy!

FIrst I must say this tea is quite old, I’m sure it would have tasted better if I had drunk it all long before now. But I do like this tea, and I tend to put tea I like back in the cupboard and ‘save it for later’. Even if this batch is past its prime, I like the roasty hay taste with a sweet nutty finish. Some grassy notes are showing up in the second steep, but on the whole an enjoyable light cup.

1500th tasting note!

Sipdown no. 72 of 2018 (no. 428 total).

This had become my take it to work tea as a break from green.

A mellow but tasty tea. Not much to add to my initial note.

This was my first yellow tea. Well, i was disappointed. It tastes like green tea but with most of the ‘green’ removed. I actually really like whatever that ‘green’ is. So, it was missing.

Maybe this is not my style of tea. However, i would try a different yellow tea just to try it.

This tea is great. It has all the freshness and taste of a steamed green tea but without the grassy notes. The liquor is very pale in color, almost white.