The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea - Michael Harney [29]
Much yellow tea on the market is fake, often simply green tea fobbed off as yellow. Genuine yellow teas, however, are hard to imitate. I have never been able to find someone who would allow me to watch them being made, so I can only speculate. I think that the leaves and buds are partially fixed to keep them only somewhat green. Since they lack the more potent aromas of oolongs and black teas, they are likely not withered. From their light yellow hue and gentle, rounded flavors, they probably oxidize very slowly and only partially, piled under thickly woven mats. To keep from masking those flavors, the leaves are likely dried in an oven, not over a fire.
The result is something extraordinary: a mesmerizing yellow gold liquor, mouth-filling body, and gentle, nuanced tropical and stone fruit flavors. What follows are three charming examples, ranging from Jun Shan Yin Zhen’s soothing mango aromas to Huo Shan Huang Ya’s subtle ginger flavors.
JUN SHAN YIN ZHEN Jun Mountain Silver Needles
Jun Shan Yin Zhen is one of China’s finest yellow teas, with pleasing subtle fruit aromas and an enduring, balanced flavor. It comes from Jun Shan, a mountain on an island in Dongting Lake, part of the flood basin of the Yangtze River in China’s Hunan province. Hunan is situated in China’s interior and is usually too hot for growing tea. The lake and the mountain both provide a more moderate, cool climate in which the tea can flourish.
Plucked in the spring, the tea’s sweet tips are also beloved for the way they sway vertically in a kind of dance when dropped into hot water. While at Jun Shan, I observed the Hunan version of a tea ceremony that was pleasantly less vigorous than the Japanese version. Two ladies elaborately rinsed tall glasses, filled them with hot water, and placed the leaves inside. The leaves slowly, slowly waltzed down through the water. To replicate this at home, just be sure to place the leaves on top of the water instead of pouring water over the tea.
MENG DING HUANG YA Meng Ding Yellow Sprouts
This more astringent, slightly more vegetal yellow tea comes from Sichuan province; the Meng Ding mountain area produces most of Sichuan’s better teas. Huang Ya comes from a plant different from that of Jun Shan Yin Zhen, with a slightly more developed tip. Since the tip has an external coating and less fluffy down, this tea is likely plucked later in the year than Yin Zhen as well. It has a slightly more vegetal flavor than Yin Zhen, with some light fruit notes.
HUO SHAN HUANG YA Huo Shan Yellow Sprouts
This gingery, floral tea is said to be an ancient tea from the Ming and Qing dynasties that was lost and rediscovered in the 1970s. But this tea is so delicious, who would lose it? It comes from the northern Anhui province. It is likely a very difficult tea to make, as its fragile bud sets are much harder to preserve than the solid buds or leaves of other yellow teas. I love its spice and apricot flavors.
CHINESE BLACK TEAS
1. Golden Monkey
2. Panyong Golden Needle
3. Panyong Congou
4. Keemun Mao Feng
5. Keemun Hao Ya A
6. Yunnan Black Tea
7. Lapsang Souchong
We’ve come to think of black tea as something that puckers our mouths, requiring milk and sugar to soften and soothe it. Chinese black teas, however, have all the mellow, sweetened effects of milk and sugar without requiring either. From the honeyed twinge of Golden Monkey and the Panyong teas to the chocolate of Keemuns and the turgid smokiness of Lapsang Souchong, these teas have a range and character all their own.
Given how delicious they are, it is a miracle that Chinese black teas exist. The idea that China creates black teas of this quality is as likely as the United States producing top-quality players of professional cricket. Americans play baseball. The Chinese drink green tea, and have for thousands