GTR: Identifying Teas Pt. 2 - Yellow Tea

Hello, and welcome back to the Ginger Tea Reviews Identifying Teas saga! Tea is my passion, and I am making it my goal to share my passion with the world!

So, as we discussed in Part 1, there are six types of "true" tea. We spoke a lot about White Tea, last time, and I think we can all agree just how amazing white tea is! Today, however, we are going to talk about the second "true" tea on the list: yellow tea!

For those of you that haven't heard of yellow tea before, don't be too bummed; I never heard of it before until Teavana introduced it some time ago. I was always under the impression that there were four types of "true" tea. But, back then, I was young and new to the world of tea.

The process that goes into creating yellow tea puts it somewhere in between a white and green. It requires a touch more oxidization than white tea, and an additional process that alters it from a green tea.

What is Yellow Tea?

Yellow tea is an expensive and rare type of Chinese and Korean tea. This type of tea didn't come around until the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), but even then, it was typically made for the enjoyment of the locals.

This, coupled with the fact that the process just to make this tea is difficult and time consuming, has kept this tea off of the broad market.

Being that people are more typically drawn to bright colors, these tea leaves don't exactly stand out. During the processing of these leaves, the leaves lose a lot of their colors. However, if you look at these tea leaves, the golden and darker colored leaves actually are rather lovely to look at. The process goes as follows:

Leaf or bud ---> Fixed (this process is called the "kill-green" process, but you could also call it frying as well) ---> (Sometimes) Twisted or Rolled ---> Sweltering ---> Drying.

So, I know, some of what I just said up there is a little confusing. Basically, the newer leaves are plucked and then fried in a wok, at a lower temperature. This is done in shorter intervals, and done until the green in the leaves has faded.

In some cases, the leaves are gently hand-twisted to release more flavor and make it more aromatic. Following this process, the leaves are wrapped in a cloth, or paper, and left to lightly ferment for a few hours to a couple of days, in a bamboo basket.

After this, the tea leaves are fried once again at the same low heat, wrapped once more for a while longer, and then finally dried (if the producers do not decide to repeat the process a third time). The producers will alternate between lower and higher heat to dry the tea leaves, thus giving the tea a different flavor pallet from green tea. This also helps give the tea a yellowish hue.

Flavor and Brewing Process

White teas have a mild, subtly sweet flavor to them, and green teas tend to be more vegetal in flavor. So, where does that leave yellow tea?

In all honesty, due to the rarity of the tea itself, I have only ever had one type of yellow tea before.

The Golden Dragon from Teavana has a buttery, earthy flavor. As odd as it sounds, the flavor almost reminds me of buttery green beans (but not quite). It is a comforting, mellow and warm flavor, that is just so smooth and light on the pallet.

However, due to the Teavana closures, it may be difficult finding yellow tea like this in other stores. Adiago.com has a similar yellow tea, called Hunan Gold, that is comparable to the Golden Dragon. Or, you could also check out Harney & Son's Fine Teas, as they have a classic Jun Shan yellow tea, that I hear is fabulous.

When brewing this tea, keep in mind that these tea leaves will burn as well. Brew your tea for no longer than 3 minutes, at 175° Fahrenheit. The resulting brew will be a golden hue, and the flavors will practically have you melting.

Health benefits?

Due to the rarity of this type of tea, little research has actually been conducted to see just how many health benefits are in this type of tea.

However, some research has shown that yellow tea has the highest levels of polyphenols, which are some strong antioxidants.

Other studies suggest that the tea can help with weight loss by boosting the metabolism, while the polyphenols and catechins burn away the fat.

With this tea being a rich source of antioxidants, the tea can be good for liver health, heart health, skin health, cancer-fighting (or prevention), longevity and mental health. With any luck, we will start seeing more yellow teas on the market, so that we can see more research on this extraordinary tea.

Final Thoughts...

Yellow tea is one of my top favorites, currently. However, since it isn't so common, and it isn't so cheap, I really can only say so much about it.

The flavor is my favorite part about it. When I'm having a rough day, and things just aren't okay, I drink a cup of Golden Dragon and life is better. It is a comfort tea.

I firmly believe grilled cheese is the epitome of comfort food, so pairing it with the Golden Dragon, after an awful day, creates the best cure for a rotten day. The buttery, malt-like flavor of the tea meshes perfectly with the rich flavors of a grilled cheese sandwich.

I highly recommend that you all try a yellow tea, as soon as you are able to find and purchase some. It is an experience that is totally worth it, as the tea is so rare and unique in flavor; you will certainly not regret it in the slightest.

Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to keep an eye out for the next step in our Tea journey: Green Tea!

I hope you all enjoyed reading this, just as much as I enjoyed writing it! See you next time! Remember, there is a great big world of tea out there, and together we can explore every last inch of it!

PS.

Like what you read? Support my blog by sharing with your friends and family! Share far and wide! Drop a gift down below if you're feeling particularly helpful.

Have a suggestion for a review, hit me up! I love to hear from you all! Follow me on my Facebook page, or on my Instagram, or on my Twitter page!

I appreciate your unending support! Thanks, guys!