Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yellow
Where to Buy: Mark T. Wendell
Product Description:
This rare yellow tea from China’s Anhui province is comprised of beautiful hand-crafted leaves and downy silver buds. This tea is notable for its rich, full and smooth tasting floral infusion. When brewed, our Yellow Sprouting produces a naturally sweet and refreshingly clean tasting cup of tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was very lucky to be introduced to yellow tea early in my loose leaf tea drinking experience! It was the first time I had ever stepped foot into a real tea house, in St. Louis, Missouri. The London Tea Room. At that time they had a lovely yellow tea which was not on their regular tea menu as it was a special tea not normally sold in the store. They told me about yellow tea and gave me a good education on it. I was sold and bought it on the spot not even really knowing just how precious yellow tea was. So that was my introduction and how I fell in love with Yellow teas. Even still yellow teas seem to be quite rare, and while they can be found online and in tea shops, I find people are still not quite as aware of them as they could be. I was thrilled when I received a sample of this from my SororiTea Sister LiberTEAS.
I am finding this cup to be every bit as delightful as my first experience with yellow tea. As I do not currently have many yellow teas, perhaps one or two, in my own stash, having a new one to try is a lovely gift!
This tea, from Mark T. Wendell, is captivating! Its creamy and buttery, but also there is this really nice savory element to it as well and many know how much I love a savory tea! The mouthfeel is heavier than the color of the cup may indicate. Don’t let the beautiful, delicate, golden tone fool you, its quite rich. There is a natural sweetness just as the product description says, but the fresh floral and grassy notes make it pleasing and healthy tasting. I get a note that speaks towards wheat grass flavors.
It is not as buttery as many oolong or green teas, which of course it is a yellow tea and has its own voice. Yet, these elements are present. There is a juiciness and freshness to the cup making it quite bright, a “happy” tea. To me, this is not a tea you choose when wanting to sit down and get absorbed into a great novel, but more of a tea for when you want to have loose fun conversations, or enjoy a sunny day, or brighten up a dreary one. And again, being in a category of its own, you won’t find this tea as vegetal as some greens, yet in the under layer of this tea – toward the base of the flavor levels, does exist a slightly vegetal flavor, which learns more toward a salty seaweed like note.
Also, if you allow this tea to cool quite a while you will find a light candy like note, sort of like a meringue cookie flavor or perhaps the curst on a creme brulee although its not going to jump out at you that flavor is in there.
Yellow tea is such an interesting thing to me. I always love trying any yellow tea I can get my hands on and I hope that more people become aware of how wonderful yellow teas are. Why not start with this one? I am finding it to be my favorite so far.
Meng Ding Huang Ya from Dammann Frères
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yellow
Where to Buy: Dammann Frères
Company Description:
This tea is rare as it can only be plucked at springtime. It comes from the mountain Meng, in Sichuan province, where tea growing started during Han dynasty, more than 2000 years ago. At that time, yellow tea was only served at the imperial court. The 5cm long leaves are green with a pale yellow hue. The interesting colour and flavour of that tea come from a very unique processing technique. The fresh leaves undergo a swift withering and are then rolled in small quantities in “Niu Pi Zhi”, a kind of old yellow paper, in which they are left to dry naturally. This tea shows a pale yellow cup with a mellow character with hints of walnut.
Taster’s Review:
This is much different from the yellow teas that I’m used to, but it is certainly just as enjoyable.
Actually, when I first saw the leaf, I didn’t think it was a yellow tea, because the leaves are quite dark. They have the appearance of a black tea, or possibly a well-oxidized Oolong.
The flavor is also quite different from other yellow teas – this is stronger in flavor than most yellow teas which are usually a bit more delicate. This has a strong nutty quality and virtually no grassy or vegetative quality except at the finish, where there is an ever-so-subtle hint of a vegetal note. Not grassy, just a hint of vegetation.
It is smooth and rich-tasting, with no bitterness, and very little astringency. It’s really quite sublime! It has a very pleasing buttery note that is sweet and creamy and complements the nutty note (which is likened to a walnut in the company description of this tea, provided above). It’s kind of roasty-toasty, but not too much, I think that even those that find they do not care for toasty tasting teas would find this quite enjoyable.
This is truly a lovely tea to experience. I have said it before (numerous times, even!): “I have found a new favorite from the brothers Dammann!” But… this time, I mean it! This is fantastic!
