Yellow tea is very similar to green tea - in fact, when I purchased this tin of Junshan YinZhen from the Harney & Sons website, I found it located in under the “Chinese Green Tea” category. Yellow tea is also very similar to white tea. And yet, even though it is similar to both green and white tea, it is very different.
The beautifully elegant, elongated tea buds are green with yellowed tips; their fragrance is very lovely, with intriguing woodsy-floral notes. Brewing the buds brings out more of the floral scent to your cup, making this gorgeous yellow liquid very enticing, indeed!
Harney & Sons describes their Junshan YinZhen as:
This is one of China’s most famous teas. Only tiny amounts are made on Junshan Island in northern Hunan Province. It is just the buds, they have been yellowed (a secret process), so that liquor is more mellow than white teas. Yet they are still slightly sweet and a delight to drink. Please brew them in a tall glass by pouring the hot water first, then add the tea and admire how the buds slowly sink to the bottom.
The brewed tea is very mellow, just as described, so I added an extra minute onto the recommended brew time of 3 minutes. This created a slightly darker yellow hue, with a sublime, lightly sweet yet earthy quality to it. The aftertaste is soft and earthy, with a whisper of floral undertones.
I enjoy this tea straight, with no sweetener. However, a small amount of sweetener will bring out some of the more subtle qualities of this tea, but be careful not to overdo it with the sweetener, as you may find that it overpowers the essence of this tea. By the same token, I don’t recommend the addition of lemon to this tea, as it will dominate and mask the mellow notes. This is a minimalistic tea!
For those who feel a little intimidated by the price of this tea (regularly priced at $15.00 for 2 ounces, on sale at the time of this article’s submission at $12.00 for 2 ounces), take comfort in the fact that the buds can be brewed up to 3 times with no significant loss in flavor, making this a good investment in a very high quality tea. Your taste buds will thank you!
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Recent Comments
"When I was a kid, in the middle of winter, my friend Penny and I eachbought a quart of ice cream, skated to the island in the middle of our lake and ate them. Soooo good and soooo naughty. It keeps us young to be naughty sometimes. I would just go for it an enjoy!"
marlena said, in reply to Better Belly Blend from Two Leaves and a Bud on August 30, 2010 at 12:35 pm
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Better Belly Blend from Two Leaves and a Bud
"Well, as someone who has tasted a lot of chai tea, I can attest that this really is not very similar in taste to Chai. Chai tends to focus on the spices, whereas this tea’s focus is on the orange, with the spices being very gentle and more of an accent to the orange."
liber-teas said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:00 pm
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"How fun! I love drinking tea so I love that you have a whole blog related to reviewing them. One brand that I really love that I don’t see on your list is the Portsmouth Tea Company. When I lived in Boston I used to buy lots of their teas and they were oh so unique. They had some really great fruity and floral blends. It’s interesting that..."
Kelly said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:25 am
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"Haha!! My co-worker told me that she purchased this tea after having purchased the Matcha Latte at Seattle’s Best, and her and another co-worker purchased this because they believed it was what was served there. She stated to me today that “it didn’t seem the same exactly…it felt like their was something..."
The Tea Guru said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:55 pm
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Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea
"I’m not absolutely certain, but I believe that this is the concentrate that Seattle’s Best coffee shops use to make their matcha latte. The lattes I’ve enjoyed there were sweet with a definite melon flavor… and I have noticed that they sell other Tazo teas there. If it IS the concentrate that they use… I am..."
liber-teas said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:47 pm
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"I Love this tea!! This flavor is my favorite. I am so addicted to it! Thanks
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Betsy said, in reply to Raspberry Earl from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea on August 20, 2010 at 4:55 pm
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"Steph: Thank you for your information about the naranquilla. I didn’t find the flavor to be very tart at all – which is what I would have expected from the combination of lime and rhubarb. Perhaps the maraschino sweetened it up a bit and made it much more peach-like. It reminded me a bit of candied apricots or peaches."
liber-teas said, in reply to Easter Tea from Dammann Frères on August 19, 2010 at 7:42 pm
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