Huoshan Huang Ya is a yellow tea from the Huoshan region of South Western Anhui, China. I feel that flavor wise, it has a lot in common with the iconic Chinese green tea Dragonwell aka Long Jing. It’s very suitable to brew in the grandpa style if brewed around 1g:110mL ~ 1g:150mL. I did a lot of testing and am leaning towards the 1g:150 mark, to prevent overcrowding in the glass. It’s not only better visually, but I think I don’t really notice too much lack of flavor, despite 1:100 and 1:150 being vastly different ratios.
It can be brewed stronger in a tea pot, if you prefer. There are interesting phantom flavors that come and go as I drink this tea. Sometimes it’s like brown sugar, other times roasted nuts (pistachio)
If you have an Instagram account, you can view this post to watch me explain this in video format. Though in a nutshell, this tea is modest. Even when brewed potently, it doesnt get over the top and showy with its flavor. It has a mild demeanor, it’s very modest. Its nature is sweet, somewhat pastry-esque in a nutty, baklava sort of way. Modesty + Baklava = Arab Culture, and when adapted to fit my shops theme, you have a label like this.
It’s a 1st grade version of the tea, not the top grade. The top grade is just the bud, like a silver needle. This grade is like a premium bai mu dan (in white tea nomenclature), 1 bud 1 leaf.
Yellow teas undergo a smothering process that changes their flavors via anerobic sweating. It usually (for me) brings out aromas that I can compare to custards or beansprouts. This tea is curiously lacking them. I’ve brewed it with several parameter adjustments looking to find them, but alas, perhaps I should allow this tea to be what it is, rather than what I want it to be. I’ll continue to work on this though and report back here if I find any success.
This tastes a lot like Long Jing, a famous Chinese green tea from Zhejiang. If you’re a fan of that, I’m certain you’d love this.
