Rough notes to build an article (I’ll work on this in the coming days)
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)
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.
