Huo Shan Huang Ya Yellow Tea

A while ago, I won five spring 2022 tea samples in a draw, one of which is this yellow tea. (I then added two 10 g samples and got two more 5 g packets for free, giving me eleven 5 g pouches of tea and making it worth the small shipping fee.) This is my first yellow tea, and I’m not sure what to expect. I more or less followed Teavivre’s instructions and steeped 5 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 185F for 60, 70, 80, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus a few uncounted steeps.

The aroma of these trichome-heavy leaves is of chestnuts, spinach, grass, and bok choy. It smells like a fresh green tea, which makes me think of spring. The first steep has a thick body and flavours of candied chestnuts, spinach, bok choy, grass, green beans, umami, butter, and faint florals. The second steep is even sweeter and reminds me of a Long Jing, with more nuts, minerals, honey, and umami. The minerals and veggies increase in the next couple steeps, though the tea is still nutty and floral. The flavours fade gradually over the session, though the final steeps are still fairly sweet.

Although I still probably couldn’t pick a yellow tea out of a lineup of greens, I enjoyed this sample and will look for more yellow teas in the future. I still don’t like drinking my veggies, but the nutty sweetness of this tea made me happy. I’ve decided not to rate these teas since I have so little of them, but this one would rank in the low to mid eighties.

Sealed sample packet from a swap. I’m not sure who this was from, I’m guessing either Arby or Kawaii433? Thank you, whoever it was!

I’ve only ever had one other yellow tea, and it looked very different from this one. This looks like a green tea, with thin needle-like leaves. Their dry scent reminded me strongly of white tea, with light and creamy oat and hay notes.

WOW, holy crap this is delicious. It’s blowing my mind right now.

This has such a crazily nutty flavor up front, and it reminds me of deliciously roasted-but-still-creamy cashews or perhaps almonds. It also reminds me of roasted soybeans, which is a flavor that I really enjoy. There are also some soft grainy notes, like chewing on sweet raw oats. Underlying these is a sweet vegetal flavor with the deep spinach notes of a sencha, maybe with some bok choy and fresh edamame mixed in. Overall, it has a lovely thick and silky creaminess, both in flavor and mouthfeel. A hint of minerality also makes an appearance at the end of the sip, along with a clear, refreshing sweetness.

Scrumptious tea! Going on the wishlist! The end.

Chocolate aroma note from dry leaf.

Strong spinach-vegetal note bloom in the flavour. Dark chocolate note at the end of the sip into the aftertaste. Sugary sweetness at the front of the profile on the sip.

Leaves: medium thin green leaves

Measuring Spoon: no

Steep: 8m

Aroma: typical green tea, although it is a yellow

Color: pale yellow almost clear

Clarity: Great

Taste: It has been soo long since I’ve brew a cup of loose leaf tea. After having a nice conversation this afternoon I though why not make a cup of tea? Deciding between a green & yellow, I have never had a yellow tea till now. I was surprised that the leaves were still green yet the brewed color was a pale yellow. As for taste and aroma it reminded me of my typical green teas I’ve had in the past with nothing to really separate it from the others. It was a very nice cup, having great clarity.

In terms of tea experiments I’ve been playing around with Twinings english breakfast tea bags – trying to make it in a British way with milk (soy) & sugar (brown).

Listening to: BTS – 134340 (Pluto)

OK – yellow tea. Has to be a gimmick, right? So elusive and mysterious…hidden long-lost recipes and all that…

Well, I was still excited to see what the hype was all about.

First, it is not a gimmick. This thing is crazy good. Imagine a vegetal and sweet, nutty bi luo chun crossed with sweet floral Anxi green oolong. Oh, and some sweet grass and fruit flavors of Xinyang Mao Jian. There was incredible complexity to the tea – from the dry leaf scent all the way through the experience in-mouth.

The flavors are strong, but complementary – switching from nutty to sweet, vegetal to floral. Incredibly dynamic. The mouthfeel is thick and unctuous. The aftertaste is expansive and long-lasting.

This is an excellent tea, and the price is great for the quality of the tea. Highly recommended for green tea lovers especially.
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Dry leaf – sweet corn (like Bi Luo Chun), creamy fragrant floral (like Anxi oolong), popcorn, speculoos, orange flower. In preheated vessel – candied pecans, praline, sweetcorn, tomato vine, sweet grass

Smell – sweet corn, sweet grass, tomato vine

Taste – arrival of sweet vegetal – sweet corn, green oolong leafiness, sweet grass. Development of complex but muted sweetness (marshmallow, graham cracker) and fragrant floral. Finish of sweet floral – orchid, orange flower, rose. Aftertaste of sweet floral, candied pecan, coconut, with hints of orange soda and red fruit/raspberry.

Thank you, Teavivre, for this sample! I don’t think I ever tried a yellow tea before. I anticipated that it would have characteristics similar to green tea since it was on the lighter side of the color spectrum.

When I opened the silver sample package, long green tea leaves greeted me from inside. The aroma of the unbrewed leaves was grassy and, yes, similar to the grassy smell of green tea.

I brewed the leaves at approximately 185 degrees (I had to estimate using the office microwave machine to heat the water) for eight minutes as recommended on the package. The steeped color was light yellow. The odor was again definitely like that of green tea.

The flavor of this tea was surprisingly full-bodied, distinct, and satisfying. Yes, the taste was similar to green tea, but this yellow tea had its own flavor signature as well. The taste was a bit grassy like green varieties but there was also a blended sweet potato attribute that lay comfortably on my palate. As is common with Teavivre teas, it was extremely smooth without a glimmer of astringency. The aftertaste was light and airy and it quickly dissipated.

I didn’t expect to like yellow tea too much since I almost exclusively favor the robust, high octane, black teas. However, I REALLY enjoyed this one…A LOT! I don’t have a long list of preferred afternoon and evening teas yet but this offering is definitely high up on it!

We made two pots Western style last night to go with Asian take-out. The dry leaves had such a fresh, powerful aroma. I love the promise that it is easier on the stomach as mine gets angry easily.

The tea is pale, clear yellow and very sweet and creamy tasting. It was served to a large gathering and everyone enjoyed it. There was no sour taste and no bitterness. This will probably be one of my go-to recommendations for people wanting easy to drink tea.

Yay for new tea!! A huge thank you to Angel at Teavivre for this sample! I don’t think I have ever tried a yellow tea so this is exciting! Hopefully I’m not up all night from having caffeine so late haha.

The smell of this tea is delicious! Very similar to a dragonwell green I’ve had, bit with a toasty and slightly sweet almond note. Smells so Good! I steeped probably 1/3 of the packet in 185 degree water for my mug for 2 mins. I also made the fiance a mug right afterwards with another 2 min steeping. The steeped liquor is a very pale yellow, and smells very deliciously like dragonwell again but with a strong buttery note.

As for the flavor, wow this is good!! Very much like sweet, crisp corn on the cob, with corn silk and a buttery, slightly toasty note. It’s like a green tea in the first taste, then it morphs into the nutty corn flavor. So much butter! And a sweet note of crisp sugared corn creeps in at the back of my throat after a while. So satisfying!

Overall, I am very impressed with this tea, my first yellow tea. Buttery, silky corn, it truly reminds me of harvest days in the autumn, the sun shining down on corn silk, cobs bursting and ready to be harvested. So yummy and warming on this chilly spring evening. Once again thank you Teavivre for the opportunity to try such a unique tea!

One of the samples from my Black Friday sampler pack. I’m still working through this thing four months later, but there’s only a few left now!

This tea comes in pretty looking needles and smells of corn or wheat or some kind of comfortable grain. The first steep comes out smooth and clear and smells buttery sweet. It somewhat reminds me of a Jin Xuan with its buttery and floral upfront notes. There’s a hint of bitterness, but definitely quite mellow.

Overall, quite an enjoyable green tea.

Once again a tea that I was very excited to try. I guess that is what happens when you choose what samples to buy! One of my first prolonged experiences with yellow tea, and I was not disappointed. Very much worth the cost, which is definitely not within the everyday drinking price range.

The dry leaf was full of long, whole pieces that were a medium green in color. The aroma of these leaves was sweet and floral, very much like a silver needle. The aroma was quite strong and full. After the initial steeping, the leaves let go more of this wonderful aroma.

The liquor was a beautiful deep golden yellow. A dark gold that I have never seen before in tea. The aroma of this liquor was light and hard to decipher, albeit very pleasant.

The taste of the liquor was stunning. Floral, sweet, with zero astringency. Stronger than a silver needle, but lighter, fresher, and sweeter than green tea with a slight honey aftertaste.

Overall I would place this tea in the same category as silver needle (albeit a much different tea). It is delicate, exquisite, yet expensive. A tea to be enjoyed for special occasions when you desire something special.

Ratings (from 0-10)

8 – Dry Leaf Appearance
9 – Dry Leaf Smell
7 – Wet Leaf Appearance
8 – Wet Leaf Smell
9 – Liquor Appearance
8 – Aroma
9 – Taste
8 – Value (Is this taste, aroma, and overall experience worth the cost.)

= 84

Rating Multipliers

0.5 – Dry Leaf Appearance
0.5 – Dry Leaf Smell
0.5 – Wet Leaf Appearance
0.5 – Wet Leaf Smell
0.5 – Liquor Appearance
3.5 – Aroma
3.5 – Taste
0.5 – Value (Is this taste, aroma, and overall experience worth the cost.)