Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: dark, curled with scattered golden tips
Ingredients: yellow tea
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 180 degrees
Preparation Method: glass gaiwan
Liquor: deep gold
Adagio Teas recently sent me a gift certificate. After sifting through their site for a bit I was really excited to stumble upon a yellow tea. This one hails from the Hunan Province of China. Although it is categorized on their site as green tea, the processing differentiates it from being a true green tea. After the “kill green” step the leaves are wrapped in material, usually paper or cloth. This is repeated several times with the leaves being dried in between.
The dry leaves were small and fairly dark in color with golden tips scattered throughout. Under certain lighting conditions, they almost took on a blue cast. I made sure to try this tea using the western style directions provided (180 degrees for 3 minutes) but vastly preferred it gongfu style so that is what I am basing my review off of. It tasted just fine when making a big mug of it but my glass gaiwan really intensified the texture and aromas.
It’s hard to say what grabbed me first, the beautiful golden liquor or the intoxicating aroma. It was mellow and light with sweet floral notes. A crisp fruity quality almost reminded me of a 1st Flush Darjeeling. The mouthfeel was incredibly smooth and thick without any bitterness. It re-steeped well so make sure that you hold on to those leaves. As far as yellow teas go this one isn’t super expensive. I’d definitely recommend picking up at least a sample size if you’ve never experienced one before.
Hunan Gold sample provided for review by Adagio Teas.
