What is Yellow Tea? Yellow tea takes its name from its straw colored liquor.

The production process is similar to green tea, but with a unique additional step called men huan, or sealing yellow. After very early spring buds or tips are panred, they are wrapped in special cloth, a step that is repeated several times over a period of up to three days, gently oxidizing the leaves before the nal slow charcoal drying. This smothering process pulls the aromas back into the buds and creates a more aromatic and mature tea, free of the grassy taste and astringency found in many green teas. Because yellow tea is rare, purchasing in the West should be undertaken with care. Poor quality green tea is sometimes sold as yellow tea in the U.S.; therefore, it is important to purchase yellow tea from a reputable tea vendor that deals directly with the tea farm in China. While Korea produces a yellow tea, it is an unrelated tea and does not follow the same process as Chinese yellow tea. Also known as: Huang Ya; varieties include Jun Shan Yin Zhen (Hunan), Mo Gan Huang Ya (Zhejiang), and Meng Ding Huang Ya (Sichuan). Learn more at www.sevencups.com.

Yellow Tea
BY KERRI SHADID, CONTRIBUTOR ORIGIN: The rarest of the six classes of tea, yellow tea is only produced in China, in the high mountains of Hunan, Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces. Jun Shan, rumored to have been the favorite tea of Chairman Mao, is only grown on the mist-covered mountain of Jun Shan Island, a 1 km wide island that produces a mere 500 kilograms of tea per year. Pickers gather only the bud by breaking it from its stem with a twist.

Know Your Tea

STEEPING: Steep one tablespoon (1 teaspoon for bud-only Meng Ding) per 6 oz. of water for 1-3 minutes in water well below boiling (170-180 degrees Fahrenheit). TASTE: Considered a mature tea, yellow tea is smooth and aromatic with a sweet, clean, bright, floral taste and a medium body.

March~April Tea Magazine 15

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STEPHANIE SANTANGELO
I live in...Bloomington, Indiana When I am not writing for Tea...Im nishing my last semester at Indiana University. Tea makes me...ready to take on the day. I drink tea...every single morning. I cant imagine facing the day without my Chai tea. My favorite food is...anything covered in chocolate. Writing...allows me to connect with people I normally wouldnt have the chance to. Find me at: stephanie@teamag.com

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TIMOTHY HSU
I live in... New York City. When I am not writing for Tea... Im either designing books, teaching people how to drink tea or enjoying ner things in life. Tea makes me... humble and teaches me humanity. I drink tea... as many times as possible every day. Find me at www.themandarinstearoom.com and follow my blog www. themandarinstea.blogspot.
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KERRI SHADID
I live in...Oklahoma City, Oklahoma When I am not writing for Tea... I write for publications such as Oklahoma Today, World Literature Today, and Sooner Magazine. I love to cook and to eat, to meditate, to dance and do yoga, to read, and to philosophize with friends. Tea makes me... Feel like I am in a sea of tranquility as the outside world frantically whirls around me. I drink tea... one to two times a day. Find me at my website... Kerrishadid.com
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PADMA
Indian American cookbook author, actress, model and television host Padma Parvati Lakshmi describes her early moments of tea with her grandmother in India and the inspiration for her own line of teas.

Top Chef Host Talks Tea

ALSO IN THE MAY/JUNE ISSUE:

Seven Courses of Tea Africas Splendid Teas Ajiri Tea Grilling with Tea Tea Beer Kettles Bubble Tea

48 Tea Magazine March~April 2013