2008 Meng Ding Huangya

Posted on 26 January 2009

This moderately priced tea ($17.40 / 100g) is available from Jing Tea. It is advertised as a ‘yellow tea’. We all know green tea, black (a.k.a. red) tea, and white tea is becoming increasingly popular due to its purported health benefits. But what is yellow tea?

Not so obvious, apparently. While a vast majority of the references I browsed mention yellow tea, they seem to differ widely in their definition. According to some, yellow tea is white tea (i.e., pure bud material) that has undergone some oxidation, making it a kind of ‘white tea oolong’. This is substantiated by some authors listing Junshan Yinzhen as a yellow tea; yinzhen (silver needle) refers to the highest grade of white tea material.

According to others, yellow tea is green tea “but with a slower drying phase, where the damp tea leaves are allowed to sit and yellow” (see Wikipedia, for example). In this definition, there is an obvious similarity with oolong. When leaves are allowed to ‘yellow’, we have a partial oxidation that is the characteristic of oolong. Even very slightly oxidised (5–10%) tea such as Taiwanese Baozhong are always classified as oolongs. I would be very keen to have readers’ comments on this.

In the case of the 2008 Meng Ding Huangya, the tea is very green in style, with no oxidation perceptible (for me).

Brewed in: gaiwan

Dosage: 5g / 130ml

Dry leaf: Fully light-green, snap pea-like, this appears rather green than yellow. Clearly a very buddy tea. An intense aroma redolent of peas and green asparagus.

Tasting notes:

15s @ 80C: A light green colour, this is dominated by the asparagus aroma, and has a snappy crisp taste with perhaps a bit of sweetness. Hardly a lot of body, and positively a green tea type, but enjoyable.

40s: Hotter water results in a very mildly bitter brew. Aroma is similar to brewing #1, intense but a bit less than initially. Less balanced now.

60s: A successful brewing, with the flavours now more low-key and mixed. Some length, although not a lot of structure. This is a green tea in everything but name. In fact, there is a lot of similarity to the Zhu Ye Qing Supreme from Dragon Tea House that I hope to review here soon. Overall, this Huangya is pretty OK for the price but not an epiphany.