Meng Ding Yellow Bud (Huang Ya) Traditional Style

Thank you LiberTEAS for this sample!

There is some nice tanginess going on in this cup of tea. At first you taste what you expect, grassy – more of a raw cabbage flavor, then it turns sharper, more acidic in tone. This tartness develops into something much sweeter, peachy even. I thought I was mistaken, but yep, its there again – like homemade peach preserves!

Need I say any more? There was a lot of enjoyment in this cup! I’m very new to yellow teas, however this one is nice no matter the process phase. Can’t wait to continue steeping this one, there’s bound to be more goodness waiting!

My first thought when sipping this tea was “My god, this is the best tea I’ve tasted this spring!” After finishing the first cup, the rest of the tea in my chahai had turned undrinkable. So, kinda hard start.

Leaves are beautiful, wet and dry. I’ve been missing those tight, sharp needles! Aroma is dry, sweet. Leaves are dancing nicely in the pot ( I use small, gongfu-style glasspots)

Taste is complex, yet remarkably balanced. Sweetness, some sourness as well. Usually when tea tastes sour it tastes sour in a way I don’t like it, but this time it works for me. There is also the dry nut-like taste, which is tied to the sourness. Taste is quite wide. I am assuming I used too much leaves (I felt like using more than I usually do) and while that resulted in a great first sip, the taste quickly transformed, and got more bitterness.

I am not very experienced in yellow teas. There is something very similar in the body of this tea and Huo Shan Huang Ya I have, I’m assuming that’s the “yellow” taste. Tasting blind I would have assumed this was green.

I have had good Chinese green teas recently and yellow tea has always been at the top of my list so this one really hits the mark in that it immediately presents characteristics of both. There is an intriguing interplay between the brothy, green aspect and an underlying succulent fruitiness. One takes a fleeting prevalence over the other as the flavor moves but in the end any vegetal notes are enveloped and eventually vanquished by a syrupy muscatel.