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Yellow tea

language culture Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Yellow tea is a special kind of tea. It is a lightly oxidized drink. This means the leaves change just a little bit. People in China call it huángchá. People in Korea call it hwangcha. This tea is very special to many people. In China, huángchá is becoming quite rare. It can also be very expensive to buy.

Making this tea is a very careful way of working. The way it works is similar to green tea. However, makers add one extra step to the process. This step is called encasing or sweltering. During drying, the leaves are wrapped up. This makes the leaves turn a light yellow color. This step also helps remove a grassy smell. It makes the tea taste different than green tea.

There are many famous kinds of Chinese yellow tea. One type is Junshan Yinzhen from Hunan Province. This is a Silver Needle tea. Another kind is Huoshan Huangya from Mt. Huo. You can also find Meng Ding Huangya in Sichuan Province. Mogan Huangya comes from Mount Mogan in Zhejiang Province. Beigang Maojian is another kind from Yueyang. This tea has a name from the Tang Dynasty. It was once called Yōnghúchá.

Many other places make unique yellow teas. Weishan Maojian comes from Ningxiang in Hunan Province. Haimagong Cha is made in Guizhou Province. Da Ye Qing means Big Leaf Green. It comes from Guangdong Province. Pingyang Huangtang is from Zhejiang Province. Some call it Wenzhou Huangtang. This name means Yellow Broth or Yellow Soup. Yuan'an Luyuan is made in Hubei Province.

Korean hwangcha is made in a different way. In Korea, tea is often green or fermented. Fermented here means oxidized. Korean hwangcha is a type of lightly oxidized tea. Some people make it like oolong tea. Other makers make it like black tea. The main goal is a low level of oxidation. This process leaves the liquid a yellow color. It is a beautiful drink to see and enjoy.

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