Zhen Tea’s Huang Da Cha | Tea Review

by Tea in Spoons

ZhenTea_Huang_Da_Cha_spoon

I’ve only had yellow teas a handful of times. Therefore, I really wanted to give this a taste!

Description: “This tea delivers a brisk and refreshing yellow tea experience with a delicious ‘after sweet’ (hui gan) reminiscent of strawberries.”

Instructions: 3g/150ml at 100°C for 1 ½ min. 4 – 6 infusions.

Review: The dry leaves were mostly black with golden tips. It a strong charcoal smell and some underlying sweetness. Visually, it reminded me of a Golden Monkey, which I’ve enjoyed in the past due to its malty notes.

After I warmed the gaiwan, I placed the dry leaves inside. The leaves reminded me of hojicha, a Japanese Roasted Green Tea. Despite the recommendations on the website, I found the most optimal way to bring out the flavours was to steep it like I did with  Zhen Tea’ Aged Shou Mei. I started with a 45-second infusion and increased the time by 15 seconds intervals. The wet leaves smelled earthy, fruity, woodsy, and charcoal.

ZhenTea_Huang_Da_Cha_wet_leaf

Infusion 1 (45 seconds): The reddish-brown liquor was earthy, roasted, sweet, and fruity with some strong charcoal flavour at the end. There were small specks of leaves at the bottom of the cup.

Infusion 2 (60 seconds): The liquor became slightly darker with some specks at the bottom. It had a stronger charcoal smell. The liquor tasted sweet, fruity, cocoa, and ended off roasted. It developed a stronger charcoal taste after it cooled.

Infusion 3 (1.15 minutes):  The liquor was a golden yellow and mostly had a charcoal smell and taste. There was a hint of earthiness with some dryness at the back of the mouth.

Infusion 4 (1.30 minutes): Tastewise, the liquor was similar to Infusion 3 and had a dominating charcoal taste and smell which coated and lingered in the mouth.

Infusion 5 (1.45 minutes): The steep was similar to Infusion 4 and was drying in the mouth.

Infusion 6 (2 minutes): The liquor was faint and I stopped infusing

Overall, I have to say that I really enjoyed this tea, especially since it reminded me of hojicha. The had many different flavours, ranging from sweet, earthy, to charcoal.

taotealeaf_jun_shan_yin_zhen_yellow_tea_spoon

However, what surprised me is that this yellow tea looks very different than the other one (above) that I reviewed in the past. That yellow tea looked more like a silver needle and tasted like one as well. I would love to learn more about processing for yellow tea to understand why the teas look so different (3.5/5 rating)!

  • Type: Yellow tea
  • Origin: China, Lu’an, Anhui Province
  • Caffeine: Unknown
  • Ingredients: Yellow tea
  • Company: Zhen Tea

The question of the post: Have you ever had yellow tea before?

 

Related Posts

1 comment

Dorothy in PA March 21, 2020 - 2:28 am

I have just found you site.

To answer your question, no I have never tried yellow tea. I didn’t even know there was such tea.

I enjoy taking Afternoon Tea, which I do monthly with friends (well before the craziness going on now). I will ask the owner of the tearoom if she has yellow tea in her inventory.

Reply

Leave a Comment

cropped-b1e9c-2018-tea-in-spoon-logo-wp-long-500-t.png

Tea in Spoons is where I share my love of teas through tea reviews, tea travel, tea tips, information, and more. New tea adventure every Thursday!

COPYRIGHT © 2024 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | PRIVACY POLICY