It's been awhile since I've been to the local tea shoppe because I'm
usually waiting for a knock on the door from the Mailman with a China
Post package otherwise I get a go fetch it notice in the mailbox. I
was lucky to catch the owner in because he can now afford a payroll.
He's always got stuff that hasn't hit the shelves. This time it was a
yellow tea from China via a German vendor. He mentioned he'll be
stocking more teas via Germany because in the Western world Germany
gets the first choice because they'll simply pay top dollar for their
teas. He didn't know where this tea came from in China. It is very
sexy twisted whole leaf which looks brown with lots of white hair. The
spent leaf is brown on top with a green underside. It doesn't remind
me of any other tea taste from China. At best the taste is understated
not for nuance but for flavor. I got a total of drinkable 2 liters
from about 4 grams. His price is 2oz/$12 but it is one of the
fluffiest teas I've seen. The tea color looks light brown but my
teapot could be cleaner. I know yellow tea is just an oxidation
technique but it seems to seal the flavor without damaging the leaf.
The leaves didn't look that tired even at the end. It would be
interesting if more tea cultivars were processed this way than all the
rage white tea from wherever. He is seeing a lot of customers
switching from coffee to tea because of the health benefits. He even
has a new blend with tea and coffee beans with other flavors. I think
some rancid cooked Puerh with cream and sugar might remind someone of
chicory. He thinks there might be a permanent change in preference
over coffee but I think any health craze is just like a diet. In a
couple of weeks he'll get his first Indian oolong from a vendor in
India. We both never heard of that one. He has white darjeeling but
his customers are asking for white tea from China. I also bought a
first flush Rohini Darjeeling with the most alphabet soup grading I've
ever seen for a tea SFTGFOP-1.

Jim

I'm not questioning the German, but it is hard to believe that a german
vendor does not know where his tea - especially Yellow tea - comes from.
Germans are known for their meticulousness. From the several german tea
vendors I spoke to, and the german tee laden I've visited, they do prossess
a good knowledge of the tea, though their knowledge on the quality is a
separate issue.

My scepticism on the above also stems from the fact that not many areas in
China produce Yellow tea. Yellow tea by definition is a green tea that's
been post-fermented. The process of the post fermentation can be very
tedious that many tea producers are 'cheating' these days by either
marketing their Yellow tea as green tea, or process the Yellow tea as green
and let it sit for a while in the warehouse before selling it as a yellow
tea.

In my experience, one general rule is that green tea, after being kept for
some time, develops a 'fermented' flavour - if the yellow tea has this
flvaour, chances are it is a green tea kept past its sell by date, or yellow
tea that's under fermented.

One of the strong characteristics of Yellow tea - to me - is its 'fishy'
flavour like. And the liquor colour is yellow, not brown.

Depending on the varietal and requirement, Yellow tea is broadly divided as
bud tea, small leaf tea, and large leaf tea:

Bud tea: Anhui province : Huoshan Huangya (mostly processed as green tea
these days); Sichuan province : Mengding Huangya; Hunan province: Junshan
Yinzhen

Small leaf tea: Hunan province : Beigang maojian & Weishan maojian; Hubei
province : Lu yuan cha;

Large leaf tea: Anhui province : Huoshan Huangdacha, Hubei province :
Yingshan Huangcha; Guangzhou province : Guangdong Daye Qing

Danny


"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> It's been awhile since I've been to the local tea shoppe because I'm
> usually waiting for a knock on the door from the Mailman with a China
> Post package otherwise I get a go fetch it notice in the mailbox. I
> was lucky to catch the owner in because he can now afford a payroll.
> He's always got stuff that hasn't hit the shelves. This time it was a
> yellow tea from China via a German vendor. He mentioned he'll be
> stocking more teas via Germany because in the Western world Germany
> gets the first choice because they'll simply pay top dollar for their
> teas. He didn't know where this tea came from in China. It is very
> sexy twisted whole leaf which looks brown with lots of white hair. The
> spent leaf is brown on top with a green underside. It doesn't remind
> me of any other tea taste from China. At best the taste is understated
> not for nuance but for flavor. I got a total of drinkable 2 liters
> from about 4 grams. His price is 2oz/$12 but it is one of the
> fluffiest teas I've seen. The tea color looks light brown but my
> teapot could be cleaner. I know yellow tea is just an oxidation
> technique but it seems to seal the flavor without damaging the leaf.
> The leaves didn't look that tired even at the end. It would be
> interesting if more tea cultivars were processed this way than all the
> rage white tea from wherever. He is seeing a lot of customers
> switching from coffee to tea because of the health benefits. He even
> has a new blend with tea and coffee beans with other flavors. I think
> some rancid cooked Puerh with cream and sugar might remind someone of
> chicory. He thinks there might be a permanent change in preference
> over coffee but I think any health craze is just like a diet. In a
> couple of weeks he'll get his first Indian oolong from a vendor in
> India. We both never heard of that one. He has white darjeeling but
> his customers are asking for white tea from China. I also bought a
> first flush Rohini Darjeeling with the most alphabet soup grading I've
> ever seen for a tea SFTGFOP-1.
>
> Jim
>

My local tea shoppe owner wasn't sure of the area. Maybe something got
lost in translation. As best as I can tell from looking at the
websites with yellow tea and pictures it is Huoshan Huangya Mt. Huo
Yellow Sprout. What puzzled me was the yellow description of the leaf
then I read 'pale yellow natural light'. I took mine outside and I can
see pale yellow but since the bud is twisted it is light yellow where
you see the down and dark elsewhere. I'll have to clean the pot and
tea glass to be sure of the color especially if it is pale. I'm glad
you said fishy but that was one impression I got but more like a
nuance. But I've been drinking too much rancid cooked puerh and said
nothing else could taste like that. I was also surprised to learn it
is fermented so maybe it can. The prices on the web match the store.
One other interesting web note yellow tea is always whole leaf. This
looks like a sprout. I've seen plenty of whole leaf rolled longitudely
not latitudely like this.

Jim

samarkand wrote:
> I'm not questioning the German, but it is hard to believe that a german
> vendor does not know where his tea - especially Yellow tea - comes from.
> Germans are known for their meticulousness. From the several german tea
> vendors I spoke to, and the german tee laden I've visited, they do prossess
> a good knowledge of the tea, though their knowledge on the quality is a
> separate issue.
>
> My scepticism on the above also stems from the fact that not many areas in
> China produce Yellow tea. Yellow tea by definition is a green tea that's
> been post-fermented. The process of the post fermentation can be very
> tedious that many tea producers are 'cheating' these days by either
> marketing their Yellow tea as green tea, or process the Yellow tea as green
> and let it sit for a while in the warehouse before selling it as a yellow
> tea.
>
> In my experience, one general rule is that green tea, after being kept for
> some time, develops a 'fermented' flavour - if the yellow tea has this
> flvaour, chances are it is a green tea kept past its sell by date, or yellow
> tea that's under fermented.
>
> One of the strong characteristics of Yellow tea - to me - is its 'fishy'
> flavour like. And the liquor colour is yellow, not brown.
>
> Depending on the varietal and requirement, Yellow tea is broadly divided as
> bud tea, small leaf tea, and large leaf tea:
>
> Bud tea: Anhui province : Huoshan Huangya (mostly processed as green tea
> these days); Sichuan province : Mengding Huangya; Hunan province: Junshan
> Yinzhen
>
> Small leaf tea: Hunan province : Beigang maojian & Weishan maojian; Hubei
> province : Lu yuan cha;
>
> Large leaf tea: Anhui province : Huoshan Huangdacha, Hubei province :
> Yingshan Huangcha; Guangzhou province : Guangdong Daye Qing
>
> Danny
>
>
> "Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > He's always got stuff that hasn't hit the shelves. This time it was a
> > yellow tea from China via a German vendor. He mentioned he'll be
> > stocking more teas via Germany because in the Western world Germany
> > gets the first choice because they'll simply pay top dollar for their
> > teas. He didn't know where this tea came from in China. It is very
> > sexy twisted whole leaf which looks brown with lots of white hair. The
> > spent leaf is brown on top with a green underside. It doesn't remind
> > me of any other tea taste from China. At best the taste is understated
> > not for nuance but for flavor. I got a total of drinkable 2 liters
> > from about 4 grams. His price is 2oz/$12 but it is one of the
> > fluffiest teas I've seen. The tea color looks light brown but my
> > teapot could be cleaner. I know yellow tea is just an oxidation
> > technique but it seems to seal the flavor without damaging the leaf.

If it is Mt Huo Yellow Sprout, the buds are short and sharpish, not twisted.
The colours are mostly dull yellow and green on the bud, and darker yellow
(closing in on pale brown) on the 'fish' leaf.

The fishy smell is more of a nuance, you are right. & the brewed leaf would
be a bud and 1/2 leaf, all of equal length.

Danny

"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> My local tea shoppe owner wasn't sure of the area. Maybe something got
> lost in translation. As best as I can tell from looking at the
> websites with yellow tea and pictures it is Huoshan Huangya Mt. Huo
> Yellow Sprout. What puzzled me was the yellow description of the leaf
> then I read 'pale yellow natural light'. I took mine outside and I can
> see pale yellow but since the bud is twisted it is light yellow where
> you see the down and dark elsewhere. I'll have to clean the pot and
> tea glass to be sure of the color especially if it is pale. I'm glad
> you said fishy but that was one impression I got but more like a
> nuance. But I've been drinking too much rancid cooked puerh and said
> nothing else could taste like that. I was also surprised to learn it
> is fermented so maybe it can. The prices on the web match the store.
> One other interesting web note yellow tea is always whole leaf. This
> looks like a sprout. I've seen plenty of whole leaf rolled longitudely
> not latitudely like this.
>
> Jim
>
> samarkand wrote:
>> I'm not questioning the German, but it is hard to believe that a german
>> vendor does not know where his tea - especially Yellow tea - comes from.
>> Germans are known for their meticulousness. From the several german tea
>> vendors I spoke to, and the german tee laden I've visited, they do
>> prossess
>> a good knowledge of the tea, though their knowledge on the quality is a
>> separate issue.
>>
>> My scepticism on the above also stems from the fact that not many areas
>> in
>> China produce Yellow tea. Yellow tea by definition is a green tea that's
>> been post-fermented. The process of the post fermentation can be very
>> tedious that many tea producers are 'cheating' these days by either
>> marketing their Yellow tea as green tea, or process the Yellow tea as
>> green
>> and let it sit for a while in the warehouse before selling it as a yellow
>> tea.
>>
>> In my experience, one general rule is that green tea, after being kept
>> for
>> some time, develops a 'fermented' flavour - if the yellow tea has this
>> flvaour, chances are it is a green tea kept past its sell by date, or
>> yellow
>> tea that's under fermented.
>>
>> One of the strong characteristics of Yellow tea - to me - is its 'fishy'
>> flavour like. And the liquor colour is yellow, not brown.
>>
>> Depending on the varietal and requirement, Yellow tea is broadly divided
>> as
>> bud tea, small leaf tea, and large leaf tea:
>>
>> Bud tea: Anhui province : Huoshan Huangya (mostly processed as green tea
>> these days); Sichuan province : Mengding Huangya; Hunan province: Junshan
>> Yinzhen
>>
>> Small leaf tea: Hunan province : Beigang maojian & Weishan maojian; Hubei
>> province : Lu yuan cha;
>>
>> Large leaf tea: Anhui province : Huoshan Huangdacha, Hubei province :
>> Yingshan Huangcha; Guangzhou province : Guangdong Daye Qing
>>
>> Danny
>>
>>
>> "Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
>> oups.com...
>> > He's always got stuff that hasn't hit the shelves. This time it was a
>> > yellow tea from China via a German vendor. He mentioned he'll be
>> > stocking more teas via Germany because in the Western world Germany
>> > gets the first choice because they'll simply pay top dollar for their
>> > teas. He didn't know where this tea came from in China. It is very
>> > sexy twisted whole leaf which looks brown with lots of white hair. The
>> > spent leaf is brown on top with a green underside. It doesn't remind
>> > me of any other tea taste from China. At best the taste is understated
>> > not for nuance but for flavor. I got a total of drinkable 2 liters
>> > from about 4 grams. His price is 2oz/$12 but it is one of the
>> > fluffiest teas I've seen. The tea color looks light brown but my
>> > teapot could be cleaner. I know yellow tea is just an oxidation
>> > technique but it seems to seal the flavor without damaging the leaf.
>

When the owner puts the tea on the shelf he'll identifiy where it came
from. This is long thin twisted leaf more like a bean sprout than what
you are describing. I didn't seen anything else besides Mt Huo Yellow
Sprout on the limited websites. Maybe in this case it might be
something not even available on the web. I can drink Ceylon teas
without having to know the districts, or puerh without knowing the
factories. It would be interesting to know the origin of the yellow
tea but more important it is yellow tea and not some ripoff. I just
didn't know the term yellow tea also means leaf and tea color with
fermentation. It's just when terms like this make it to the Western
market it means something else. Thanks for your valuable information.


Jim

samarkand wrote:
> If it is Mt Huo Yellow Sprout, the buds are short and sharpish, not twisted.
> The colours are mostly dull yellow and green on the bud, and darker yellow
> (closing in on pale brown) on the 'fish' leaf.
>
> The fishy smell is more of a nuance, you are right. & the brewed leaf would
> be a bud and 1/2 leaf, all of equal length.
>
> Danny
>
> "Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > One other interesting web note yellow tea is always whole leaf. This
> > looks like a sprout. I've seen plenty of whole leaf rolled longitudely
> > not latitudely like this.
> >
> > Jim
> >
> > samarkand wrote:
> >> My scepticism on the above also stems from the fact that not many areas
> >> in
> >> China produce Yellow tea. Yellow tea by definition is a green tea that's
> >> been post-fermented. The process of the post fermentation can be very
> >> tedious that many tea producers are 'cheating' these days by either
> >> marketing their Yellow tea as green tea, or process the Yellow tea as
> >> green
> >> and let it sit for a while in the warehouse before selling it as a yellow
> >> tea.

snip

>. The process of the post fermentation can be very
> tedious that many tea producers are 'cheating' these days by either
> marketing their Yellow tea as green tea, or process the Yellow tea as green
> and let it sit for a while in the warehouse before selling it as a yellow
> tea.

Oh Danny, I am SO confused yet again, for this defines Pu'erh, or so I
thought.
>
> In my experience, one general rule is that green tea, after being kept for
> some time, develops a 'fermented' flavour - if the yellow tea has this
> flvaour, chances are it is a green tea kept past its sell by date, or yellow
> tea that's under fermented.
>
> One of the strong characteristics of Yellow tea - to me - is its 'fishy'
> flavour like. And the liquor colour is yellow, not brown.
>

I haven't caught such a flavor in yellow tea, but I've got some Mend Ding
Huang Ya here before me, and I'll pop some in the pot, just to test your
fishy theory.

Jim, you are getting a lot more milage out of your yellow tea than I ever
did. It sounds like a gold mine of comeradery (sp???) there. I lived in
Germany for some short time long ago, and I found the people rather more
meticulous than we as a people are here in the USA. So, why not with tea?
Finally, congratulations on your first yellow tea. Have you tried the new
rare purple teas?

major snippage

Michael

All you have to do is post a thread about yellow tea and mention the
leaf and color is brown because the lighting isn't right and your
teapot isn't clean, the leaf is thin and wispy like a bean sprout, and
leave out the fact it might taste fishy like some rancid cooked puerh.
My local tea shoppe owner is meticulous as they come. I put him on the
spot when I asked where it came from like it escaped his mind but I
walked away with some and didn't have to wait for it to hit the
shelves. I trust him enough so I don't have to call back like a pest
and will eventually find the origin and in the meantime reply on this
group for the particulars of yellow tea. Recently he is adding more
eclectic teas for the connoisseur. I don't think the purple teas
whatever that is can be far behind the Indian oolongs whatever that is.
I broached the subject of a tea tasting from my pu collection but I
could tell he wasn't comfortable because he admitted the tastings are
still for neophytes who have been drinking tea less than 5 years with
more group think than individual experience.

Jim

Michael Plant wrote:
> Jim, you are getting a lot more milage out of your yellow tea than I ever
> did. It sounds like a gold mine of comeradery (sp???) there. I lived in
> Germany for some short time long ago, and I found the people rather more
> meticulous than we as a people are here in the USA. So, why not with tea?
> Finally, congratulations on your first yellow tea. Have you tried the new
> rare purple teas?
>
> major snippage
>
> Michael

"Michael Plant" > wrote in message
...
> snip
>
>>. The process of the post fermentation can be very
>> tedious that many tea producers are 'cheating' these days by either
>> marketing their Yellow tea as green tea, or process the Yellow tea as
>> green
>> and let it sit for a while in the warehouse before selling it as a yellow
>> tea.
>
> Oh Danny, I am SO confused yet again, for this defines Pu'erh, or so I
> thought.
>>
Haha! Exactly the same thought when I was typing that!

There is however one major difference: water. Pu'er makers speed up the
fermentation process by hydro-thermal fermentation, increasing the microbe
activity on the tea, Yellow tea makers do not use water. After the tea is
pan-fried to about 40% dryness, it is roasted to about 70% dryness. While
the tea is hot it is packed and stored up to 7 days to allow it to ferment.
When the tea makers decide the tea is about done, it is returned to the
roast and baked up to 95% dryness.

What Jim had is probably the small or large leaf tea variety, not the bud
tea. Mengding Huangya is a yellow tea with slightly different
characteristic. Good & 'real' quality Mengding Huangya is truly difficult
to obtain, and its price per ounce is worth almost as much as those
prize-winning green teas. & I had only 3 small cups of it once...the others
that I have tried since are nothing like that one time. What we usually have
are teas of a lesser grade, and mostly in what I would term 'an awkard
position' between a green and yellow tea. That said, the Mengding Huangya
tastes more like green tea, with a 'brothy' texture. What I can describe in
food term is that it is like a green tea broth with kombu, while most of the
other yellow teas are more of a kombu broth with green tea...& I'm getting
the itch for Japanese food now...haha!

Danny

>>. The process of the post fermentation can be very
>> tedious that many tea producers are 'cheating' these days by either
>> marketing their Yellow tea as green tea, or process the Yellow tea as
>> green
>> and let it sit for a while in the warehouse before selling it as a yellow
>> tea.

>yellow tea

Danny,

I got this tea called "que she" which basically translates to bird
tongue. I bought it in Sichuan, and I have heard some people refer to
it as yellow tea and some as green tea. Which classification does it
fall under; I've always wondered.

Heard of it?

Hi Mydnight,

I would prefer to think of 'que she' (sparrow tongue) as an indication of
the shape of the tea than the way it is processed.

How did you find the taste of the tea? I once bought a tea called 'Zao Chun
Huang Ya' (Early Spring Yellow Bud), but it turned out to leaned towards
green tea rather than yellow tea!

Danny


"Mydnight" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>>>. The process of the post fermentation can be very
>>> tedious that many tea producers are 'cheating' these days by either
>>> marketing their Yellow tea as green tea, or process the Yellow tea as
>>> green
>>> and let it sit for a while in the warehouse before selling it as a
>>> yellow
>>> tea.
>
>>yellow tea
>
> Danny,
>
> I got this tea called "que she" which basically translates to bird
> tongue. I bought it in Sichuan, and I have heard some people refer to
> it as yellow tea and some as green tea. Which classification does it
> fall under; I've always wondered.
>
> Heard of it?
>

I am over the bud hangup. It tooks me many years to realize Sowmee was
good as Yinzhen. I just wished there was a cheap version of Yellow
tea. The second place steer is cheaper at the feedlot than the
prize-winner at the county fair.

Jim

samarkand wrote:
> What Jim had is probably the small or large leaf tea variety, not the bud
> tea. Mengding Huangya is a yellow tea with slightly different
> characteristic. Good & 'real' quality Mengding Huangya is truly difficult
> to obtain, and its price per ounce is worth almost as much as those
> prize-winning green teas.

Space 10/28/05


> I am over the bud hangup. It tooks me many years to realize Sowmee was
> good as Yinzhen. I just wished there was a cheap version of Yellow
> tea. The second place steer is cheaper at the feedlot than the
> prize-winner at the county fair.

Ha, truer words were never spoken. When I make travel recommendations for
people, I always say, Visit the second highest mountain and the second most
famous city. All the other fools will be crowded together on an in the
first. Besides, you can't see that beautiful peak from the summet of that
peak, get it? As for Yinzhen, Bai Mudan, or Sow Mee (is that right?), the
rule of course is whatever floats your tea boat.

Michael

>>
>> Oh Danny, I am SO confused yet again, for this defines Pu'erh, or so I
>> thought.
>>>
> Haha! Exactly the same thought when I was typing that!
>
> There is however one major difference: water. Pu'er makers speed up the
> fermentation process by hydro-thermal fermentation, increasing the microbe
> activity on the tea,

Are we talking about the cheating "wet blanket" approach to Pu'erh here?

> Yellow tea makers do not use water. After the tea is
> pan-fried to about 40% dryness, it is roasted to about 70% dryness. While
> the tea is hot it is packed and stored up to 7 days to allow it to ferment.
> When the tea makers decide the tea is about done, it is returned to the
> roast and baked up to 95% dryness.

Don't we mean "oxidize" here, not "ferment"?
>
> What Jim had is probably the small or large leaf tea variety, not the bud
> tea. Mengding Huangya is a yellow tea with slightly different
> characteristic. Good & 'real' quality Mengding Huangya is truly difficult
> to obtain, and its price per ounce is worth almost as much as those
> prize-winning green teas. & I had only 3 small cups of it once...the others
> that I have tried since are nothing like that one time. What we usually have
> are teas of a lesser grade, and mostly in what I would term 'an awkard
> position' between a green and yellow tea. That said, the Mengding Huangya
> tastes more like green tea, with a 'brothy' texture. What I can describe in
> food term is that it is like a green tea broth with kombu, while most of the
> other yellow teas are more of a kombu broth with green tea...& I'm getting
> the itch for Japanese food now...haha!

Japanese food sounds like just the thing.

Michael

"Michael Plant" > wrote in message
...
>
>
>>>
>>> Oh Danny, I am SO confused yet again, for this defines Pu'erh, or so I
>>> thought.
>>>>
>> Haha! Exactly the same thought when I was typing that!
>>
>> There is however one major difference: water. Pu'er makers speed up the
>> fermentation process by hydro-thermal fermentation, increasing the
>> microbe
>> activity on the tea,
>
> Are we talking about the cheating "wet blanket" approach to Pu'erh here?

Yup, as in most cooked pu'er post 1995...

>
>> Yellow tea makers do not use water. After the tea is
>> pan-fried to about 40% dryness, it is roasted to about 70% dryness.
>> While
>> the tea is hot it is packed and stored up to 7 days to allow it to
>> ferment.
>> When the tea makers decide the tea is about done, it is returned to the
>> roast and baked up to 95% dryness.
>
> Don't we mean "oxidize" here, not "ferment"?

No, it's fermentation in this case.
>>
>> What Jim had is probably the small or large leaf tea variety, not the bud
>> tea. Mengding Huangya is a yellow tea with slightly different
>> characteristic. Good & 'real' quality Mengding Huangya is truly
>> difficult
>> to obtain, and its price per ounce is worth almost as much as those
>> prize-winning green teas. & I had only 3 small cups of it once...the
>> others
>> that I have tried since are nothing like that one time. What we usually
>> have
>> are teas of a lesser grade, and mostly in what I would term 'an awkard
>> position' between a green and yellow tea. That said, the Mengding
>> Huangya
>> tastes more like green tea, with a 'brothy' texture. What I can describe
>> in
>> food term is that it is like a green tea broth with kombu, while most of
>> the
>> other yellow teas are more of a kombu broth with green tea...& I'm
>> getting
>> the itch for Japanese food now...haha!
>
> Japanese food sounds like just the thing.
>
> Michael
>
>

Okay I got a response from the owner of the local tea shoppe. He said
the Yellow tea was from Guangzhou. Isn't that a city in Guangdong
province? Day Ye Qing means big leaf green.

Jim

samarkand wrote:
> I'm not questioning the German, but it is hard to believe that a german
> vendor does not know where his tea - especially Yellow tea - comes from.
> Large leaf tea:
> Guangzhou province : Guangdong Daye Qing
>
> Danny
>
> "Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > He's always got stuff that hasn't hit the shelves. This time it was a
> > yellow tea from China via a German vendor. He mentioned he'll be
> > stocking more teas via Germany because in the Western world Germany
> > gets the first choice because they'll simply pay top dollar for their
> > teas. He didn't know where this tea came from in China. It is very
> > sexy twisted whole leaf which looks brown with lots of white hair. The
> > spent leaf is brown on top with a green underside. It doesn't remind
> > me of any other tea taste from China.

>Okay I got a response from the owner of the local tea shoppe. He said
>the Yellow tea was from Guangzhou. Isn't that a city in Guangdong
>province? Day Ye Qing means big leaf green.

But it's not all from Guangdong. You have others like Yin Zhen (Silver
Needle) and Huangtang (yellow soup).

I must thank the group for discussing yellow tea, since up of the message
date (10/26/05)I had never heard of it!
I did a search of the on-line tea dealers I have used in the past and founf
only one yellow tea available:
Anhui Yellow "Reserve Tea" from In Pursuit of Tea. Well, It came today and
while I can not judge the quality
of the tea, I have to say I liked it very much.

Back in late spring I wanted to thank the tea gods for finally delivering to
me the tea I had been looking for for decades.
I was wrong. What I was looking for was yellow tea! I may have had a clue in
the fact that the Dragon Well I received
back then was in a green paper bag and the unidentified tea was in a yellow
paper bag. But by buying a lot of the "wrong"
teas I was introduced to a lot of good tea.

Bill Lubarsky

>But by buying a lot of the "wrong"
>teas I was introduced to a lot of good tea.

I agree with you on this point. I have actually found some great teas
after the boss tried to lie to me about what a tea actually was. For
instance, one boss was trying to pass off some Yun Mu (green tea) as
being Mao Jin and I found I really enjoyed the Yun Mu.