Most people know black and green tea. Fewer have tried white or oolong. Fewer still have come across yellow tea, which is the rarest of the traditional Chinese tea styles, and Huo Shan Huang Ya is one of the few examples still being produced. It comes from Huo Shan County in Anhui Province, on the eastern side of China, a region prized for its varied, beautiful topography and conditions well suited to growing tea. The leaves and buds are picked in the early morning, then piled and steamed, a light fermentation particular to yellow tea that gives the finished leaf its mellow character once brewed.
That process once had a much wider following. Yellow tea making was common across China centuries ago, long favoured by Buddhist monks, and at times sent to the Imperial Court as a tribute tea for royalty. Production has since narrowed to a handful of provinces, with Anhui among the most notable for keeping the style alive.
Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company packs its Huo Shan Huang Ya by hand and fresh to order. In the cup it is sweet and mellow, with vegetal undertones, hints of chestnut, and notes that lean toward honey and lemon, with a faint coffee-like depth alongside its fermented character. Like other varieties of the tea plant it carries vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and some early, limited research has looked at whether it might help with blood sugar or skin. None of that is settled, but it is part of why yellow tea has long been kept around for more than just its taste.
To brew it, use a filter or infuser in a cup or mug, with water cooled to around 70°C, and let it steep for about two minutes. Serve it with a slice of lemon or a dollop of honey, or drink it plain and let the mellow, chestnut-tinged sweetness come through on its own.