A nutty floral aroma with an inviting sweet, almost nectar like, touch greets the experience. Putting the leaves in a warm gaiwan leads to further aromatic explosion that transports me to a wooden house with brioche bread in the oven. During the session, there’s an additional scent of green olives and broccoli. It is almost sheng-like at this poing in its farm-like quality.
The tea is really refreshing with its mix of flowery, bitter, green and sour notes. It has a super soft texture, but a strong presence in the mouth, including a drying sensation without astringency. It has a lot of the qualities of a great green tea, but it is much more warming. I get reminded of some of the high mountain Yunnan green teas due to the bitterness and similarity with sheng. However, this Huang Xiao Cha is much more elegant than those tend to be.
All in all, this is easily the best yellow tea I’ve ever tried!
Flavors: Barnyard, Bitter, Bread, Broccoli, Cabbage, Floral, Flowers, Green, Hot Hay, Nutty, Olives, Soft, Sour, Sweet
