Heirloom Yunnan Yellow Buds ~ Upton

Ostensibly my first real foray into the esoteric world of Yellow tea, I was over-the-moon excited to review today’s tea (and I have the hugest smile now that I can finally add the category “Yellow” to the Tea dropdown menu above). It’s not clear to my mind why Yellow tea has yet to be recognized in the West. Since Yellow teas are so similar to Chinese Green, they’re often miscategorized by Western tea sellers. Yellow manufacturing is nearly identical to Anhui Greens, but an extra drying step is added where the tea is set and allowed to yellow and mellow its natural assertiveness. Oftentimes Yellows are cured with herbs, which would sort of make Yellow tea a parallel for Ayurvedic teas, which have already found their place in the West. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about Heirloom Yunnan Yellow Buds and I can’t wait to experience the other two Yellows I was able to obtain from Upton this season.

When i first unsealed the Heirloom Yunnan Yellow Buds, I was struck by the astounding smell and look of the raw tea. “Enticing” would be understatement. If Heirloom had been a tea I was smelling in a teashop, I probably would have asked to buy everything they had available. In scent, it feels like the kind of thing one would get if they crossed an Oolong with a White: quite twiggy, but highly vegetal. Heirloom’s texture was shockingly different from my expectations. Replete with lush fine hairs that tickled my throat delightfully, I’m reminded of a Silver Needle, but yet it’s somehow twiggier, like a kukicha. If you glance at the “Spent” image below, you’ll notice just how bold leaf and fully unfurled these beautiful tea leaves are! Since I’m heretofore unfamiliar with Yellows, I’m not sure I can do Heirloom justice in describing its taste (I probably should have started with a traditional Anhui Yellow, rather than a Yunnan). A delicious thin Chinese Green defines the overall taste structure, but the Yellow process refined this tea beyond the norm. I think i can make out a hint of lychee and chrysanthemum, but Heirloom’s taste doesn’t really linger at all. Whatever it might lack in traditional taste though, it makes up for in originality of experience. I think I love it.

1. Aroma – 84
2. Taste – 90
3. Texture – 93
4. Spunk – 92
5. Price – 90
6. Availability – 88
7. Appearance – 97

Mean score – 91%!