Huo Shan Huang Ya Origin: Huo Shan County, Anhui Province.
Quality characteristics: Dry tea: straight and slightly spread out, uniform and bud-like, resembling sparrow tongues, with a tender green colour.
Tea colour: clear yellow-green with a slight yellow rim.
Aroma: fresh and lasting, with a hint of roasted chestnut.
Taste: rich and mellow, with a sweet aftertaste.
Leaf base: tender yellow and bright.
Overview of Huoshan Huangya
In ancient times, Huoshan Huangya was hailed as the ‘Divine Bud’ and was listed as a tribute tea during the Tang Dynasty, one of the fourteen finest teas of the era. It was also brought to Tibet by Princess Wencheng, and the Ming Dynasty text ‘Qunfang Pu’ praised it as ‘the finest Huoshan Huangya from Shouzhou.’ Today, Huoshan Huangya is a loose-leaf tea, also known as bud tea, with limited production. It has earned its place among China’s famous teas due to its unique fresh and tender taste and health benefits. The harvesting period for Huoshan Huangya generally falls before the Grain Rain Festival and after the Qingming Festival. The leaves are picked when they are one bud and one leaf or one bud and two leaves just unfurling. After picking, the fresh leaves are spread thinly to lose moisture, then processed through steps such as killing the green, initial drying, full firing, and re-firing to complete the tea.
The experience of tasting Huoshan Huangya
Before drinking Huoshan Huangya, first admire the tea’s colour and aroma, then sip the tea while it is hot to savour its fresh, mellow, and fragrant taste. The tea broth is sweet and refreshing, leaving a lingering aroma in the mouth and an endless aftertaste. Huangya typically loses its flavour after three infusions, with the second infusion having the strongest aroma and best taste.
How to identify authentic Huoshan Huangya
Authentic Huoshan Huangya leaves a subtle sweetness at the back of the tongue after swallowing, not an immediate sweetness but a sensation that arises from the throat after swallowing. If the tea tastes sweet upon entry but leaves a bitter aftertaste, it is a counterfeit. Huoshan Huangya has a lower moisture content than most premium teas, with a moisture content of around 5%. It crumbles into powder when pinched by hand, whereas counterfeits are not this dry.
Appreciation of Premium Yellow Tea
Huo Shan Huang Ya has three main aroma types: fresh, floral, and roasted chestnut. The aroma varies depending on the climate of the production area. For example, Huang Ya from Wumi Jian in Bai Lian Yan has a floral aroma, Huang Ya from Jin Zhu Ping in Taiyang Xiang has a fresh aroma, and Huang Ya from Jin Ji Shan in Da Hua Ping Town
has a roasted chestnut aroma.
Storage Methods
To prevent oxidation of Huoshan Huangya, it is essential to cut off oxygen supply. In addition to sealing the container tightly, it is important to minimise the time the container is opened.
Ultraviolet light-induced chemical reactions can accelerate the aging and deterioration of tea leaves. Therefore, Huoshan Huangya is best stored in opaque tin or iron containers.
Health Benefits of Huoshan Huangya
Fat Reduction and Weight Loss: Huoshan Huangya is an unfermented natural tea that retains the natural substances from fresh leaves, rich in amino acids, tea polyphenols, vitamins, fatty acids, and other beneficial components. It promotes fat metabolism in the human body and prevents fat accumulation, thereby achieving good weight loss effects.
Beauty and Skin Care: Huoshan Huangya contains abundant vitamin C, and the flavonoids in it enhance the antioxidant effects of vitamin C. The combination of the two helps maintain skin whiteness and youthfulness, making Huangya tea a beauty enhancer for women.
Immune System Boost: Studies have shown that regular consumption of Huoshan Huangya tea gradually enhances immune function, leading to improved overall health.
Radiation Protection: Computer radiation not only harms human health but also affects work quality and efficiency. The concentrated tea polyphenols in yellow tea can inhibit free radicals from damaging skin fibres, achieving an anti-radiation effect. Therefore, those who frequently use computers can regularly drink Huangya tea to supplement specific plant nutrients and reduce dark circles caused by computer radiation.
Dental and Eye Health: The basic components of tooth tissue are fluoride, phosphorus, and calcium. These components make teeth smooth, hard, acid-resistant, and wear-resistant. Each kilogram of yellow tea leaves contains 75–100 milligrams of fluoride. Therefore, regularly drinking yellow tea can provide sufficient fluoride to meet the body’s needs, benefiting dental health. Additionally, regularly drinking yellow tea or using it for mouth rinsing can effectively prevent cavities.
Improving Digestive Health: Tea is an alkaline beverage. The minerals in yellow tea can neutralise acidic foods, maintaining the body’s normal acid-base balance, thereby helping people avoid ‘sub-health’ and ‘affluent diseases.’ Additionally, the tannins in yellow tea have antibacterial properties, while caffeine can enhance gastric juice secretion and aid digestion. Therefore, regularly drinking yellow tea can also strengthen digestive function.
Huo Shan Huang Ya Brewing Method
Prepare utensils, select water, cool water to approximately 80°C, warm the cup, add tea leaves, rinse, brew, and enjoy.
