🏷️ 1. Preparation Stage: Choose the Right Teaware and Water
A clear glass cup is the ideal choice for brewing yellow tea, especially for yellow bud tea. It allows you to fully enjoy watching the tea leaves dance in the water and appreciate the golden liquor color. Alternatively, you can use a gaiwan if you prefer.
Water Quality & Temperature:
- For brewing yellow tea, it’s best to use spring water or mineral water, which are soft waters. If you must use tap water, let it sit still for 24 hours before boiling.
- The water temperature should not be too high. Generally, 80–95°C (176–203°F) is suitable, depending on the type of yellow tea. For example, large-leaf yellow tea can be brewed directly with boiling water at 100°C (212°F).
Amount of Tea Leaves:
Yellow tea doesn’t need too much tea. The recommended tea-to-water ratio is 1:30 to 1:50, which means 1 gram of tea leaves for every 30–50 ml of water. For delicate yellow bud tea, you can use slightly less tea to preserve its fresh and subtle taste.
🏷️ 2. Brewing Steps: Details Make a Difference
1️⃣ Warm the Cup
Rinse the glass cup with warm water to preheat it. This keeps the tea water temperature stable when brewing.
2️⃣ Add Tea Leaves
Adjust the amount based on your taste preference. Use the ratio above to add the yellow tea leaves into the cup.
3️⃣ Rinse (Awaken the Tea)
Pour a small amount of hot water at 85–90°C (185–194°F) to moisten the tea leaves. Let them slowly unfurl and release their aroma. This step is called “Awakening the Tea.”
4️⃣ Brew
Continue pouring water until the cup is 70%–80% full. Use a high pour method so that the tea leaves flip and roll in the water, helping the active substances to release quickly. Adjust steeping time based on your taste — usually, 30 seconds to 1 minute is enough before drinking.
5️⃣ Taste
Before sipping, observe the tea liquor and leaf shape, enjoy the aroma, and appreciate the color. Yellow bud tea is golden in color with a light rice-soup fragrance and floral notes. The tea tastes mellow and smooth, with a fresh, sweet finish.
6️⃣ Re-steep
Yellow tea can typically be brewed 5–6 times. For each re-steep, slightly extend the steeping time to fully extract the tea’s nutrients and lingering aroma.
🌿 Practical Tips
- Avoid using hard water when brewing yellow tea, as it can affect the tea’s clean, fresh taste.
- Don’t steep the tea leaves for too long; over-steeping can make the tea bitter and astringent.
- Watching the yellow tea leaves gracefully dance in the water is part of the enjoyment!
