Yellow Tea

Yellow tea is harvested from the first flush and processed to bring out the fresh flavor and unique character of the tea.

Processing Steps

Harvest - Bud only, two leaves and a bud

Withering - Reduction of the water in the leaf to make malleable

Kill Green - Application of heat (pan fire, steam, or blanch) to denature the enzymes that oxidize the leaf

Heaping - Although the oxidation enzyme has been denatured the tea will be piled and covered with a cloth to generate heat to enable a chemical process that brings out the yellowish color and unique character of yellow tea

Rolling/Shaping - Manipulating the leaf to lock in the freshness of the leaf and creating the shape of the final product

Drying - The final step to lock in the flavor, character, and stability of the tea. 

Each tea producer will process their tea to their own specification, so additional steps may be applied. The steps above are the basic processing steps.