What happens
The maker alternates heating, wrapping, resting and drying according to local style. Duration can range from hours to longer cycles, and moisture must be even enough to avoid sourness or spoilage.
What it changes in the cup
Compared with related green tea, yellow tea often feels rounder and less sharply vegetal, with warm grain, sweet corn, soft floral or mellow nutty directions.
How to observe it
Taste a true yellow tea beside a green tea made from similar tenderness. Look for a mellow transition rather than assuming every yellow-colored old green tea is yellow tea.
Practical guidance
Taste a true yellow tea beside a green tea made from similar tenderness. Look for a mellow transition rather than assuming every yellow-colored old green tea is yellow tea.
Identification and caution
Yellow tea is a processing category, not simply tea with yellow leaves or liquor. Age, storage damage and roasting can also change color.