Not many people have heard of this "yellow" beverage, but she is as exciting as any green tea. Whether it is history, harvesting or processing, she reflects the best of Chinese tea.

According to historical annals, the first mention of her being a tribute tea dated back to 779 A.D., the time when emperors started collecting tea for his own consumption.

So - how is she different from a green tea?

When making a green tea, high heat is applied to kill the tea enzymes to halt the oxidation process. If roasting temperature is too low, or the subsequent cooling lacks ventilation, the tea leaves will turn yellow.

This yellow-ing is a form of "wet oxidation", in the same way that tea reddens when it oxidizes to make oolong or black tea.

The key is to control the degree of "yellow-ing" so that the right chemical changes take place.

The yellow-ing effect is achieved by using a lower roasting temperature longer. After roasting, the leaves are wrapped in paper to encourage them to turn "yellow".

Therefore a yellow tea can be considered a slightly to moderately oxidized tea. It contains the same level of theanine as green tea, but lower level of antioxidants and higher level of aromatic oils.

Needless to say, this is a difficult process that takes many years to master. This is the reason why high grade yellow tea is rare and much sought after.

There are three broad families of this tea:

• Yellow Bud

• Yellow Small Leaf

• Yellow Big Leaf

Yellow Bud is the highest grade. It is in this family that we come across eminent names such as

• Junshan Yinzhen

• Mengding Huangya

• Huoshan Huangya

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