Tea: Yellow Kukicha(霍山棒棒茶) Type: Yellow Tea, Huangdacha Processing Harvest: July 2024 Region: Shangtutushi Town, Huoshan City, Anhui. Producer: Jiahong Factory Tasting Notes: Sunflower Seeds, Pine Nuts, Toasted Sesame.
This is, without exaggeration, the best thing to ever happen to stem tea. Processed as green tea, stems can sometimes give off rough astringency; as a red tea, they can come out weak, albeit sweet. Yet, as a yellow tea, stems offer up a uniquely rich, nutty, sweet, and roasty taste. The closest analog in the tea world is Japan's Hoji-kukicha, but the balance between sweetness and roastiness is unrivaled. There are no sour or sharp notes lurking below the surface.
The Jiahong "factory" is really just a father-son duo that has converted their two story village home and backyard into a mini reprocessing plant for the twigs. Hu Jiahong heard about the market for heavily roasted, yellowed twig tea in the early 2000's. He learned how to make it after some experimentation, and began visiting Shandong and Shanxi in 2008. His son now permanently lives in Shanxi's Hongtong County, and has been storing and shipping out tea after an industrial accident left him disabled.
In China, stem tea like this is consumed in a relatively limited geographic area, mainly Shandong and Southern Shanxi. It is an affordable, hardy tea that is perfectly suited for the conventional mug-brewing of these areas. This a dessert tea if there ever was one, and a treat that every tea lover should try at least once.
This tea is very rich, aromatic and delicious. I got it as part of a sampler and am planning to order more. Unsmoked Lapsangs are a big discovery for me. Somehow every time I drink one of One River’s Lapsangs, I feel like my consciousness is slightly altered, in a good way :) This one made my day.
Having suffered so many shou puer stuffed oranges it was a blessed relief to receive such a well flavoured tea, a perfect mandarin stuffed with a really lovely Keemun. The flavours meld so well together. Quite comforting like a hot lemon and honey when feeling under the weather. Perfect for enjoying with your afternoon treat of choice. For me, best enjoyed by the pint, to wash down the finest chocolate brownie I could lay my hands on. Best place to start with this - take the top off, quick rinse, then 100c for 30 seconds, 200ml water. Recommended for any tea stuffed orange enthusiast!
Incredible! Sweet, creamy and with a good body all white being so light. I drink mostly white teas and this is one of the best I've had this year, easily beating stuff that's $30+/100g. What a steal!
Very fragrant tea, sweet with a hint of bitterness. Even my husband, who doesn’t like most of the teas I drink, enjoyed it a lot. It’s not particularly complex, but it brews beautifully and holds up well through many infusions.