Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰

Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰

2024 / 50 g
€76,00
Sale price  €76,00 Regular price 
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Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰
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Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰

yellow tea

Year of production2024
Weight50 g
€76,00
Sale price  €76,00 Regular price 
Unit price €1.520,00/kg

The calm of clear weather after rain.

Harvested one week after Chunfen in the tender warmth of early spring, when the air still carries the cool breath of the mountain, Yellow Orchid Tea unfolds its radiance slowly and without announcement. Only the finest buds, one bud with two or three leaves, are chosen under clear skies, their colour shifting between jade and faint purple before processing begins. Yellow tea occupies one of the most misunderstood positions in Chinese tea culture. Neither green nor white, its defining step, men huang, the sealed yellowing, requires a patient, unhurried hand. The leaves are gently wrapped and left to rest in their own warmth, the chlorophyll slowly mellowing, the raw grassy edge dissolving into something richer and more yielding.

 

luminous gold · orchid · rose · honey · ripe pear · charcoal warmth · burnt hay · trace of salt

Provenance & Craft

FORMAT · Loose leaf

HARVEST · Chun fen · 春分 · Spring Equinox · February 

ORIGIN · Mengding Mountain, Sichuan Province, China

ELEVATION · 1440 - 1456 m

CULTIVAR · Mengding Te Zhong (Mengding Native Cultivar)

PRODUCER · Yaan Lanjing Tea Roastery 

PROCESSING · Hand-plucked single buds → Fixation → Men Huang (Sealed Yellowing) → Slow baking and drying

BATCH · 65kg 

CERTIFICATION · Imperial Tribute Heritage Standard

STORAGE · Sealed, dry, odour-free environment at ambient temperature

Yuan Archive Score

90/100

静山 · Jìng Shān Still Mountain · 88-94

The mountain at its most present. Everything unnecessary has fallen away.

Yellow Orchid scores 90 for its unique structural transition between structural green tea freshness and deep yellow tea sweetness. The subtle presence of charcoal warmth and burnt hay provides a stunning counterpoint to the clean floral notes. It is a highly integrated, reliable example of traditional Sichuan yellow tea processing. more about the Yuan Archive Scoring System

Quality & Purity Verification

State-Certified National Park & Organic Terroir

This tea is cultivated in an officially designated, state-monitored ecological protection area.

State-Monitored Ecology: Grown in a strictly protected natural reserve where industrial activity is forbidden, and natural biodiversity creates an optimal microclimate for tea.

Purity Guaranteed: Free from synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or soil additives.

Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰
Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰
Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰
Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰
Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰
Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰
Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰
Yellow Orchid · Huáng Lán · 黄兰
Sensory Profile

The Dry Leaf

Plump buds accompanied by two or three tender leaves, showing an elegant color shift between pale jade and faint purple undertones.

The Soup

Luminous gold, soft, clear, and perfectly warm when poured into the glass.

Fragrance & Palate

The fragrance is unmistakably floral, offering orchid and rose notes first, before easing into a deeper sweetness of honey and ripe pear. Beneath this brightness blooms an unexpected, grounding earthiness: charcoal warmth, a whisper of burnt hay, and a distinct trace of mineral salt. The finish is exceptionally smooth, nourishing, and remarkably long.

Spiritual Character

The Energy: Cool and neutral. Harmonising, deeply restorative, and centering.

The Hour: Made for bright summer mornings or slow, open afternoons that demand nothing of you.

Lineage & Terroir

Lineage & History Mengding Huangya carries a prestigious lineage spanning two thousand years, tracing its cultivation back to the Western Han dynasty. In the Tang and Song courts, envoys carried these golden leaves wrapped in silk as an imperial tribute. Harvested strictly at the spring equinox, only the finest plump, downy shoots are plucked. The tea's distinct character relies entirely on men huang (sealed yellowing), a patient, unhurried process where leaves are sealed in their own warmth, mellowing their raw grassy edge into something remarkably soft and clean.

Terroir & Microclimate This rare yellow tea grows on the mist-veiled slopes of Mengding Mountain in Sichuan Province. The high-altitude environment, wrapped in drifting clouds and persistent mountain fog, acts as a natural canopy. This heavy moisture and diffused light nurture the Mengding Native Cultivar, allowing the spring buds to develop a delicate, multi-layered sweetness of honey and petrichor without aggressive tannins.

Brewing & Pairings

This selection responds beautifully to lower temperatures that coax out the deep orchid oils without scolding the leaf. Avoid a violent rolling boil.

Vessel: Spacious gaiwan or clear glass teapot (minimum 120ml interior)

Ratio: 4g per 200ml

Water Temperature: 85°C - 90°C (185°F - 194°F)

First Rinse: 5 seconds then discarded, to open the leaf structure gently

Steeps: 6-10 successive infusions, adjusting time to allow the rolled leaves to expand completely

Teaware Pairing

This luminous golden broth pairs perfectly with thin-walled white porcelain cups, which vividly showcase the shifting golden hue and capture the delicate, rising aromatics of orchid and rose.

Suitable Teawares

A tea that settles the mind without dimming it, unfolding its deep floral radiance slowly and without loud announcement.

問余何意棲碧山

Why do I live in the green mountains?

笑而不答心自閒

I laugh and answer not, my soul sereneI

唐, 李白 Tang Dynasty, Li Bai

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