Spring 2018 Jingmai Yellow Flakes

The yellow flakes, also known as 'Huangpian', are the leaves that became crispy during the wok frying process. This happens because some of the leaves are too mature and have a low water content, once all the water has evaporated, the texture of those leaves changes and they take a green to yellow aspect after drying.

They have to be sorted before the cakes are pressed. The machine sorting is based on color, and it tends to pick out some of the buds as well. These cakes are therefore made mostly of old and large leafs, while also having some buds in it.

Due to the overcooking, the yellow flakes don't feature a fancy fragrance and don't deliver bitterness. This is due to a lot of the polyphenols being destroyed due to excessive heat. However, the yellow flakes retain the original sweetness of the tea.

This cake is made entirely from ancient tea garden material. The yellow flakes were stored in Pu'er City for six months before being pressed. Yellow flakes are very suitable to casual sessions and grandpa style brewing (leaves infused directly in a mug). They are very endurant and are both mild and sweet.