What are the steps in the production process of yellow tea?

The quality characteristic of yellow tea is yellow liquor and yellow leaves. The production method is mainly characterized by the menhuang (smothering/yellowing) process, which uses high temperature fixation to destroy enzyme activity. The subsequent oxidation of polyphenols is caused by the action of damp heat and produces some colored substances. When the degree of color change is relatively light, it is yellow tea; when the degree is heavier, it forms dark tea.

Its typical process flow is fixation, menhuang (smothering/yellowing), and drying. Rolling is not an essential process for yellow tea.

(1) Fixation

Through fixation, yellow tea destroys enzyme activity, evaporates part of the water, and releases the grassy scent, which plays an important role in the formation of aroma.

(2) Menhuang (smothering/yellowing)

Menhuang is a characteristic of the manufacturing process of yellow tea and is the key step in forming the yellow liquor and yellow leaves. From fixation to the end of drying, appropriate damp-heat process conditions can be created for the yellowing of the tea leaves, but as a tea-making step, some teas are smothered after fixation, some are smothered after the first drying, and some alternate smothering and pan-firing. For different tea qualities, the methods vary, but all roads lead to the same goal, which is to form the good quality characteristics of yellow leaves and yellow liquor.

The factors affecting menhuang are mainly the moisture content of the tea leaves and the leaf temperature. The more moisture there is and the higher the leaf temperature, the faster the yellowing process under damp-heat conditions.

(3) Drying

The drying of yellow tea is generally carried out in several stages, and the temperature is also lower than that for other types of tea.