2026 Meng Ding Huang Ya (Yellow tea)

Mengding Huangya — Lao Chuan tea (qun ti cultivar). 3g. 80 ml porcelain gaiwan. 90–95°C water.

Laochuan tea is a Qun Ti cultivar, shrub-like in form, growing in clustered patches along the rocky slopes of Mount Mengding. There it lives among wild trees and flowers, nourished by fallen leaves and broken branches; its roots penetrate deep into the soil to draw minerals, giving the tea a composition that is dense, steady, and quietly powerful.

To me, Mengding Huangya is like a hermit—unassuming, yet unmistakably marked by the spirit of the mountains. Its character recalls clerical script, the ancient Chinese calligraphic style known for its “silkworm-head and wild-goose-tail” strokes: strength held inward, warmth smoothing every edge, power present yet never shown.

Yellow of the tea, yellow of the leaf, yellow of the liquor—this is the true color of Huangya.

Through the slow, humid men huang process, its freshness turns toward sweetness, a change that unfolds with restraint. The liquor is full, with a rice-broth texture, settling across the tongue—floral in tone, with a corn-sweet softness running through it. Aromas move in sequence: rice blossom, then chestnut, then a trace of honey. Sweet, but not cloying. The returning sweetness does not push forward. Depth is present without weight. The after-feeling gathers into stillness. Warmth remains. Flavor remains. So does the space it leaves.