Basic Introduction to Huoshan Yellow Bud

Huoshan Yellow Bud is produced in Dahuaping Town and Sun Township, Jinzhiping of Huoshan County, Anhui Province, and is one of China's famous teas. The Tea has a straight, slightly spread shape, is evenly formed into clusters, resembles sparrow tongues, is tender and green with downy hair, has a fragrant and lasting aroma, a fresh, rich, and sweet taste, a yellow-green clear broth, and bright yellow-green leaves at the bottom.

In Tang Dynasty, Li Zhaodao listed the Yellow Bud as one of 14 tribute teas in his “National History Supplement.” From Tang to Qing dynasties, Huoshan Yellow Bud was always listed as a tribute tea.

According to tests conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture's Tea Quality Testing Center, there are over 46 types of aromatic components in Huoshan Yellow Bud. It also contains amino acids, catechins, caffeine, and other biochemical components and has effects such as lowering lipids and aiding weight loss, protecting teeth and improving eyesight, improving the digestive system, and enhancing the immune system. In April 2006, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for Huoshan Yellow Bud.

Nutritional Value

According to “Tea Spectrum,” “drinking real tea can quench thirst.” “Daily Use Herbal” records that tea can “remove annoyance and quench thirst.” In Sun Dahuan's “Supplement to the Tea Spectrum,” it is written: “its ability to cleanse annoyance and quench thirst, its bone-renewing and body-lightening properties, the benefits of tea are almost magical.” Drinking Tea to quench thirst is common knowledge. During hot summer days, a cup of Green Tea instantly makes your mouth moist. Besides replenishing water through the tea broth, the polyphenols, free sugars, amino acids, vitamin C, and saponin compounds in tea react with saliva in the mouth, moistening the mouth and producing a cooling sensation, which also effectively quenches thirst.

Tea is also a beverage that clears heat and reduces fire. In “Compendium of Materia Medica,” a famous ancient Chinese medical expert, Li Shizhen, wrote: “Tea is bitter and cold, yin within yin, descending, most capable of reducing fire. Fire causes all illnesses, when fire is reduced, the upper part becomes clear!” From the perspective of Traditional Chinese medicine, tea, especially green tea, is a cool food that clears fire.

Product Characteristics

The quality characteristics of Huoshan Yellow Bud are: straight, slightly spread shape, evenly formed into clusters, resembling sparrow tongues, tender and green with downy hair, fragrant and lasting aroma, fresh, rich, and sweet taste, yellow-green clear broth, and bright yellow-green leaves at the bottom.

History and Folklore

Huoshan Yellow Bud was listed as a tribute since the Ming dynasty. According to the annals of Lu'an Prefecture, during the Ming dynasty, before Huoshan County was established, the original quota for tribute tea was 200 bags, with Huoshan responsible for 175 bags. The county annals of Huoshan record a memorandum by Cao Hu of the Ming dynasty on “Yellow Bud Tea,” saying: I have found that the annual tribute tea from our prefecture does not exceed twenty catties, and since the founding of the dynasty, no one has found this insufficient… During the tenth year of Zhengde in the Ning Prefecture (1515), 1,200 catties of bud tea and 6,000 catties of fine tea were taken as tribute, but it is unknown how much of this actually reached the imperial court… One catty of bud tea sold for one tael of Silver, and even then, it might not be obtainable.

In volume 6-2 of the 1776 “Annals of Huoshan County” during the Qianlong period, the origins of tribute tea are recorded: “The tea of Lu'an and Huoshan are both produced together. It is named after Lu'an because before Huoshan became a county, there was already a quota for tribute. “The Records of the Tianqi Period” states that it is named after the Lu'an Fort, which seems far-fetched (the fort was originally named Liuwang, erroneously called Lu'an). However, the mountains of Huo County are mostly rugged, while the land of Lu'an is extensive and fertile (producing more tea than Huoshan, yet the tribute quota is only one-tenth of the county's)… The place where tea is produced is the earliest in Dongshan, and Dongshan belongs to the jurisdiction of the state. Every year, the state government recommends new products and the tribute items of the county are mainly sold by the residents of the state before the rain; the tea produced in Huoshan comes out later, after the rain, so it cannot be included in the tribute. Therefore, the exclusive name of the tea as Lu'an also reflects reality. Now we will detail these places, making it clear that Huoshan is overshadowed by Lu'an. In Dongshan… the annual tribute tea accounts for eight or nine-tenths (of the 25 areas in Dongshan belonging to the county, there are 21 places including Mozitan, Yuerjie, Danjiamao, Danlongsi, Dongxixi, etc.).” Also according to the “Annals of Huoshan County,” “During the Guangxu period, the best tea in the southern part of the county came from the two mountains of Wumijian (also known as Umi Jian) and Gualongjian. The picking and processing were meticulous, and the price was twice that of other areas.”

Huoshan Yellow Bud was once lost. Since 1971, efforts have been made to rediscover, research, and resume production. From April 27 to April 30, 1972, three tea technicians from the county tea office and the agricultural bureau's tea factory, along with three elderly tea farmers in their seventies and eighties, jointly processed the Yellow Bud tea in Wumijian, producing a total of 14 pounds of samples, six pounds of which were immediately sealed in tin cans and submitted to the State Council for evaluation. The following year, the county's local produce company set up three production sites, officially producing Yellow Bud tea, with Jinyueshan as the key site. For several years, the head tea master of the Review Room was responsible for technical guidance. The other two sites were Wumijian and Jinzhiping. Afterward, through repeated trials and improvements by the agricultural technicians of the Dahuaping District Agricultural Station and the Tea Station, the technology for picking and processing Yellow Bud tea improved, and the quality standards tended to stabilize. In 1973, the acquisition volume of Yellow Bud tea was 178 kilograms, rising to 644 kilograms in 1980 and sharply increasing to 3,700 kilograms in 1985 through multiple channels, with each pound selling for 8.50 yuan.

Production Method of Huoshan Yellow Bud

Kill Green

This process involves the raw pot and the mature pot. The raw pot requires high temperature and quick stirring, with the pot temperature around 120-130 degrees Celsius, so that when the fresh leaves are added to the pot, they make a sound like frying sesame seeds, without any burnt edges or burst points. Each pot should contain about 50-100 grams of fresh leaves, and once added to the pot, the leaves should be rubbed and shaken using both hands or a single hand to ensure they are spread out and release moisture. When the leaves become soft and dark in color, they are transferred to the mature pot. The gesture used in the mature pot combines grabbing, flicking, and shaking. Once the leaves are added to the pot, they are first stirred to ensure even heating. Then, the four fingers are held together and the thumb is extended to grab the tea and flick it toward the inside of the pot, then flick it away until the hand feels slightly scalded, at which point the movement switches to grabbing and shaking to release moisture. This cycle of grabbing, flicking, and shaking is repeated until the buds curl into sparrow tongue shapes, at which point the tea is removed from the pot.

Preliminary Drying

The temperature is 110-120°C, with an input of 3-4 pots of freshly processed leaves. High temperature, frequent flipping, and rapid drying are applied. Two people flip the leaves approximately