Huangshan Yun Wu green tea is from the 2nd tea harvesting season in China known as Yu Qian. It is plucked in April after the Pre-Qing Ming harvest. It is not a ‘Famous Tea’ as is our Huangshan Mao Feng Tribute Grade green tea, but it is however, delicious and substantially less expensive in price.
The cost factor is because there is a 4 week window of pluck time for making this tea rather than only the 2 weeks ( +/ – ) of pluck time for crafting Pre-Qing Ming tea. As a consequence, there is more Yun Wu made than Tribute Grade, and the price reflects this.
For Tea Trekkers who enjoy drinking our other country greens such as Dragon Whiskers, RiverStone, Yangtze Gorges Green and Rizhao, this tea will be a nice addition to your China green tea selection. Huangshan Yun Wu is made from larger, more mature leaf but there is no astringency in the cup. The flavor is more forthright than that of the HSMF Tribute Grade, so this tea is perfect for those who prefer a stronger flavor intensity than is found in the HSMF Tribute Grade.
Yun Wu is a transliteration for “clouds & mist”, a descriptor that refers to teas that are grown in high mountain locations where shifting weather patterns produce daily, nourishing, misty clouds that help to regulate the temperature over the tea gardens. Yun Wu teas can be from any of the green tea-producing provinces in Eastern China, but tea gardens in Anhui Province, in the vicinity of and on the Huangshan mountain range, are particularly well-known for their “clouds & mist” tea.
We are very fond of the sweet, delicious teas grown on and around the venerable Huangshan, so we are thrilled to have such a nice yun wu again this 2021 spring tea season. For those interested in doing so, comparing the taste and flavor differences between the HSMF Tribute Grade and the Yun Wu tea would be an interesting learning opportunity; as would be contrasting the Yun Wu with the ‘country green’ teas such as Yangtze Gorges, En Shi Yu Lu, and Rizhao, or with our ‘other’ famous Clouds &.Mist tea, Lu Shan Yun Wu.
Huangshan Yun Wu is easy to steep and easy to drink. It has a buttery, silky texture, the pleasing flavor so distinctive of Huangshan green tea, and a super-nice, vegetal aroma. It re-steeps well for 1 or 2 additional steepings, depending on the quantity of leaf to water than you are using. This is a glorious tea and one that tastes here just as it does when tasting it in the east-central portion of China. Any of you who remember our beloved Ming Mei tea from years ago will recognize the flavor similarities to this HuangShan Yun Wu. We will have the Ming Mei again in 2021 as we did in 2019 & 2020, so that comparison can be made as well.