Hankook Oolong "yellow" Korean tea

[Tead Off]

Charlie is correct in saying that Korean yellow tea is not oolong. Maybe because it is oxidized, they are marketing it as an oolong but this is not correct. Nothing whatsoever to do with oolong.

3 days ago, I was on Jiri Mountain drinking hand picked, hand processed wild Palyocha (yellow tea) at the farm that processes it. It is going to vary in taste and quality from farm to farm but the way the OP described it is fairly accurate. I like this tea a lot and was given some by a friend. This is a good tea that can handle aging. My Korean friends told me that it is particularly good in porous clay pots, like Onggi, not porcelain. I bet it will be good in more porous yixing clays. For me, this is definitely entering my starting rotation!

[TIM]

Charlie is correct in saying that Korean yellow tea is not oolong. Maybe because it is oxidized, they are marketing it as an oolong but this is not correct. Nothing whatsoever to do with oolong.

3 days ago, I was on Jiri Mountain drinking hand picked, hand processed wild Palyocha (yellow tea) at the farm that processes it. It is going to vary in taste and quality from farm to farm but the way the OP described it is fairly accurate. I like this tea a lot and was given some by a friend. This is a good tea that can handle aging. My Korean friends told me that it is particularly good in porous clay pots, like Onggi, not porcelain. I bet it will be good in more porous yixing clays. For me, this is definitely entering my starting rotation!

This is a wild Jiri Shan Red tea. Close to a Taiwanese Oriental Beauty (Taste-wise). Older tea master also make this into 'Yellow' Korean tea, using less oxidation. Both could handle good aging, but its no where near to an Modern Chinese Oolong tea.

[Tead Off]

Yes, nowhere near to an oolong. I think if one spends more time around Jiri, there are more unusual teas to discover.

I was walking in Insadong this morning and saw a Korean Hongcha. Couldn't taste it but bought a small box to try.

[Tead Off]

Earlier today I drank some of the Palhyocha I got in Korea for the first time at home. It struck me that this tea is very similar in taste and feeling to Darjeeling tea. There is something refined and clear about the flavor and aroma, no muddiness, but can be brewed many more times than a Darjeeling.

[chrl42]

I don't know if you know Balhyocha means 'fermented tea' like Hwangcha or Ddokcha

I hope your trip to Korea was pleasant, Insadong is pricey place, there are lots of good places just few miles out of Insadong and some in Kangnam area..

[Tead Off]

I don't know if you know Balhyocha means 'fermented tea' like Hwangcha or Ddokcha

I hope your trip to Korea was pleasant, Insadong is pricey place, there are lots of good places just few miles out of Insadong and some in Kangnam area..

My friends were referring to this tea as both Balhyocha and Hwangcha. I knew that Hwangcha was yellow tea but didn't know the translation of Balhyocha was 'fermented tea'.

Insadong is an expensive area but many of the stores invite you to drink tea and it's fun to walk around looking at the many galleries, teashops, and, the 'dragon's beard' makers. I bought a few things there but mostly in Jiri. The trip was very, very, rewarding. I never knew how warm Korean people were and how many vegetables they could serve in one meal! Korea is a great place for a vegetarian. I am not vegetarian, btw.

[wyardley]

Korea is a great place for a vegetarian. I am not vegetarian, btw.

Not that great, because, like Japan, they tend to use fish products (in Japan, the ubiquitous bonito; in Korea, fish sauce, anchovy / shrimp paste, fish broth, and other such stuff) fairly liberally, and it's often hard to get a straight answer about what has what and what doesn't.

[Tead Off]

Korea is a great place for a vegetarian. I am not vegetarian, btw.

Not that great, because, like Japan, they tend to use fish products (in Japan, the ubiquitous bonito; in Korea, fish sauce, anchovy / shrimp paste, fish broth, and other such stuff) fairly liberally, and it's often hard to get a straight answer about what has what and what doesn't.

I remember the dried fish being added to certain dishes but not all. I guess because I'm not a vegetarian, I'm not on guard for these kinds of things. Still, plenty of vegetable dishes especially in the countryside where they are still picking wild things like leafy plants and mushrooms. I don't remember any fish sauce in the tea, though.

[Tead Off]

More thoughts on Balhyocha. There is a decidedly citrus flavor to this tea that brews many times. 4-5g in a 100ml zisha pot. 1-3 brews at about a minute. 4th-6th, longer and longer. Delicious, no astringency, fruity aroma and beautiful deep amber color. This one's a keeper and will be drunk regularly. It is an excellent Korean tea for those tea drinkers looking for pronounced flavor and aroma.

[TokyoB]

More thoughts on Balhyocha. There is a decidedly citrus flavor to this tea that brews many times. 4-5g in a 100ml zisha pot. 1-3 brews at about a minute. 4th-6th, longer and longer. Delicious, no astringency, fruity aroma and beautiful deep amber color. This one's a keeper and will be drunk regularly. It is an excellent Korean tea for those tea drinkers looking for pronounced flavor and aroma.

Tead Off - what water temp do you use? I have some balhyocha from Dao Tea that suggested 180F water but only 3g of leaf for 250 ml water, 60 - 75 secs. Not surprisingly the tea was too weak, at least for my taste. I have been slowly upping the amount of leaf and temp.
By the way, is your balhyocha from this year's spring harvest?

[wyardley]

Can anyone comment more on how this sort of tea is actually produced, and what the nuts and bolts differences in the production method are?

[Tead Off]

More thoughts on Balhyocha. There is a decidedly citrus flavor to this tea that brews many times. 4-5g in a 100ml zisha pot. 1-3 brews at about a minute. 4th-6th, longer and longer. Delicious, no astringency, fruity aroma and beautiful deep amber color. This one's a keeper and will be drunk regularly. It is an excellent Korean tea for those tea drinkers looking for pronounced flavor and aroma.

Tead Off - what water temp do you use? I have some balhyocha from Dao Tea that suggested 180F water but only 3g of leaf for 250 ml water, 60 - 75 secs. Not surprisingly the tea was too weak, at least for my taste. I have been slowly upping the amount of leaf and temp.
By the way, is your balhyocha from this year's spring harvest?

90C or off the boil. In Korea they use much more leaf than you are using. This tea produces a full flavor and aroma that is unique.

[Tead Off]

Can anyone comment more on how this sort of tea is actually produced, and what the nuts and bolts differences in the production method are?

As Charles said, it is an oxidized tea that is rolled into thin, twisted shapes not unlike wuyi. I would think it is finished off with a roast. Leaves are dark. The one I am drinking is from last year. Delicious. I asked if there were different grades like the green but was told no. But there are different levels of skill that each producer brings to their tea as I noticed this while sampling different teas. This is really all I know.

[wyardley]

Can anyone comment more on how this sort of tea is actually produced, and what the nuts and bolts differences in the production method are?

As Charles said, it is an oxidized tea that is rolled into thin, twisted shapes not unlike wuyi. I would think it is finished off with a roast.

Right, but that doesn't answer my question. The statement (by several people) is that it's quite different in production method from a Chinese Oolong, so I'm just wondering in what ways the process is different, and whether the oxidation is achieved the same way as it is with oolongs.

Even if the exact method of oxidation is slightly different, clearly it's at least much more similar to oolong than it is to Chinese yellow tea, and that may be why Hankook uses that term for it on its English labels.

I've had some other oxidized, compressed, Korean tea which I am told is neither hwang cha nor ddok cha, though the taste and production method is similar to other oxidized Korean teas.

[chrl42]

Right, but that doesn't answer my question. The statement (by several people) is that it's quite different in production method from a Chinese Oolong, so I'm just wondering in what ways the process is different, and whether the oxidation is achieved the same way as it is with oolongs.

Even if the exact method of oxidation is slightly different, clearly it's at least much more similar to oolong than it is to Chinese yellow tea, and that may be why Hankook uses that term for it on its English labels.

I've had some other oxidized, compressed, Korean tea which I am told is neither hwang cha nor ddok cha, though the taste and production method is similar to other oxidized Korean teas.

What makes Hwangcha be Chinese yellow tea than Oolong is one procedure called '悶黃 - Min Hwang',

Oolong first let it oxidated than heat goes, but both Hwangcha and Chinese yellow the heat comes first (Kill-Green and rubbing) then gets after-oxidation 悶黃 (both teas use the same word)...but I've noticed Korean Hwangcha, the oxidation level is higher than the Chinese ones..

Balhyo (발효) is 醱酵 - Fa Jiao in Chinese, just means 'ferment'..so when one gets a tea named Balhyocha..one can get hella confusion like gets green tea named Bul Balhyocha...meaning 'none-fermented tea'