Gold Mirror Yellow Tea Bing (金鏡黃茶餅, Jīn Jìng Huáng Chá Bǐng, "Gold Mirror Yellow Tea Cake") - These 357 gram bings are made from the leaves of the Jun Shan tea plants. The buds of these plants, which grow on an island in the middle of Dongting Lake, Hunan, is used to make Jun Shan Yin Zhen, arguably the most famous yellow tea. The leaves are processed using the Mèn Huáng 悶黃 ("sealing yellow") process that defines yellow tea, in which the leaves are allowed to rest before cooking in a sealed environment with limited oxygen. This results in a low level of oxidation that is more than green tea but less than most oolongs.
Due to the leafy nature of this tea, the degree of oxidation is substantially higher than the all-bud Yin Zhen, approaching a level closer to red or aged white tea. It has a correspondingly greater degree of mellowness and body, but retains the subtle, refreshing quality of yellow tea. The yellowed leaves are collectively called Huángjīn Chá 黃金茶 meaning "yellow gold tea."
This pressed bing takes a long rinse to open up. Once it's open, it should be steeped quickly and gently, using cool (~190F) water for the first two or three infusions after the cake has opened. The water temperature can increase as the flavor softens. This tea has a nutty astringency and clean mouthfeel.
