Junshan Yinzhen: The Yellow Tea From an Island in Dongting Lake

Junshan Yinzhen (君山银针, "Silver Needles of Junshan") is China's most famous yellow tea. It's made only from buds picked on Junshan, a small island in Dongting Lake in Hunan, with well under a square kilometre of tea gardens. After a green-tea-style kill-green, the buds go through long rounds of sealed yellowing (men huang), which makes the tea soft, sweet and almost free of bitterness: corn, honey, toasted grain. Brewed in a tall glass, the buds famously stand upright and rise and sink several times. Real Junshan Yinzhen is scarce; much of what's sold under the name isn't from the island.

I'll be honest: my first taste of Junshan Yinzhen was also my first proper yellow tea. A tea master at a festival brewed it in a tall glass, and I watched the buds stand up, sink, and rise again. I bought a small bag on the spot. It's never become an everyday tea for me: it's too rare and too delicate for that. But every spring I make room for one glass, and it's always one of the quietest, loveliest moments of the tea year.

The island#

Junshan is a small island in Dongting Lake, one of China's great lakes, in Hunan province. The whole island is less than a square kilometre, and only about 0.37 km² of it is planted with tea. The harvest is a few tonnes a year and there's a single small factory. Tea from Junshan has a long history as a tribute tea, and it's often said to have been a favourite of Mao Zedong.

That tiny area is the whole story of Junshan Yinzhen's rarity. It's a place-name tea, like Longjing or Wuyi rock tea: the same method elsewhere makes a different tea.

How it's made#

1. Picking: only buds, no longer than about 2.5 cm, in early spring. Pickers follow the "nine don't-picks": no buds damaged by frost or insects, none too long or too short, none purple, hollow, half-open, wilted or wet with dew, and no picking in the rain.
2. Kill-green: gentle heat stops the enzymes, as in green tea.
3. Men huang, sealed yellowing: the warm buds are wrapped and left to rest, then lightly dried and yellowed again, over two to three days.
4. Final drying.

The yellowing is what separates it from a green tea: it softens the grassy edge and brings out sweetness.

What it tastes like#

A clear, pale yellow liquor, sometimes with a faint pinkish-orange ring at the edge. The aroma is sweet: corn silk, honey, fresh bread. The taste is soft and round, with almost no bitterness or astringency, and a short, elusive finish that seems to slip away as soon as you notice it. Some tea drinkers call it a "taste mirage".

Junshan Yinzhen vs Silver Needle#

Both are "silver needles" made from buds, which confuses a lot of people.

See Silver Needle for the white tea.

How to brew Junshan Yinzhen#

In a glass (the classic)#

1. Put about 3 g of buds in a tall 200–250 ml glass.
2. Pour a little water at about 80 °C to wet the buds; wait 30 seconds.
3. Fill the glass, pouring gently down the side.
4. Watch: the buds float, stand upright, sink and rise again, often several times.
5. Sip when most have settled; top up when a third is left.

Gongfu#

A glass or porcelain gaiwan, lid off between steeps.

My session in a glass#

3 g, 250 ml, 80 °C, spring harvest.

After 1 minute. Most buds standing upright near the top. Very pale yellow, a sweet corn aroma.

After 3 minutes. A few buds sink, others rise. I count three buds that go up and down twice. Soft, sweet, honeyed, no bitterness at all.

First top-up. Rounder, a toasted-grain note.

Second top-up. Light and sweet, the flavour slipping away almost as I taste it.

How to spot fake Junshan Yinzhen#

• Old green tea sold as yellow tea is the most common trick. It looks dull and tastes of hay.
• Buds from elsewhere under the Junshan name are common. Buy from sellers who state the origin and harvest year.
• Look for plump, even buds with fine golden-white down, a fresh sweet smell, and a soft, sweet cup.
• A grassy, sharp taste means it's closer to a green tea than a real yellow tea.

Storage#

Like green tea: airtight, opaque, cool, away from smells, and drink it within about a year. See how to store tea.

Myths#

"Junshan Yinzhen is a white tea." It's a yellow tea; the white tea is Silver Needle.

"The dancing buds prove it's real." Many bud teas stand in a glass. Origin and taste matter more.

"All Junshan Yinzhen comes from the island." Unfortunately not.

My honest take#

Junshan Yinzhen is a tea for a special spring moment, not a daily cup. If you've never had yellow tea, try a Huoshan or Meng Ding Huang Ya first; then, once you know the style, buy a small amount of Junshan from a seller you trust and brew it in the tallest glass you own.

The bottom line#

Junshan Yinzhen is a rare bud-only yellow tea from a tiny island in Hunan's Dongting Lake: soft, sweet and nearly bitterness-free, with buds that dance in a glass. Brew it at about 80 °C, buy from sellers who can name its origin, and explore the category in my yellow tea guide.