Yellow Tea or as the Chinese call it, huángchá is the rarest and most luxurious type of tea. Yellow tea was once regarded as a drink only meant for the royalties and elite due to its high price. Yellow tea was considered and imperial tea due to its high level of quality and distinct taste and flavor.
Yellow tea comes from the same plant most tea varieties are processed from. Yellow tea, alongside with green tea and black tea, are the processed leaves of the plant Camellia Sinensis. Camellia Sinensis is a plant native to East Asia and India. (1)
Yellow tea’s preparation is almost similar to the green tea; however, the difference lies in the fact that the leaves are steamed under a cloth. This is done after the oxidation stage to produce a mellow and less grassy taste than other teas.
Yellow tea has been proven by many researchers to contain dozens of nutrients that provide the drinker with varieties of benefits. Here are some benefits that can be derived from yellow tea according to science!
1. Yellow Tea Can Delay the Signs of Aging
Who doesn’t hate aging? From the first wrinkle to your dry skin, all these are signs of the something inevitable, which is aging. Aging has been seen as the vein of everyone who wants to look young and beautiful. For years this has been the objective of hundreds of scientists and doctors. (2)
Research has shown that yellow tea has antioxidant and nutrients that promote a healthy and young looking skin. It helps moisturize the skin and promote blood circulation on the skin's epidermis. Yellow tea has also been observed to help the production of collagen on our skin.
Collagen is like the glue that keeps our skin together, a good level of collagen promotes a flexible skin. Having a flexible skin will prevent the early onset of wrinkles and other skin deformities. (3)
Key Takeaway: Drinking yellow tea will keep your skin looking young and healthy. Include yellow tea in your daily diet to look and feel young longer!
2. Yellow Tea is Filled With Antioxidants
We often hear about antioxidants in commercials, health journals, and radio advertisement. Beauty companies are desperate to let everyone know that their products are filled with this wonderful property. However, unknown to many, antioxidants are actually abundant in nature and our surrounding.
One of the most easily available and accessible sources of antioxidant that we can consume are tea drinks. Teas are like nature’s power drink, they provide all the important nutrients to keep you strong and healthy. Yellow tea, on the other, hand is practically the king of all teas.
With yellow tea’s unique process and components, yellow tea can provide you antioxidants like no other. These powerful oxidants are incredibly potent in fighting off free radicals present in our body due to stress, the food we eat, our surrounding and much more. (4)
Key Takeaway: If you want an accessible and potent source of antioxidant, drinking yellow tea is sure to fill you up. With its high antioxidant levels, you can say goodbye to those pesky free radicals.
3. Drinking Yellow Tea Is An Effective Way To Lose Weight
Progress is not always a good thing. Our focus on progress has made us lose our watch on the importance of our health and well-being. This loss of attention has resulted to many consequences on the general population’s health. It has caused diseases to increase and contribute to more deaths.
This unhealthy lifestyle that we have created has taken all our time and energy that should have been focused on treating our bodies well like exercising and eating healthier foods. Humans have never been more stressed in history than they are today. (5)
Dozens of studies have shown that drinkers of yellow tea have a higher metabolism than people that don’t. This has help people who drink tea avoid gaining weight and eventually becoming obese. Catechin has been discovered to exist in the leaves of yellow tea. This component helps burn fat more effectively thus lowering our body weight. (6)
Key Takeaway: Drinking yellow tea has been proven and tested to contain powerful antioxidants that are good for your body.
4. Drinking Yellow Tea Can Help Regulate Bad Cholesterol In the Body
There are two types of major cholesterols in the body. One type of cholesterols is the LDL’s or Low-Density Lipoproteins and the other is HDL’s or High-Density Lipoproteins. Low-Density Lipoproteins are considered as the bad cholesterol because they responsible for the buildup of fatty tissues on in different parts of our body. (7)
High-Density Lipoproteins, on the other hand, help rid the body of these accumulated fat tissues. Studies have shown that Yellow teas have properties that can lower the body’s Low-Density Lipoprotein Levels.
Yellow tea was also shown to have a molecule called polyphenols that block the absorption of cholesterol molecules from the digestive system. This duo of benefits can greatly decrease the presence of bad cholesterols in your body thus giving you a better and healthier body!
Key Takeaway: Having a high level of cholesterol in your body can cause many complications most especially in your cardiovascular system such as heart problems, stroke, and much more. Yellow tea can provide a means for you to avoid these by lowering your cholesterol levels.
5. Drinking Yellow Tea Will Protect Your Liver Against Diseases
The liver can be described as the bodies filtering device. The liver’s main function is to filter our blood for any impurities and toxins that may have come from the food we eat or the fluids we drink.
A damaged liver is like a filter that has holes on it. It would no longer be able to filter the impurities thus these toxins will pollute and damage our body. Some liver related diseases include hepatitis, and Cirrhosis, and cancer. (8)
Several studies on animals have shown that yellow tea contains properties that can have restrictive and anti-hepatitis properties. The same research was able to discover that it was yellow tea’s polyphenol catechin responsible for this benefit. (9)
Key Takeaway: If you have hepatitis or someone you know does, tell them the benefits that yellow tea holds for them. Yellow tea’s catechin has the ability to heal your liver from diseases and the likes.
6. Yellow Tea Has The Ability To Treat Inflammatory Bowel Disorders
Inflammatory Bowel Disorders is actually a collective name for only two diseases. These two diseases are namely Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease. IBD’s are diseases that are characterized by the inflammation of the gut and are usually long term in nature. (10)
Ulcerative Colitis occurs when the rectum and colon become inflamed, while, Crohn’s disease is the inflammation of the lining of the lining of the digestive system. Often, the symptoms of both are recurring diarrhea, stomach pain, weight loss and fatigue. If left untreated they can escalate to worse types of diseases such as rectal cancer. (11)
The polyphenol in yellow tea has been shown to reduce the inflammation in caused by ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease on patients. The research was able to show that yellow tea can slow down or even better cure IBD’s by helping the linings reduce inflammation. (12)
Key Takeaway: If you or someone you know shows the symptoms of IBD’s, ask them to get checked by an accredited doctor, and if the results are positive, drinking yellow tea can be a good cure for the disease.
7. Drinking Yellow Tea Can Help Prevent Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease which happens for two possible reasons. One is that the person’s body is not producing enough insulin to metabolize the glucose in the person’s body (type 1 diabetes). The second possible cause it that, even though the person’s body is producing enough insulin, the body is not able to utilize it well (type 2 diabetes). (13)
If not treated with daily provisions of insulin, people who have type-1 diabetes build up to dangerous toxins in their blood from metabolizing fat. This can result in a condition called as ketoacidosis. If not treated this condition is likely to be fatal. The most common type of diabetes is Type-2 diabetes with 85-90% of people having it.
In 2006, Yellow tea was proven by Japanese scientists to be able to reduce the likelihood of diabetes on people who drank it by up to 6 cups of tea a day. The percent was tagged at high 33%! Furthermore, in 2003 a different Taiwanese study showed that people who regularly consume yellow tea have lower body fats which led to less possibility of Diabetes. (14)
Key Takeaway: Drinking yellow tea has been scientifically proven to prevent diabetes by as much as 33%. This outstanding effect is a lifesaver for people with the predisposition to contract diabetes.
8. Yellow Tea Can Prevent Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases do exactly what their name tells us - they break down the brain. Two major neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are believed to be affected by the compounds contained in Camellia sinensis.
Epigallocatechin gate, or EGCG, is an active compound found in it protects against the factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Additionally, a number of studies have proven that EGCG prevents Parkinson’s disease by preventing the loss of dopaminergic neurons and preventing the accumulation of iron, among other things.
In the Asian population, it was recorded that Parkinson’s had a 5 to 10 percent decrease in prevalence for those who consumed Camellia sinensis. (15)
Key takeaway: Yellow tea can prevent diseases that break down the brain such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
9. Yellow Tea Can Decrease or Prevent Tooth Decay
Caries is a phenomenon that is defined as the decay or breakdown of teeth and bones. Primarily, tooth decay is more of an issue because food sticks to the teeth. This creates a substance that coats the teeth (after eating and before they are brushed) and is known as plaque. (16)
Plaque is a breeding ground for bacteria; they have a tendency to flock to wherever there is food, and since the plaque isn’t being eaten by anything else, the bacteria have free reign on your teeth.
This can cause a multitude of problems, but tooth decay is one that yellow tea can help prevent.
Yellow tea contains flavor compounds with antibacterial properties and polyphenols that are antiplaque. This is a double benefit; the bacteria eating the plaque are killed, and the plaque that’s attracting the bacteria in the first place is being broken down by the polyphenols.
Additionally, yellow tea leaves contain fluoride, a chemical known and used to improve dental health. (17)
Key takeaway: Yellow tea can improve a person’s dental health.
10. Yellow Tea Can Extend Your Lifespan
Yellow tea has already been proven to contain lots and lots of benefits. Such benefits are slowed down aging, a source of antioxidants, weight loss, lower cholesterol in the body, protection against liver diseases, protection against IBD’s, and much more!
All of these benefits are important, most especially that, together, they bring about one of man’s ultimate goals, a longer and healthier life. Yellow tea with its powerful nutrients and antioxidants all work together to protect the body against both man-made and natural diseases and pollution.
Studies have shown that people who drink tea constantly or those who included tea in their diet have lived longer and healthier than those who did not. This is a remarkable finding since it proves to us that nature already has the fountain of youth, and that is yellow tea. (18)
Key Takeaway: Drinking yellow tea will provide you the necessary nutrients to help you live longer and stronger!
6 Delicious Recipes
Yellow tea is a close cousin of the green tea due to the fact that they hail for the same plant which is the Camellia sinensis. Because of this, just as the green tea is famously added in many dishes and desserts, the yellow can also be treated the same way.
The difference between yellow tea and green tea, however, stands with the fact that they went different types of processes. That is why adding yellow tea to a dish will give the dish a very different taste that if green tea was added instead. (19)
Many chefs have already included yellow tea in their entrees, and most if not all their customers often see the positive change in the food they eat. Even more, the health benefits that you could get from yellow tea incredibly preserved even after cooking the tea. Here are some creative and delicious ways for you to enjoy the health benefits and delicious taste of yellow tea!
1. Oven-Fried Chicken Breasts with Gravy
With yellow tea’s ability to tenderize and add flavour to meat, it is perfect for this chicken dish!
Ingredients:
4 medium skinless, and boneless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons of Yellow tea (soaked in 4 cups of of boiling water and cooled)
1½ tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of hot sauce
1 tablespoon of dried thyme
2 teaspoons of salt (divided)
2 cups of flour
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of powdered garlic
1 teaspoon of powdered onion
1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons of butter (unsalted)
3 tablespoons of canola oil
For the gravy:
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 piece of large white onion, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon of dried thyme
A pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons of dry sherry
1 cup of chicken broth
1 teaspoon of cornstarch that was dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water
Salt
Ground pepper
Method:
Combine the Worcestershire, tea, thyme, 1 teaspoon of salt and hot sauce. Transfer mixture into a bag with the chicken, mix and marinate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Combine cayenne, flour, garlic powder, paprika, pepper, onion powder and 1 teaspoon of salt in a bowl. Remove the chicken from the bag and coat with the seasoned flour.
In a large oven safe frying pan, melt butter and oil. Place the chicken and cook over medium heat for about 6 minutes. Flip over and cook for 2 more minutes.
Move the chicken to the oven and bake until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and white all throughout, about 20 minutes.
To make the gravy.
Heat the oil in a saucepan and then add the onion and sauté over medium heat, stirring constantly for 5 minutes, until it softens. Include the sugar and thyme and cook until the onion is caramelized, this will take about 15 minutes.
Throw in the sherry and cook until it has fully evaporated. Whisk in the chicken broth and cornstarch and stir when it starts to boil and thicken.
Season with pepper and salt. Serve beside the chicken.
Enjoy!
2. Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream
Ever wondered what a cake would taste like if it was combined with tea? Well then here’s your chance to find out with this delicious dessert!
Ingredients:
2 cups of lowfat milk
6 tablespoons of yellow tea combined with a teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 stick of butter at room temperature
2 cups of white sugar
4 medium sized eggs
½ cup of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3½ cups of cake flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
Honey buttercream:
2 sticks of butter at room temperature
6 tablespoons of honey
4 cups of powdered sugar
A pinch of salt
Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread butter on two small round cake pans.
Warm milk until only close to boiling in a saucepan. Remove the milk from the heat and combine the tea into it.
Cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy and light in a mixing bowl. Continue beating while adding the eggs one at a time. Mix thoroughly after every egg.
Pour in the vegetable oil and beat some more. Slowly add baking powder, cake flour, salt and baking soda. Pour in the milk and tea mixture and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Slowly pour the batter into the pans that you greased earlier and bake for 30-35 minutes. Let the cake cool for another 30 minutes after that. Afterward evenly spread the frosting on top of the cake.
To prepare the honey buttercream. Beat the butter and honey in a separate mixing bowl until smooth. Add salt and powdered sugar and continue mixing until it reaches your desired consistency. Add more powdered sugar to make the frosting stiffer, and more honey to make it softer.
Chill the cake for 5 minutes, serve, and enjoy!
3. Tea-Brined and Double-Fried Hot Chicken
Everybody loves chicken, if you don’t it’s either you're a vegan or a liar. Try this dish to experience new flavors and sensations!
Ingredients:
8 cups of yellow tea
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
10 sprigs of thyme
1 head of garlic
½ piece of fresh lemon
4 pieces of chicken drumsticks
4 pieces of chicken thighs
3 tablespoons of gochujang
3 tablespoons of sorghum molasses
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
1 stick unsalted butter
vegetable oil
1½ cup of all-purpose flour
½ cup of Wondra flour
1½ tablespoons of cornstarch
1 cup of Carbonated water
Method:
Using a large saucepan, boil 4 cups of yellow tea. Throw in the kosher salt and stir thoroughly until fully dissolved. Include the half of the garlic head, thyme, lemon slices and the other 4 cups of yellow tea. Set aside and refrigerate for 45 to 60 minutes.
Marinate and refrigerate the chicken with the brine for 2 days.
Separate the chicken and the brine and dry using paper towels. Let it warm up for 35 minutes.
With the use of a food processor, blend the gochujang, molasses, 3 garlic cloves, and cayenne pepper. Include the butter and puree for 5 more minutes. Add some salt to taste, and then scrape the chili paste into a separate large bowl.
Using a large saucepan, preheat 2 cups of vegetable oil up to 350 degrees. Place a rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet. Distribute 1 cup of the all-purpose flour evenly on a pie plate. Using a separate medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup of flour with the cornstarch, Wondra flour, and a pinch of salt. Pour in 3/4 cup of seltzer and whisk.
Cover the chicken pieces with flour. Dip the pieces of chicken into the batter and place the battered chicken into the hot oil.
Fry the chicken pieces for about 8 minutes.
Transfer the 8 pieces of chicken into a very large bowl with the chili paste and toss to coat them evenly.
4. Yellow Tea-Chocolate Truffles
Truffles are one of the sweetest and tastiest desserts available. By adding yellow tea to it, not only does it taste better, but healthier.
Ingredients:
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon of crème fraîche
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of unsalted butter
½ ounce of Yellow tea leaves (or about 2 tablespoons of loose tea or 6 tea bags worth of tea leaves)
10 ounces of semisweet chocolate
unsweetened cocoa
Method:
Using a medium saucepan, combine butter, crème fraîche, and 2 tablespoons of clean water. Bring the mixture to a boil then remove it from the heat before adding the tea leaves. Cover the mixture and let the leaves soak for about 5 minutes. Strain off the tea leaves with a fine sieve into a separate clean saucepan.
Place the chocolates into a medium-sized bowl. Reboil the crème fraîche mixture and pour on the chocolates. Stir the chocolate and cream until the chocolate is fully melted. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch wide baking pan and evenly spread. Chill the chocolate and cream mixture until becomes firm.
Place waxed papers on top of a cookie shit and then with the use of a melon baller, scoop the chocolate mixture to form ¾ inch balls, roll into a ball shape with the use of your palm. When you are rolling truffles, it is advised to wear a vinyl or latex glove to avoid dirt coming to the truffles.
Rolling without gloves is easier but good luck convincing your friends to eat something you rolled on your palms. Place the truffles on top of the lined cookie sheet; cover it and chill for about an hour or until set.
Before serving coat the truffles with more unsweetened cocoa powder. Enjoy!
5. Chai-Yellow Tea Loaves
These loaves is an easy to prepare and delicious breakfast for everybody!
Ingredients:
½ cup of clean drinking water
1 tablespoon of water
1 tea bag of yellow tea
3 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of chai spice blend
1 teaspoon of baking powder
¾ cup of vanilla lowfat yogurt
1 cup of unsalted butter
1 cup of organic sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup of packed light brown sugar
5 pieces of large eggs
1 cup of powdered sugar
Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour six mini metal loaf pans size may vary so just use what you have.
Heat 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe cup on high for about 1 minute or until it boils. Remove the water from the microwave then let yellow tea bags soak in the water for 15 minutes and set aside for the moment.
Using a medium bowl, combine the chai spice, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
With another small bowl, mix the yogurt with the 1/3 cup of yellow tea, and discard the unused portion of the remaining tea.
Using another large bowl, beat the butter until it becomes creamy, use a medium setting with your blender.with mixer on medium speed, this will take about a minute.
Gradually beat in the organic and brown sugar. Beat for 2 more minutes or until the cream becomes fluffy, scrape the sides of the bowl while mixing to prevent uneven mixture. Reduce the speed setting to low, and then beat in the eggs, one at a time, and blend well. Alternately beat in the flour and yogurt just until the ingredients combine
Bake the loaves for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in it center comes out clean and without the dough. Cool down the loaves in a pan on a wire rack 15 minutes or so.
Using a small bowl, stir the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of water. Add more drops of water if necessary until the glaze becomes thick. Transfer the glaze to a piping bag and snip the end of the piping bag.
Drizzle the glaze on top of the now cooled loaves in any pattern you wish and let it harden for about 30 to 45 minutes.
Cover each loaf with a plastic wrap or foil. To avoid them from perishing, store the loaves at a room temperature. The shelf life should be about three days with this method. You can extend it up to 3 months if you place the loaves into a freezer.
6. Milk Chocolate and Yellow Tea Budino
Children love chocolate, while adults love tea. This delicious compromise will surely get the hearts of both children and adults alike.
Ingredients:
3 ounces of milk chocolate
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
3 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
⅓ cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of Yellow tea leaves
2 cups of whole milk
¾ cups of heavy cream
2 more teaspoons of powdered sugar
caramelized orange peel
sea salt
Method:
With a large heatproof bowl, mix the butter and 3 ounces of chopped chocolate. Sift to combine the cocoa powder and cornstarch in a large saucepan, make sure to break down any clumps. Mix in the powdered sugar and add 1 1/2 teaspoons of yellow tea leaves.
Pour in the milk and whisk. Boil the mixture over low to moderate heat, make sure to constantly whisk until it becomes very thick, it should take about 2 minutes.
Strain the milk through a fine strainer to remove the leaves over the chocolate. Let it stand for about 30 seconds before whisking it until it becomes smooth.
Transfer the mixture to 6 1-cup size ramekins. Cover the puddings with plastic cling wrap, make sure that the wrap touches the pudding. Let them cool and then refrigerate them for 1 to 2 hours.
With a mortar and pestle, grind the other 1/2 teaspoon of yellow tea leaves. With a separate bowl, whip the cream together with the powdered sugar until you create soft peaks. Combine the powdered tea leaves and whisk until the mixture becomes thick.
Remove the puddings from the refrigerator and top them with the whipped cream. Garnish the budino with the caramelized orange peels, and pieces of chocolate.
Serve and watch the smile run down their faces.
Wrapping it Up
Yellow tea leaves have been regarded as a tea for royalties for different reasons. Some of which are yellow tea’s unique taste, process, health benefits, and aroma. The yellow just like its cousin, green tea, can provide us with so many health benefits and also make us feel younger and more beautiful.
Some of these health benefits include the heart, liver skin, antioxidants, and much more. All of these benefits of yellow tea have been proven by countless studies and researches by credible scientists worldwide.
If you know tea, you must have definitely heard of Lipton as a basic pick-me-up drink for most people. Lipton yellow tea has the same antioxidant power and disease-preventative benefits like natural yellow tea. (20)
They say all healthy things more often than not taste horrible, well if that is true, yellow tea is the biggest exemption. Royalties wouldn’t want this tea for themselves if it doesn’t have an amazing flavor and aroma. Mix it with other dishes and that dish also increases its tastefulness meter!
Jen Miller is a former electrical engineer and product specialist with more than 20 years of product design and testing experience. She has designed more than 200 products for Fortune 500 companies, in fields ranging from home appliances to sports gear and outdoor equipment. She founded Jen Reviews to share her knowledge and critical eye for what makes consumers tick, and adopts a strict no-BS approach to help the reader filter through the maze of products and marketing hype out there. She writes regularly and has been featured on Forbes, Fast Company, The Muse, The Huffington Post, Tiny Buddha and MindBodyGreen.