Compare two teas
Side by side across seven dimensions. There is no verdict and no winner — the purpose is to understand the difference, not to be told which to buy.
Why these two get confused
Two Anhui teas from adjacent areas made from mature leaf, one yellow and one green. The yellowing step is the difference and it is often skipped.
Point by point
| Dimension | Huoshan Huang Da Cha | Lu An Gua Pian (Melon Seed) |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Yellow tea · unoxidised | Green tea · unoxidised |
| Production | In order: Pan-firing (Chinese fixation) → Sealed yellowing (men huang) → Roasting → Drying. heavy roast, mature leaf and summer harvest. | In order: Kill-green (fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Roasting → Drying. light roast, mature leaf and spring harvest. |
| Origin | China | China — Lu’an |
| Flavour | roasted, nutty, sweet and woody. full bodied and smooth in the mouth. Aroma: toasted grain, caramel, dried hay, woodsmoke. Straightforward in character. Moderate in intensity. | roasted, nutty and grassy. medium and smooth in the mouth. Aroma: toasted grain, chestnut, warm hay. Moderate in character. Moderate in intensity. |
| Brewing | Western brewing (teapot or mug): 1.5–2.5 g/100 ml at 90–100 °C, first steep 180s. Gongfu brewing (gaiwan): 3–4 g/100 ml at 80–88 °C, first steep 25s of 4 authored. | Western brewing (teapot or mug): 1.5–2.5 g/100 ml at 80–90 °C, first steep 120s. Gongfu brewing (gaiwan): 3–4 g/100 ml at 75–85 °C, first steep 20s of 4 authored. |
| Cultural context | Not recorded for this tea. | Not recorded for this tea. |
| Who may prefer it | Someone who wants presence without being dominated and wants to enjoy it on the first cup. It tolerates an imprecise brew. | Someone who wants presence without being dominated and has drunk enough tea to notice what changes between infusions. It rewards attention to leaf weight and timing. |
Nothing above is a recommendation. The last row describes the drinker each tea suits, using each tea’s own authored fields and the same sentence structure for both, so neither can be framed as the safe choice.
Brew Huoshan Huang Da Cha · Brew Lu An Gua Pian (Melon Seed)