Teas / yellow / Boseong Sejak Hwangcha (Korean Yellow / Balhyocha)

Boseong Sejak Hwangcha (Korean Yellow / Balhyocha)
🇰🇷 South Korea

Boseong Sejak Hwangcha (Korean Yellow / Balhyocha)

보성 세작 황차 · 寶城 細雀 黃茶

balhyocha

Boseong Sejak Hwangcha (also called balhyocha, "fermented tea") is Korea's distinctive yellow-tea tradition — but crucially, it does NOT follow the Chinese menhuang (sealed- yellowing) process. The Korean method is closer to a lightly oxidised oolong or light black tea: leaves are plucked at the sejak (second-grade, "thin sparrow") stage, deliberately oxidised under heat and humidity, then pan-fired in a cast-iron cauldron. Some producers also do a brief minhwang paper-wrap step that resembles Chinese yellow processing. The result is bright yellow-amber with characteristic yam and malt notes; the style was reintroduced commercially in the 1990s.

Quick facts

Region
Boseong
Harvest year
2025
Harvest season
spring
Cultivars
Yabukita

Brewing

Leaf
3.5 g / 100 ml
Water
85°C
Rinse
no
Gongfu steeps (s)
40, 30, 45, 60, 90
Western (min)
3.0

Tolerates hotter water than nokcha because of the partial oxidation. Korean producers describe the cup as bright yellow-amber with characteristic yam/malt notes. Holds 3-4 infusions.

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Tasting notes

Aroma
yam, malt, dried apricot, sweet wood
Flavor
malty sweet, mellow, light yam, gentle
Mouthfeel
silky, soft
Finish
warm, lingering sweet

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