Ban Tian Yao 半天腰

Ban Tian Yao is an ancient tea with an herbaceous aroma that resembles cooked bamboo leaves. It also has the fragrance of wildflowers. It finishes with a hint of spiciness that some perceive as bitterness. Tea connoisseurs sometimes speak of the "demonic aroma" of this varietal, hence the name "halfway heaven's demon," and struggle to box the notes into conventional tasting profiles. Its showy herbaceous-floral fragrance is supported by a soft body and persistent tannins.

Yan Cha tea is made with only the leaves, making it one of the latest teas to be harvested each year, with Ban Yan picking time around early to mid-April and Zheng Yan early May. After the teas are sufficiently wilted, they remain on bamboo trays for a few hours before being shaken or tumbled to manage enzyme activity. This step regulates how the water inside the leaves travels outward. The process is repeated every hour, 5-8 times throughout the evening and night until morning. Once the leaves reach the desired fermentation stage in the early morning, they undergo Sha Qing, applying high temperature to lock the tea at that stage. During Zuo Xing, or shape making, the leaves are rolled into string shape. The most tedious step in all Chinese tea making is the stem-picking step, which in Yan Cha's case takes place for several months following the rough tea making. It is a step where undesired yellow leaves (old leaves) and stems are picked out by hand. The "cleaned" tea is then roasted on very dim charcoal ash for 8–12 hours, 1-3 times depending on the varietal, to make it a finished Yan Cha.

Ban Tian Yao means halfway heaven's waist because some older trees often grow halfway off a cliff. In modern times the name slowly morphed into 半天妖, same pronunciation, but means "halfway heaven's demon," referring to the tea's unique aroma and aftertaste.