SHIDA SHUKI ✦ GURIA · Yellow GABA Tea

შიდა შუქი — SHIDA SHUKI
Yellow GABA Tea · GURIA

Pronunciation: [SHI-da SHU-ki]

Biochemistry

SHIDA SHUKI combines post-fixation yellowing (men huang) with anaerobic GABA fermentation. After brief heating, the warm moist leaf is wrapped and left in an oxygen-free environment for 6–72 hours of slow non-enzymatic yellowing. Chlorophyll partially degrades to pheophytin — hence the yellow colour. Simultaneously, glutamic acid converts to GABA (150–200 mg/100g). The amino acid profile is preserved: high L-theanine with gentle, non-sharp action. Caffeine 20–35 mg/cup. Aromatic compounds include warm grain (sotolon), light florals (linalool), stone fruit (γ-decalactone).

Character

Between. Neither white nor green — a third state, its own. Warm gold in the cup, without grassiness, without dryness. Sweet aftertaste where apricot kernel and warm grain emerge. A tea for the hour after noon — when morning clarity has passed but evening depth has not yet arrived.

Name Legend

შუქი (Shuki) means "light" in Georgian. Not the bright light of the sun, but the even light of day — the kind that fills a room through a half-drawn curtain. Yellow tea is best seen in this light: its colour is a shade of the light itself, not a separate pigment. Combined with SHIDA ("internal") — light seen from within.

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