Harvest time: April 27, 2019
Origin: Fengqing, Yunnan, China
Garden height: 1800 m
Cultivar: Da Ye Zhong
Picking Method: Manual
Weight: approx. 7g
If you are a fan of white tea, this tea will surely be your next favorite daily drink. Conveniently rolled into balls for one cooking.
Today, Shou Mei and Gong Mei are two names that are mainly used as names to evaluate white tea. Silver Needle (or ‘Bai Hao Yin Zhen’) is the highest category of white tea, followed by Bai Mu Dan, Gong Mei and Shou Mei. It should be borne in mind that this rating system is mainly used to evaluate the delicacy of the leaves. Silver needle is the highest grade due to the fact that it contains the most buds. However, with white tea, processing and aging are at least as important, which is why Shou Mei and Gong Mei can still be excellent teas.
Shou Mei Tea is a white tea that is made from the naturally dried top leaves and tops of tea. It has a strong flavor that is reminiscent of lighter oolong teas. Since Shou Mei tea leaves are harvested later than Bai Mudan leaves, the tea may be darker in color, but it should still have a healthy proportion of green.
The taste of fresh Shou Mei is pleasant and mild. Moreover, it has a flavor that is softer and deeper than Silver Needl and White Peony.
What is interesting about this tea is that after exactly three years of aging, the fresh green taste and aroma of white tea turn into a more complex, heavier and floral scent. These transformations of aged white tea are summarized in a popular Chinese saying: “一年茶,三年药,七年宝” which means “One-Year Tea, Three-Year Medicine, Seven-Year Treasure”. The medicinal value and content in tea leaves will gradually increase with a longer storage time. In China, many elderly people dry white tea when they feel unwell or when they catch a cold.
Shou Mei is affordable and convenient to drink at home, in the office, or on a trip.
Its taste is smooth, sweet and fruity.
Preparation – kettle
- 1 pc
- 500 ml water
- temp. 85-90°C
- Ipillover 3: 1.5 min, 2 min, 3 min
Preparation – gaiwan
- 1 pc
- 120 ml water
- Temp. 90°C
- Overflow 7: 40s, 25s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 30s
