Shou Mei (寿眉) is a style of White Tea that is grown in the Fuding area of Fujian province of China. The tea is the same varietal that is used to make Bai Hao Yin Zhen (Silver Needles) and Bai Mu Dan (White Peony), but Shou Mei is (less tippy) a 2 or 3 leaf to 1 bud ratio. The processing style also allows for more oxidation through natural air drying. This Shou Mei was aged as a loose leaf tea for 3 years in Fuding and then for 2 years in Kunming before being pressed into a cake. The result is a lightly aged, but very clean Shou Mei that brews up an incredibly rich orange hued tea soup. The taste is very sweet with notes of honey, and dried fruit. Incredibly viscous and smooth, with no real astringency at all (even at higher temperatures). This is a tea that can be enjoyed fully right now. Further aging would be beneficial but is not at all needed. 250 Grams per cake (7 cakes per bamboo leaf tong) May 2018 Harvest, May 14th 2023 pressing Spend $140 or more and get a 250 Gram cake of 2018 "Chen Nian Shou Mei" Aged White Tea Cake of Fuding FREE! Click on link for code and details! Scott and "The Oolong Drunk" enjoy the 2013 version (now sold out) of this tea in the video below!
