Chun Mee takes its name from the shape of the leaf: buyers have also called it "Chun Mei," "Zhen Mei," and, in English, "Precious Eyebrow Tea," a nod to the curled, tapering shape each leaf twists into as it dries. This particular loose-leaf batch comes from Jiangxi province, though green tea is grown across China more broadly. Zhejiang is known for its Gunpowder style and Anhui for Keemun, both distant cousins of this one. In the cup, Chun Mee pours a light, pale yellow and tastes clean and smooth, with a grassy backbone and a lift of lemon and honey sweetness running underneath, more subtle sweetness than sharpness.
Green tea's history sits more in legend than in written record. The story often told traces it to Emperor Shennong in 2737 BCE, who was said to spend his days experimenting with herbs to learn their properties. One afternoon he dozed off under a tree with a cup of hot water beside him, and a gust of wind carried a few fallen leaves down into it while he slept. When he woke and tried the now-infused drink, he found it fragrant and refreshing, and green tea supposedly followed from there. Whatever the truth of the tale, the tradition it describes eventually produced teas like this one, generations later. Tea & Coffee packs this batch fresh to order in Switzerland rather than holding stock. Green teas of this kind have long been drunk for a digestive boost and steadier energy through the day, though that's tradition rather than established medicine, and it's worth treating it as such.
Brew it at 80°C for about three minutes. Most drinkers take it plain, since the leaf already carries plenty of natural sweetness, though a little honey or lemon is a reasonable addition if that's your habit.
