Our Shou Mei comes from the home of white tea: Fuding in northern Fujian Province. We had the tea pressed into a shape locals call "chocolate" as it looks like a chocolate bar with 8 connected pieces at 5 grams each. Just the right size to break off and start brewing. The other purpose is to disrupt some of the cells during the pressing process so they release their contents on the surface. Those molecules then slowly oxidize creating even more interesting flavors and what locals call the sunshine feeling.

Shou Mei aficionados like to talk about the great balance between alert and calm aided by this tea (thanks to the naturally occurring molecules Caffeine and an amino acid called L-Theanine). That probably explains why monks in China prefer Shou Mei for hours of daily mediation without drowsiness. The balance carries over into the flavor with lightly caramelized honey and lotus leaves but not too much of either one. The texture is pure smoothness without even a hint of bitterness or astringency.

It seems like everyone in Fuding is either involved in white tea production somehow or at very least loves drinking it. Even local food reflects white tea’s balance. The most famous dish, rou pian (肉片）, is a refreshing soup with sort of elongated pork meatballs, lightly spicy peppers and a touch of vinegar that sounds strong but isn’t. Even the local fermented vegetables attain a balance between sour and salty that can easily get out of hand in other areas of China.

With a lightly sweet finish and mild flavor, white tea has a wide variety of friendly food parings akin to white wine—whitefish (halibut, grouper, cod, whiting, flounder), chicken, mashed potatoes, stir-fry vegetables, tofu dishes, pound cake and milder ice creams.

To ensure the highest quality drinking experience and maximum nutritional value, we keep all of our white and Puer teas in proper temperature and humidity controlled professional storage.

Brewing water: Poland Spring (called Origin Brand in some areas) brand mineral water produces the finest results. Soft water, distilled water and hard water will ruin this tea. Tap water varies wildly and is best avoided as well. If you don't have Poland Spring (called Origin Brand in some areas) brand mineral water available please see good substitutions on our water page.

Brewing temperature: 100C/212F

Brewing method:  5g tea which is 1 square, 100ml (a bit less than 1/2 cup) water at 1 minute for the first infusion. For the 9 infusions just go 5 seconds. After the first 10 infusions, increase each infusion time by 5 seconds. To produce lighter tea, either decrease amount of tea, increase amount of water or decrease brewing time. To produce stronger tea, either increase amount of tea, decrease amount of water or increase brewing time. You can easily adjust to suit your individual taste.

Notes: Small quick infusions showcase the changing flavors of each cup. Longer brewing times in larger quantities of water end up more homogeneous, but still very good results.