Jin Jun Mei (2025)

General

In the northern part of Fujian Province, the Wuyi Mountains are best known for their dark-roasted oolong teas known as Rock Tea, are also fine black teas produced in the same region. The most notable of these are Jin Jun Mei and Zheng Shan Xiao. The method of producing black tea is believed to have been originally invented in this region.

Jin Jun Mei literally translates to Golden Beautiful Eyebrow. When high-quality, this tea is golden in color, as the smallest leaves have a lot of light hair on their surface, which turns golden when the tea oxidizes. Small-leaf Jin Jun Mei varieties are usually milder and creamier in flavor. When the leaf is larger, the intensity of the flavor increases and there is also a light smokiness.

This tea

This high-quality Jin Jun Mei consists of unopened buds and the smallest leaves. The tea is from the 2025 spring harvest. The tea represents a level in the Jin Jun Mei standard where the leaf is slightly larger to the extent that the tea has character, but still quite small, which also gives it a creamy delicacy.

Taste

The aroma of the dry tea has notes of dark wood, slightly rye and creamy freshness. The aroma in the cup is barley malty with rye and light chamomile. The long taste is malty, soft creamy with elegantly umami.

Infusion

A generous tablespoon of tea leaves is needed. Use boiled water for infusion. If the tea is made in a pot of less than half a liter, you can brew the leaves a few times with this amount of leaves. It is better to do one longer steeping in a larger pot. In a small pot, the steeping time is 1-3 minutes and in a larger pot, 3-5 minutes. Adjust the amount of leaves and the infusion time according to your taste.