Fuding Gong Mei White Tea Cake 2017

This TeaVivre's white tea cake was picked in 2017, and it belongs to relatively young white tea cake. The tea liquor emerges in light yellow and bright, with a smell of jujube fragrance, and it tastes sweet and smooth. As the brewing times increasing, the tea scent becomes also more abundant. There is a hint of flowery flavour beside the pekoe aroma. Besides, due to the comparatively short aging time, this tea also presents a scent of grass with a fresh aroma. In addition, it is also suitable for making tea, especially in the cold winter, boiling a pot of tea, which will bring a comfortable and warm feeling.

	Cup Method		Chinese Gongfu Method
	Teacup: 12oz / 355ml		Gaiwan: 3.8oz / 110ml
	203℉ / 95℃		203℉ / 95℃
	5g Tea		5g Tea
	Brewing time: 3 - 5 mins		7 steeps: rinse, 25s, 35s, 45s, 60s, 80s, 100s, 140s
			Rinse time is around 5 seconds

Chaitou Shan Tea Garden is located in Fuding, the hometown of white tea. The plantation here is always surrounded by fog, creating the perfect conditions for the tea bushes to accumulate a rich array of microminerals and organic nutrients. The soil is red and yellow in color, signifying that it is rich in organic material. The tea plants growing here are mainly of the Fuding Dabaihao variety.

This Shou Mei cake is produced in Fuding, a famous tea production area located in the northeast of Fujian Province. This area experiences a subtropical monsoon climate, characteristic of coastal areas, with about 1840 total hours of sunshine through the year, and an annual average temperature of 18.5C and rainfall of 1661.6mm.

This Shou Mei white tea cake is made from the leaves of the Fuding Dabaihao plant, also called Dahao for short. It propagates asexually and takes the form of a small tree.

In 1985 it was certified as a national tea plant variety, and can grow up to 2.8m high with a thick trunk. The spring tea from this bush contains 1.8% amino acids and 28.2% tea polyphenols, marking it as a high-quality base for making white tea.

Tea has been grown in Fujian for centuries, as it has always been important for commercial purposes and trade in ancient China. Originally the process of drying the leaves was followed by a meticulous variation of hot-air drying and sun drying, in order to remove excess water from the leaves; these methods eased the preservation process and helped the tea to sell. The leaves of this naturally-dried tea seemed to appear like the Shouxing’s, the longest-living man in mythology, long curved eyebrow (眉毛, meimao). As a result, people named this tea Shou Mei.