Fuding Gong Mei White Tea Cake 2018

This gong mei cake was harvested in autumn, during the time of year with a large temperature difference between day and night. Sunlight during the day allows the leaves to fully photosynthesize and accumulate abundant aromatic substances, while the sharp drop in ambient temperature at night allows the tea to produce more pectin and soluble sugar, adding to this tea’s notable sweetness. Compared to shou mei picked in spring, this tea from an autumn picking has a wider spread of colors, mainly in yellowish brown and dark green.

The tea leaves awaken and stretch to their full size in the hot water, with the substances inside gradually melting into the liquid. The first infusion is usually weak due to the taste still needing time to come out, but the sweetness is definitely there and spreads across your tongue even as you swallow. In later steeps the taste strengthens and becomes full, with its soft, smooth, pleasant aroma. A cup of shou mei is perfect for a hot summer, cold winter, and anything in between.

	Cup Method		Chinese Gongfu Method
	Teacup: 12oz / 355ml		Gaiwan: 3.8oz / 110ml
	203℉ / 95℃		203℉ / 95℃
	5g Tea		5g Tea
	Brewing time: 5 - 8 mins		7 steeps: rinse, 25s, 40s, 50s, 70s, 90s, 120s, 150s
			Rinse time is around 5 seconds

Chaitou Shan Tea Garden is located in Fuding, which is known as the hometown of white tea. The plantation is almost always blanketed with fog, providing the perfect conditions for the tea bushes to accumulate a wide variety of microminerals and nutrients. The soil here is rich red and yellow in color, signifying an abundance of important organic material. The tea species mainly grown here is the Fuding Dabaihao variety.

This shou mei cake was produced in Fuding, a famous center of tea production located in northeastern Fujian Province. This area is of the subtropical monsoon climate characteristic of coastal areas, with an average annual temperature of 18.5C and rainfall of around 1661mm.

This cake is made of the leaves of the Fuding Dabaihao plant, called Dahao for short. It is a small tree that propagates asexually.

In 1985, Dahao was certified as a national variety of tea plant. It grows up to 2.8m tall with a thick trunk. The tea from the spring leaves of the bush contains 1.8% amino acids and 28.2% tea polyphenols, which marks it as a high-quality base for making white tea in particular.

Tea has been grown in Fujian for centuries as an ever-important staple of commerce and trade throughout ancient China. Originally, the process of drying the leaves was followed by a variation of hot-air drying and sun-drying, a meticulous step intended to remove excess water from the leaves to ease the preservation process and preserve the tea for sale.