Notes of lily, orange blossom water, and mandarin peel.

Red tea from Fujian, China・April 2021・金牙梅佔・Organic

On the uptake, this tea is not intensely aromatic, nor overly sweet. But repeat brews yield uncommon viscosity and texture, and an aromatic character that begins gently, but crescendos with each successive infusion. A meizhan red tea was in the collection when we launched in 2013. Gold Bud Meizhan is an elevated rendition of that original tea.

This tea consists only of young handpicked leaf buds from the Meizhan cultivar. Traditionally crafted as a yancha oolong from Wuyishan, it is prized for its aromatics, and typically used in blends that are marketed as Da Hong Pao. Gold Bud refers to the golden sheen of the leaf buds when they undergo oxidation.

The 500m source garden is located in Songxi County - east of the Wuyi mountain range in northern Fujian. The garden is CERES, USDA Organic and EU Organic. The natural biome of this garden is particularly diverse, with rows of tea plants interspersed with other trees and bushes. On particularly warm or sunny days, the natural contours of the garden and trees provide shade. But the garden’s location in northern Fujian also blankets the tea plants in mist and fog in the late afternoons.

The individual buds were handpicked over a two day period beginning April 2021. Once picked, the leaves were shade withered, rolled and oxidized in a controlled temperature and humidity environment. A final pan-roasting set the buds.

Each step of the production process, from harvest to final roast, was carefully controlled to enhance the natural floral character of the cultivar. The result is a concentration of florality that begins subtly, but intensifies with each successive infusion, with notes of lily, orange blossom honey, and dried mandarin peel.

Brew: 5 grams・150 ml・205° F・1.5 min

We think this tea is best brewed to the very edge of over-extraction, the better to express its aromatic intensity on the finish. Our starting brew parameters will take the tea shy of that, which will yield sweetness and viscosity. Consider increasing steep time to enhance aromatics.