Tea: Gold Bud Black (Jin Jun mei 金骏眉)
Type: Fully Oxidized Red Tea
Harvest: May 2024
Region: Emeishan, Sichuan, China
Producer: Emei Tea - Little Yan's Garden
Tasting Notes: Yam, Caramelized Honey, Yeast, Grahm Crackers,
The Jinjunmei is one of the most expensive black teas in all of China. Originating in the Tongmu Pass just a few miles northwest of the Wuyi Mountains, it is one of the very few Qingming, meaning very early picking, bud-heavy red teas that have developed in recent years. While we source a lot of teas from the Masu Village in Tongmuguan, the Jinjunmei remains outside of our price range, easily asking wholesale prices over a thousand dollars per pound. This Jinjunmei on the other hand falls right into the sweet spot pricewise, why is that? Because it is a copycat version from Sichuan.
Sichuan is making a name for itself in the Chinese tea world for making excellent versions of tea from all across China. This same factory makes a Dragon Well Green Tea, Anji Baicha, Biluo Chun, and of course this Jinjunmei. While none of these teas are originally from Sichuan, with the advancement of processing technologies, the ability to clone and graft tea bushes, the very accessible state of information these days, the teas that are made in Sichuan are hard to distinguish from the genuine article.
This tea is made of exclusively small buds which turn from silver to orange as they oxidize into red tea. The smell of the leaves when placed in a warmed brewing vessel is sweet, chocolaty, savory, and rich. We get ample notes of honey, yeast, and baked yams. When infused with water, the savory nature of this tea is emphasized, while it is less sweet and more dry than the Wild Black, it is still a gentle red tea with very little astringency.
The brew itself is a rich red with a lot of mineral notes on the tongue and a full bodied dry mouthfeel reminiscent of a fine dry red wine. There are no sour or fruity notes with this tea, what little sweetness there is takes the form of rock sugar or caramelized honey. This tea provides a consistent few brews of tea reminding us of silver needle on the other side of the oxidization spectrum, a mature tea that consistently delivers an excellent brew with very little fuss or deviations. At this price, it's a joy to experience such a finely crafted delicately plucked tea.
We prefer brewing this tea at lower temperatures, maybe 85 or 90 degrees Celsius, at higher temperatures the complex mineral mouthfeel comes foreword, but at lower temperatures, the tea shows its gentle side.
