Verdant Tea

2021 Shou Mei

2021 Shou Mei

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Flavorful wild-arbor
late-spring white tea
Shou Mei is the most flavor-forward white tea from the Wu Family, picked at the end of spring and air-dried to lock in super fresh sugar snap pea flavor and notes of nutmeg, sweet corn and marigold.
May 2021 ♦ Wuyangcun, Yunnan
Flavorful wild-arbor
late-spring white tea
Shou Mei is the most flavor-forward white tea from the Wu Family, picked at the end of spring and air-dried to lock in super fresh sugar snap pea flavor and notes of nutmeg, sweet corn and marigold.
May 2021 ♦ Wuyangcun, Yunnan
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Crafted by the Wu Family

The Wu Family is committed to biodiversity and stewardship on their pristine high elevation plot, picking rare old-growth wild-arbor tea bushes.
 
Mr. Wu practices zero-intervention finishing in the workshop, allowing their precious white tea to air dry without heat exposure for a crisp, sweet, and deeply-nuanced brew.
    • DATE OF PICKINGMay 2021
    • WuyangcunXiapu, Fujian
    • ELEVATION600 METERS
    • Da BaiTea Varietal

    The Wu Family's Shou Mei is picked from mature wild-arbor Da Bai varietal tea bushes on their high-elevation biodiverse plot. Their generously downy Shou Mei is a combination of young leaves and buds. This year's 2021 harvest includes small fuzzy buds alongside the mature late spring leaves, brewing up refreshing and balanced - great both for afternoon sipping or cold brewed iced tea.

  • true
    90
    nutmeg, rosewood
    true
    60
    sweet corn
    true
    60
    snap pea
    true
    70
    currant
    true
    35
    marigold
    true
    cooling, tingling, refreshing

    Tasting Profile

    • spice - nutmeg, rosewood
    • savory - sweet corn
    • vegetal - snap pea
    • fruit - currant
    • floral - marigold
    • texture - cooling, tingling, refreshing


the Wu Family recommends

  1. 2022 Shou Mei Mini Cakes
    2022 Shou Mei Mini Cakes

    Shou Mei is the biggest, boldest, most flavorful expression of White Tea, picked from late season larger leaves that are packed with the flavor and complexity that a wild, biodiverse landscape brings to the Wu Family’s old-growth Da Bai varietal bushes. The Shou Mei grows even deeper, sweeter and darker with age like pu’er, and this year, the Wu Family pressed their Shou Mei in mini wafer cakes to protect them for transit and long term aging.

  2. 2022 Bai Mu Dan Dragon Pearls
    2022 Bai Mu Dan Dragon Pearls

    Bai Mudan, or White Peony tea from the Wu Family represents their most balanced expression of the wild mountain terroir, with both flavorful leaves and tender downy buds for a tea that shows off whiet tea’s iconic sweet smooth texture and a deep wild forest quality. The Wu Family finishes these leaves under a special shaded air circulation process developed by Mr. Wu to lock in the freshest most aromatic flavors possible. This year they pressed a Dragon Pearl individual steeping size Bai Mudan to protect the leaves even better in transit.

  3. 2021 Wild Bai Hao Yin Zhen Plot 2
    2021 Wild Bai Hao Yin Zhen Plot 2

    Bai Hao Yin Zhen is picked entirely from early spring buds, with almost no leaf at all. The result is extremely sweet and thick, with a light flavor but a lingering deep aftertaste and aroma. The biodiversity of the Wu Family’s multi-generational tea garden, left untended for decades yields tea with big rich flavor, the plant's response to competition from other plants and insects. The result is a silver needle with unparalleled refinement but a dynamic structure and energy. This year’s harvest is remarkably creamy while still maintaining a cooling, tingling aftertaste and deep herbaceous undertones.

  4. 2017 Aged Shou Mei
    2017 Aged Shou Mei

    This wild-picked Shou Mei from the Wu Family's beautifully-forested misty mountain plot has been carefully aged for over five years to bring out deep complexity. A mix of buds and leaves, this tea has become sweeter and more honeyed over the years and picked up a cooling eucalyptus quality. Fine white tea like this can age for decades and continue to grow over time.

  5. 2020 Wild Bai Mu Dan
    2020 Wild Bai Mu Dan

    The Wu Family's oldest prized tea bushes growing among wild trees, flowers and bamboo are picked once in the extreme early spring for a bud-only harvest, and then allowed to build up nutrients until they are picked a second time when delicate leaves begin to unfurl. This second harvest of buds and leaves is what makes their fine Bai Mudan- full of the complexity that later season sunlight brings but the sweetness and texture of the early cold-weather buds.

  • 'White tea is one of the easiest ways to discover the effect of buds in the taste of tea. Most teas on the market are made with leaves, which have amore robust intensity to them. Some teas are made entirely or partially from buds which have a very different flavor and texture to be aware of'

  • 5
    6-8
    176
    40 seconds
    10
    5
    6
    176
    10 seconds
    3
    5
    12
    room temp
    8 hours

    Steeping Instructions

    Western

    5 g.6-8
    oz.
    use 176° watersteep 40 secondsresteep many times
    add 10 sec. each infusion

    Gongfu

    5 g.6 ozuse 176° watersteep 10 seconds
    add 3 sec. per steeping
    enjoy many steepings

    Iced/Cold

    5 g.12
    oz.
    use room temp. waterrefrigerate overnight
    8 hours
    add ice & enjoy