Jin Jun Mei tea originates from Tongmu Village, Wuyishan City, Fujian Province. It is a new variety of black Tea developed by Zhengshan Tang Tea Industry through innovative integration based on traditional techniques. The creation of Jin Jun Mei tea represents an overall innovation in black Tea processing technology, drinking requirements, and professional appraisal, completely changing the traditional sensory characteristics of Black Tea, which were characterized as “strong, potent, and fresh.” This has ushered in a new era for black tea development.

Since 2010, Zhengshan Tang Tea Industry has brought the technology and experience of Jin Jun Mei to drive the development of the Tongmu tea industry to various provinces across China, summarizing a set of “Jun Mei China” systems for Jin Jun Mei black tea. They share the skills for making Jin Jun Mei and experiences in managing premium black teas. Technical personnel are dispatched to conduct field investigations of ecological, cultural, and resource conditions in tea areas, developing premium local black tea products that blend with the regional landscape and culture. These efforts promote the development of the local black tea industry and rural revitalization.

01

Fresh Leaves

Jin Jun Mei uses single buds from high-altitude tea trees within the national nature reserve of Wuyi Mountain as raw materials. The buds are harvested only once a year in spring, with pale green being the best quality, light yellow and purple being medium, and dark green being inferior. Freshness and uniformity are required for the buds, which should be handled gently to avoid compression. Buds are not picked during rainy weather.

02

Withering

Due to the high rainfall, low temperatures, and high humidity in the Tongmu area during spring, the moisture in fresh leaves does not evaporate easily, and the transformation of substances is relatively slow. Therefore, to improve the efficiency and quality of the withering process, the method used for Jin Jun Mei in Wuyi involves a combination of sun-withering and indoor withering with oxygen enrichment and temperature increase.

Sun-withering involves spreading out the tea buds thinly on a clean mat outdoors. The thickness should be thin, generally no more than 2 centimeters. Depending on the intensity of sunlight, the tea buds should be turned every 10 to 20 minutes, about two to three times, until they become limp, feel like cotton when held, lose their luster, can be bent without breaking, and the fresh grassy scent diminishes while a faint fragrance appears. The tea buds are then moved indoors for further withering.

The Jin Jun Mei buds are relatively plump, so it's challenging to achieve uniform withering through sun-withering alone. Therefore, after moving them indoors, the moisture is allowed to redistribute, and then oxygen enrichment and temperature increase are utilized for continued withering until it reaches the appropriate level. Indoor withering with oxygen enrichment and temperature increase involves using an oxygen-enriching machine and burning locust charcoal to maintain an indoor temperature of 25-35°C and humidity of 60%-70%. This method simplifies the control of temperature and humidity, ensures even withering of the buds, produces high-quality withered leaves, and is safe, clean, and hygienic.

Jin Jun Mei employs a moderately light withering technique. The standard for adequate withering is when the moisture content of the withered leaves is around 70%, the surface sheen of the tea buds has disappeared and turned a dull green, the buds are soft and can be formed into a ball with the hand but do not easily scatter when released, some of the fresh grassy scent has dissipated and a certain fragrance is emitted. The withering time typically lasts 10-12 hours.

03

Kneading

The kneading process for Jin Jun Mei mainly consists of initial kneading and secondary kneading. Initial kneading involves placing the lightly withered buds into a kneading machine for kneading. During kneading, start with gentle and slow kneading to allow the tea buds to collide and rub against each other fully, raising the leaf temperature. Once the tea buds become very soft, gradually apply pressure slowly, kneading until a large amount of tea juice flows out, almost dripping, and the buds form small clusters. The tea embryo should turn brown and have a sweet aroma. The entire process lasts 35-40 minutes, with the indoor temperature controlled at 22-26°C and relative humidity maintained at around 95%.

After the initial kneading, break up any clumps of tea buds to dissipate heat and lower the leaf temperature. Remove old leaves and broken bud tips from the initial kneading process before proceeding with secondary kneading. Secondary kneading is usually done by hand to further tighten the tea strips and form the ideal shape of the tea strands. The cell breakage rate should reach 85%, with a large amount of tea juice flowing out and some of the leaves turning a light yellow-green color. After kneading, break up the clusters before proceeding to fermentation.

04

Fermentation

Fermentation is the key step in forming the color, aroma, and taste characteristics of Jin Jun Mei, so controlling temperature, humidity, and oxygen levels is particularly important. The fermentation site must maintain good air circulation, with the indoor temperature controlled at 24-25°C and relative humidity at 95%. Jin Jun Mei uses a hanging fermentation method, where the kneaded tea leaves are tightly packed into bamboo baskets, with a thickness of 30-40 centimeters and the leaf temperature maintained at 30°C. When packing more leaves, holes can be dug in the middle to ensure adequate oxygen supply. A thick, damp cloth is placed over the top and hung indoors. Fermentation for Jin Jun Mei is preferably moderate and slightly light, typically controlled for around 8 hours.

05

Drying

Drying methods include basket drying and dryer drying. Traditional basket drying is used for Jin Jun Mei, with locust charcoal as the heat source. Typically, a layer of Liansi paper from Yanshan, Jiangxi is laid in the basket, and the Fermented tea leaves are evenly spread on the Liansi paper, with a thickness of 1-2 centimeters, and another layer of Liansi paper is placed on top of the tea leaves.

The drying of Jin Jun Mei also includes preliminary drying and final drying. Preliminary drying is performed at a temperature of approximately 110°C for 1.5 hours, followed by natural cooling for 0.5 hours before final drying. For final drying, a high-temperature and short-time method is used, with a temperature of around 130°C for 0.5 hours. Sufficient drying is required, with the moisture content controlled at 3%-4%, ensuring its excellent quality with a pure and stable aroma.

Since 2010, Zhengshan Tang has successively collaborated with governments and enterprises in Xinyang, Henan; Shaoxing, Zhejiang; Pu'an, Guizhou; Guangyuan, Sichuan; Badong, Hubei; Guzhang, Hunan; Zhucheng, Shandong; and Longlin, Guangxi, to create high-quality black tea products such as “Xinyang Red,” “Huiji Red,” “Pu'an Red,” “Guang