Shou Mei is the highest-yielding variety among white teas, accounting for over half of the total white tea production.
Characteristic 1: Spring Water, Autumn Fragrance
Similar to Tieguanyin's renowned "spring water, autumn fragrance," Shou Mei white tea shares this quality. Spring Water: After winter dormancy, tea trees accumulate ample tea polyphenols, amino acids, and vitamins in their spring leaves, resulting in a fuller, more nuanced liquor. Autumn Fragrance: Following summer's heat, tea trees enter another growth peak around White Dew. The dry, cool autumn winds facilitate moisture loss in the leaves, yielding a highly aromatic tea, though its liquor is less delicate than spring tea. Spring Shou Mei offers a fresh, brisk liquor, while White Dew Shou Mei is known for its lasting charm, endurance through multiple infusions, and clear, elevated aroma.
Characteristic 2: Improves with Age, Evolving Aromas
Improves with Age: As white tea ages, contents like tea polyphenols, caffeine, and soluble sugars decrease, while flavonoids increase. Flavonoids are potent antioxidants that help prevent cellular degeneration and aging.
Evolving Aromas: Composed mostly of leaves, Shou Mei possesses a more robust aroma profile. Young Shou Mei has a grassy scent. With years of storage, it undergoes fascinating transformations, developing notes of lotus leaf, dried jujube, and Chinese herbs.
Characteristic 3: Aged Shou Mei is Durable and Suitable for Boiling
Liquor Color: Slightly red to dark red, clear, lustrous, and glossy.
Taste: The liquor is soft, full-bodied, smooth, and substantial. It is not astringent or bitter and offers a strong, persistent sweet aftertaste. When cooled, the taste becomes exceptionally sweet, with a pronounced and lingering fragrance in the water.
Using a gaiwan for normal brewing, it can withstand over ten or even twenty infusions without significant decline in liquor color or taste. While the aroma may lessen, the softness and sweetness remain largely unchanged.
Boiling Method: Add 7-8 grams of aged white tea to room temperature water. Once boiling, let it simmer for 8-10 seconds before enjoying. The flavor is rich, with a distinct herbal aroma, reminiscent of fine wine. A single cup can induce sweating throughout the body.
Characteristic 4: Affordable Price with Significant Appreciation Potential
The升值 journey of Shou Mei is like an underdog's inspiring success story.
Fresh Shou Mei of the season, resembling dry leaves, costs merely a few dozen. As years pass, Shou Mei cultivates its inner qualities through沉淀 and升华. After several years, it transforms into a mature and steady "aged white tea uncle," with its value rising to hundreds or even thousands, indicating substantial appreciation potential.
However, not every underdog can逆袭 into an uncle. Many with a weak foundation and insufficient inner qualities, even with age, can only be called "master."
A Shou Mei worthy of collection requires high-quality raw material as a foundation, combined with the meticulous craftsmanship of an experienced tea master. Only through the沉淀 of time can it蜕变成 premium aged white tea. You might be drawn to aged Shou Mei for its jujube and herbal aromas, but it can offer you far more than that. I appreciate its versatile and easy-going preparation methods (easily handled by gaiwan brewing, boiling, or thermos steeping), its千变万化的转换 during storage (offering different experiences over time), its simple and clean production process, and the joy of collecting and validating one's passion...