Jade Bud Brick — 2018 Shou Mei White Tea · 216g Pressed Brick

Eight years old. Fuding's saying,  one year tea, three years medicine, seven years treasure, puts this one past the line. Shou Mei is the grade that rewards patience most, and this is what the waiting is for.

Origin:

Taimu Mountain, Fuding, Fujian. 绿雪芽 takes its name from the ancient mother tree at Hongxue Cave, the tree Fuding credits as the origin of all white tea. Picked 2018, pressed into a 216g brick.

Why Shou Mei ages best

Shou Mei "Longevity Eyebrow," named for the curve of the leaf, is picked later and carries more mature leaf and stem than Silver Needle or White Peony. Collectors treat that as a feature, not a downgrade: more leaf means more sugars and polyphenols to convert, so Shou Mei transforms further and faster than the higher grades. Pressing accelerates it again. Eight years in a brick does what fifteen years loose might not.

Taste:

Deep amber running to chestnut. Red date and dried longan, brown sugar, a warm medicinal-camphor note (药香) underneath, and a trace of old wood. Thick, syrupy, completely round, no edge anywhere. The kind of tea that warms through the chest rather than sitting on the tongue.

Brewing:

Gongfu: 5g per 110ml gaiwan, full boiling water. Rinse, then 10s / 12s / 15s, extending. 12+ infusions.

Boiled (the way to drink this one) 5g into 700ml cold water, bring to a boil, simmer 3 minutes. Aged Shou Mei is one of the few teas you can boil from the start rather than only re-boiling the spent leaf. Deepest date sweetness comes out here.

Thermos: 2g, boiling water, seal for a few hours. Traditional cold-weather method in Fujian.

Specs: 216g pressed brick · 2018 · Fuding, Fujian · Dry-stored. Keep sealed, dark, dry, away from strong odours. Still improving.