Has anyone ever Shou Mei white tea before?
I recall it being at a very reasonable price and a very reasonable taste. I recall it having a sweet undertone. One that I very much enjoyed.
Re: Shou Mei
From what I remember, I thought shou mei was very good for the price. Also it seemed slightly stronger in taste than silver needles or bai mu dan with more earthy taste.
Re: Shou Mei
Shou Mei is one of my regular purchases from a local tea shop...I almost always keep a big tin of it around since I use it quite quickly.
It´s very fruity and aromatic, has beautiful multicoloured fluffy whole leaves...I think it tastes like a cross between a good 2nd flush Darjeeling and a good Milan Dancong. Really it´s a very good tea with a lot of complexity and very good aroma and flavour...and given Shou Mei´s status as a "crude" tea and it´s low price point it´s really a very good deal too.
I´d say Shou Mei has nothing to ask to the more expensive Bai Mu Dan and Silver Needles in flavour and aroma department, I believe it´s only less expensive because more mature (and thus easier to pick) leaves are used.
It´s very fruity and aromatic, has beautiful multicoloured fluffy whole leaves...I think it tastes like a cross between a good 2nd flush Darjeeling and a good Milan Dancong. Really it´s a very good tea with a lot of complexity and very good aroma and flavour...and given Shou Mei´s status as a "crude" tea and it´s low price point it´s really a very good deal too.
I´d say Shou Mei has nothing to ask to the more expensive Bai Mu Dan and Silver Needles in flavour and aroma department, I believe it´s only less expensive because more mature (and thus easier to pick) leaves are used.
Re: Shou Mei
Shou Mei is my favorite general style of white tea. While I have tried individual silver needle teas that I like more, as a whole, I know I'm more likely to enjoy a shou mei picked at random than any other type of white tea picked similarly.
It is also extremely reasonably priced. I've seen it well under $10/pound in bulk. I don't think it deserves its reputation as a "low-grade" tea. Yes, it's low grade in that it's made of larger, more mature leaves and the grading system for white teas is defined to value lighter teas with more leaf buds, but I don't think that says anything about its quality.
My favorite Shou Mei is from Upton Tea Imports: ZW23; Shou Mei Classic Organic - My review. I've sampled all of Upton's Shou Mei; I like Upton because they're the one company I've found that stocks a large selection of Shou Mei's, of relatively diverse characters. If you want a darker, sweeter Shou mei, of radically different character, look at ZW62. ZW60 is more refined, less astringent, than ZW23 but also much more expensive. ZW23 offers the best value, in my opinion.
I think it's a shame that so many high-end tea companies don't even sell shou mei. I'd like to see that change. Adagio, hint hint!
It is also extremely reasonably priced. I've seen it well under $10/pound in bulk. I don't think it deserves its reputation as a "low-grade" tea. Yes, it's low grade in that it's made of larger, more mature leaves and the grading system for white teas is defined to value lighter teas with more leaf buds, but I don't think that says anything about its quality.
My favorite Shou Mei is from Upton Tea Imports: ZW23; Shou Mei Classic Organic - My review. I've sampled all of Upton's Shou Mei; I like Upton because they're the one company I've found that stocks a large selection of Shou Mei's, of relatively diverse characters. If you want a darker, sweeter Shou mei, of radically different character, look at ZW62. ZW60 is more refined, less astringent, than ZW23 but also much more expensive. ZW23 offers the best value, in my opinion.
I think it's a shame that so many high-end tea companies don't even sell shou mei. I'd like to see that change. Adagio, hint hint!