Jin Jun Mai 金駿眉

[TIM]

Currently the most expensive red tea in China. US.$1300 / pound wholesale in Wuyi. 60000 buds to a pound, 1 bud one leaf style. Growing above 1500-1800 meters in the Wuyi protected national park. Worth it?

Taste like smooth honey nectar with intense flower and Olio di Oliva Novello.... hum.

[Mrs. Chip]

Wooza Tim! That tea sounds incredibly delish! The packaging doesn't look shabby either.

[plant partaker]

What vendor did you buy this tea from? It looks like it tastes amazing!

[TIM]

What vendor did you buy this tea from? It looks like it tastes amazing!

http://sccy861.cn.alibaba.com/athena/of ... 60929.html

[shah82]

You can get non zhen-shan versions of this tea from Upton (chun mee) and the yin variety at Teaspring.

Not really worth the money.

[TIM]

You can get non zhen-shan versions of this tea from Upton (chun mee) and the yin variety at Teaspring.

Not really worth the money.

Don't think these are even the same category. Like buying diamonds for the price of crystal

[shah82]

Thing is, the price at which these teas sell at corresponds to, frankly, mindblowing puerh or even oolong (I'll hit the wuyis and dancong everytime). It's not even remotely a contest. This is a delicious tea, but it is just not anything like what the costs are. I think of this as tea for unsophisticated Chinese with more money than sense, because there are plenty of less famous black teas that are considerably better--from Zhu Hai Jing Ming to Houde's Hao Xian to various special keemums and darjeelings that you could get from Uptons, let's say...

Of course, this is all measured against the non-famous place versions of those teas, which are still plenty expensive. Of course, "real" versions of these teas might actually be mindblowing. I doubt it, though.

[chittychat]

One has to realize that there are lots of Chinese with even more of lots and lots of money. That causes such unrealistic prices, show-off Nouveau Riche. A few years back a TGY for $20,000/lb. Is it $40.00 a cup?

[TIM]

One has to realize that there are lots of Chinese with even more of lots and lots of money. That causes such unrealistic prices, show-off Nouveau Riche. A few years back a TGY for $20,000/lb. Is it $40.00 a cup?

Thats US$40 per gram x 7g per pot = $280 per pot, much cheaper then a bottle of Château d'Yquem. And it will last at least 50 brewings before giving-up. Thats merely $7 per cup.

I am not too sure how much we can blame or make fun of those Nouveau Riche, but drinking a 50 yrs puerh could easily set an "Old Money" back for $250 per gram, and most wont even blink an eye for it, except from the ChaQi.

Just very different levels comparing to the newbies towards finer things in life.

[puerhking]

Here is an example from Red Lantern. Not saying it is comparable quality...but perhaps a place to start.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jin-Jun-Mei-Golden- ... 2eadcb9258

[skilfautdire]

Also, it might be worthed to note that some Chinese do not drink tea. I was given tea by a few Chinese colleagues who managed to say in the same sentence that they don't drink tea. But still they somehow know a lot about tea. Turns out that these teas were not very good when compared to regular off-the-shelf teas from YunnanSourcing for instance. They were very forgettable. And somehow when you reply to them with precise tea terms, observatiosn and perhaps questions, they seem to have something else to do

So it's amply easy to picture wealthy Cinese knowing not much at all about tea but wanting to show off by paying big prices.

So it's largely a matter of perspective I think.

The mountains in China that are guarded by the military to reserve the tea harvest for the leaders are another matter.

[TIM]

http://flic.kr/p/8fuTjq

Tasting a May 05 harvest, the later the harvest, the less golden hair it gets.... More chocolate on the nose, and less Olio Novo on the body. Still interesting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65257125@N ... otostream/