Shangrao Baimei
Downy green tea from Guangxin district in Shangrao, Jiangxi, shaped from tender buds and leaves and made in three types.
Character#
Plump, even, mostly straight strips thickly covered with white down, green and glossy, with a high fresh fragrance, bright liquor, a fresh and full taste and a tender green leaf base.
Processing#
Sort the fresh leaf by tenderness and let it lose some water before firing. The 2000 account describes a thin layer of about 2 cm for roughly 4 to 6 hours.
Fixation and cooling
杀青、摊凉Heat the leaf quickly, then spread it to cool. The 2000 account uses a Longjing-style pan for the two finer types and a drum machine for Cuifeng.
Rolling and shaping
揉捻、做形Roll or rub and straighten the leaf into even strips while keeping the white down on the surface.
Drying and packing
烘干、精选包装Bake the tea dry in two stages, then pick over and pack it. The protected-product rules set moisture below 6.5%.
Notes#
Three types of one tea#
The protected product is made as Yinhao, Maojian and Cuifeng. The 2000 monograph, which calls them grades, pairs them with different picking standards: one bud and one leaf just opening, one bud and one leaf open, and one bud with two leaves just opening. It describes Cuifeng as curved rather than straight. They are types of one named tea.
White in the name, green in the cup#
The 2000 monograph explains the name by the tea’s resemblance to an old man’s eyebrows and its covering of white down. The documented manufacture is that of a green tea: fixation, rolling, shaping and baking. It is neither a white tea nor Silver Needle.
A modern creation with a defined area#
The 2000 monograph records that the tea was first made successfully in spring 1983 at a tea farm in Zunqiao township and that a 1995 lot won a gold medal at the second China Agricultural Expo. The 2025 requirements define the protected area as townships of Guangxin district, with tea gardens at 300 to 1,000 m, mainly on red and yellow soils, and name Shangrao Damianbai and Gancha 2 among suitable cultivars. The monograph is a historical account and calls the area Shangrao County, while the 2025 requirements name Guangxin district.
Where to buy#
No listings recorded for this tea yet.
Sources#
- 王镇恒、王广智主编. 中国名茶志. 中国农业出版社, 2000年12月第1版. ISBN 7-109-06510-3 / 9787109065109.