Shou Mei tea, or Elder’s Eyebrows, is a Chinese variety of white tea. It grows mainly in two provinces – Fujian and Guangxi. Tea bushes of this variety are called “Narcissus” for the presence of floral notes in the taste and aroma of the infusion. Many flavor combinations can be made when brewing this tea, it is only important to use good quality pure water, otherwise the drink may become bitter.

Many tea scholars believe that it began to be cultivated as early as the Sunn dynasty, while treatises were written about it and have come down to our times during the reign of the Ming. The release of Shou Mei tea for sale began in the eighteenth century.

There is a legend about the first appearance of a white tea bush. In the Taimushan Mountain, a girl whose name was Lang Wu lived in the Yao period. She fled the war by hiding in the recesses of the Hong Xue Mountains, earning her food by growing and selling orchids. In that area, a contagious disease suddenly appeared – measles, and no one could escape from it. At this time, the girl dreamed that a Taoist monk visited her, telling that a tea tree grows nearby, which grew from the seed that he dropped when he delivered the seeds for the garden. The mistress of this garden was Xi Wangmu herself, the mistress of the Western Paradise. At the same time, the monk said that the leaves of this tree have healing properties and are able to cure people from the disease that attacked them. Lan Wu found this tree, collected and dried its leaves, and went towards the settlement in order to give the sick people to drink a decoction of them. And he really helped the residents get rid of the disease. Since then, the girl began to breed this unique plant in order to get an even greater harvest and taught other people how to properly care for it. In gratitude for this, people began to call this girl Mother Taima, appreciating her disinterestedness and patronage. Soon, a whole city appeared on the site of the settlement, in which people became famous tea growers. Until now, there is a tea tree in that place, which, according to legend, was grown by a kind girl. It is included in the list of the oldest trees and is under the government protection of Fujian Province.

For the manufacture of this type of tea, only the most tender and young leaves are used. For this, a bud and a top leaf are taken from the remnants of Bai Hao Yin Zhen, the fourth category. The time allotted for collection is from the end of April to the beginning of June. You can immediately distinguish tea, which harvested by hand, it does not have damaged and broken leaves. The mechanical process violates this principle, with it the leaves break.

Shou Mei is harvested later than Bai Mudan, so it is darker than the latter in color, while maintaining its even color. Some types of varieties can color the finished drink in dark shades, containing a significant amount of red and black leaves.

Shou Mei tea has a bright and very rich taste, even compared to other white teas. The smell of a dry leaf is reminiscent of the aroma of autumn withering foliage. The finest honey with a floral aroma, its shades are reminiscent of oolong teas. Most connoisseurs of such a drink can confirm that it is this tea that allows you to most fully reveal all the subtlety and sophistication of white varieties. After drinking Shou Mei, a pleasant sweet aftertaste remains.

Brewing Shou Mei tea

Brewing can be done in different ways, while getting a different result each time. But it should be remembered that water should be taken only soft and clean. The most important thing in preparing this wonderful drink is the temperature of the water. Boiling water for brewing must be cooled to 75 degrees. The container must be porcelain or glass.

Beneficial features

The extraordinary properties of this tea are due to the unique technology by which it is made. To do this, the leaves are dried, and then they are dried exclusively under the natural rays of the sun, periodically they are brought into the shade. After that, its final drying follows in a specially designed oven. Such tea is not subjected to twisting, unlike other varieties.

This tea is famous for its properties to improve digestion processes, remove toxic substances, reduce the risk of tumor formation, including malignant ones, by ridding the body of free radicals. Shou Mei is cooling in hot weather and can be warm in cold weather, so it can be drunk in any season. It is also known that the regular use of this drink promotes cell rejuvenation, strengthens blood vessels, and tones.

This drink is able to reduce cholesterol to a large extent, its antimicrobial and antiviral activity is used by toothpaste manufacturers, which include composition of its products extract from this tea.

Now Shou Mei tea is at the peak of popularity, especially in the West. Its extracts are also included in many well-known lines of cosmetic face and body creams.

Scientists in numerous experiments have proven that it is white tea that is most effective when combined with drug therapy in patients with cancer.