Organic Chunmee "Eyebrow" Green Tea Tea by Zen Tara Tea

Organic Chunmee "Eyebrow" Green Tea

Organic Chunmee Green Tea (“Precious Eyebrows” Tea)

Chunmee green tea has a unique flavor profile. Absent what is often called a “chestnut note” common in many other Chinese green teas, Chunmee is a smooth tasting green tea with a subtle lingering sweet/sour aftertaste which some tea drinkers compare to a plum flavor. Chunmee is a well-balanced tea that holds up well to many different foods when served with morning or evening meals.

To create the unique shape of the tea leaves for a Chunmee tea, the hand plucked tea leaves are processed by withering and then steaming to stop the oxidation process and maintain a green leaf. The final step is pan-firing and during this process the leaves are hand-rolled using controlled movements while monitoring the temperature and firing time. The creating of the eyebrow shape has been perfected for centuries going back to the Ming Dynasty and this artisan prepared tea is still one of the most popular green teas in China.
How to Prepare Chunmee Green Tea

Heat water (filtered, if possible) to a low boil and let cool to 180 degrees, add one teaspoon of loose leaf tea per cup (apprx. 8 ounces). Infuse the tea for 2–3 minutes depending on taste preference. Can be infused a second time.

INGREDIENTS: Organic green tea. Origin: Anhui Province, China.

6 Tasting Notes

Jillian 3 tasting notes

The name ‘Chunmee’ always makes me laugh – I mean precious eyebrows? I consider my eyebrows to be a lot of things but ‘precious’ generally isn’t one of them. The dry tea does sort of bear a resemblance I guess – the leaves are twisted into short little curves, though to me it’s still a bit of a stretch.

The tea brews up fairly dark for a green tea, turning the water a sort of dark-golden colour. Right away I can taste the sourness in the description, it’s not exactly gack-worthy but it takes some getting used to. In my head it’s not so much like sour plums as it’s comparable to a crisp, dry, white wine like a sauvignon blanc. The body of the tea is rather grassy and the aftertaste has a touch of sweet that I wish was a bit stronger.

The resteep (@ 3:30 min) is much mellower, but it still has a hint of that dry, grass-like sourness. The sweetness at the end is a bit stronger however – possibly because the other flavour elements aren’t drowning it out.

All in all I’d say that this isn’t my cup of tea (pun not intended…okay maybe a little) although I think that might be down to personal tastes rather than this being a crappy tea – I haven’t really tried enough chunmees to form an option of how this particular tea holds up to others of the same kind.

2010-12-19 01:42:17 -0500

170 °F / 76 °C

2 min 30 sec

I Like This

6 likes

3 comments

Show 2 more

TeaEqualsBliss 2 tasting notes

Yea…this is green tea alright. And it does seems like it has a sweet/sour aftertaste…it’s good and interesting.

2009-12-28 15:43:29 -0500

I Like This

3 likes

2 comments

Show 1 more

Ekkuru

I can’t recall if this is the exact brand of Chunmee I drink, the lady who works at the tea store forgot to write down the brand name, but I’m willing to put money on this one. If not, Chunmee is Chunmee.

Basically, it’s such a green tea it almost makes me want to laugh. I don’t mean that in the fact it’s ‘more’ green, grassy or anything. It’s just a green tea. I could not expect more or less out of such a tea, so there’s not much worth noting. It’s my everyday green tea, and it’s extraordinarily cheap, at least the brand I’m drinking.

The only thing noticeable is that it’s slightly acidic, which gives it a bit of a more astringent bite as it hits your tongue. I like it.

2011-10-13 00:24:33 -0400

180 °F / 82 °C

2 min 0 sec

I Like This

1 like

0 comments