Wuyi Meizhan | Tea Guardian

Aaron, a proactive youthful man from U.S. who has been working for some years in China and making an attempt to setup a tea manufacturing base in Wuyi, was clear as soon as I suggested him the title of this tea he was tasting. On no account heard of it.

He is not alone, really. Not many people have heard of a Meizhan from Wuyi.

A Typical, Lighter Oxidation Oolong

Wuyi Meizhan ( Chinese language language: 武夷梅占 ) is a lighter oxidation typical oolong. When accurately processed and baked, has a floral character with a singular umami type and a contact of spiciness. Pretty distinct for a Wuyi oolong. Nonetheless, it was not even a Wuyi native plant until presumably three centuries previously.

Prolonged sooner than Wuyi was acknowledged for its “well-known” single bush shuixians equivalent to Dahong Pao ( Chinese language language: 大紅袍 ) or Tie-luo-han ( Iron Buddha 鐵羅漢 ), it had been a producing base for enterprise grade teas for export. It began with replicating the favored export grade inexperienced tea Songluo and later shifted to oolongs. ( Study further regarding the historic previous of Wuyi oolong )

As to when specific cultivars, along with the broadly used shuixian group and the then further distinctive ones equivalent to Tieguanyin ( 鐵觀音 ), Qilan ( 奇蘭 ) or Meizhan ( 梅占 ) have been first launched to the Wuyi area has not been indicated in acknowledged documentations. We contemplate it began throughout the seventeenth century when south Fujianese have been compelled to an exodus from their properties in route of inland. Wuyi was a beneficiary to the Manchu imposed shifted frontier on the south China sea entrance ( type of scorch land protection to fight the Chinese language language resistance ). It obtained the model new tea vegetation and human belongings wished to reworked their tea “commerce” merely in time for the later bloom in export commerce for “black” tea ( i.e. oolongs in lately ). ( Study further about this part of tea historic previous in Minnan oolongs chapter )

A Migrant Cultivar

Alternate of cultivars between areas has been further systematically carried out since after the first republic in China. Between the important oolong areas, i.e. Phoenix ( Fenghuang ), Wuyi and Anxi-Minnan, such actions have flip into further intense since 1980’s.

Meizhan, talked about to have originated in Anxi, has been in Wuyi sooner than that time. In Anxi, this cultivar has been beneath the collective label “Sezhong” ( Chinese language language: 色種 ). There are totally different cultivars on this related label: Huangjin Gui ( 黃金桂 ), Foshou ( 佛手 ), Maoxie ( 毛蟹 ) and lots of others. In distinction to its counterparts in Minnan, Meizhan in Wuyi has developed a singular favour and a bunch of connoisseur followers.

Inside the later two three a few years of the 20 th century, when relative honesty was nonetheless further typically practiced throughout the commerce of tea, Wuyi Meizhan was nonetheless a singular tea choice, albeit a lot much less modern than Shuixian. Someway, as further people are paying further for tea, and well-known names equivalent to Dahong Pao have been wished, the title Meizhan ceased to exist in teashop menus.

Lesser Acknowledged, Better Demand

Manufacturing has nonetheless been rising though. It is used for mixing with totally different teas to label as a result of the so much rarer Dahong Pao or Tieluohan and lots of others. The place else may these tea retailers get the massive portions of such unusual prime quality to satisfy an insatiable market as monumental as China?

The distinctive type profile of Meizhan makes the blends further convincing, as long as the originals aren’t acknowledged, there could also be larger likelihood for the patron to contemplate his completely totally different tasting purchase, whatever the worth, is the actual stuff. That goes not only for the unusual bushes, nonetheless for Meizhan as properly. The a lot much less this Meizhan has been tasted, the higher it could possibly be for the retailers to promote their blends as the actual stuffs.

A Distinctive Type Profile

A accurately processed Meizhan that is freshly harvested would nonetheless current an enormous proportion of yellowish inexperienced ( non-bruised leaf building ) throughout the infuse leaves. The baking must be deep enough for the tea to mature nonetheless not burnt. Its umami type could possibly be launched out in stronger infusion, usually with further leaves, as most people doing the gongfu mannequin would use. Using the 1 to 100 proportion with 5 to 6 minute infusion time can do the similar. Nonetheless, further leaves and shorter time does reveal larger floral character and a cleaner palate.

As with all typical oolongs, appropriate heat administration all by means of the infusion course of is essential for the easiest type profile, significantly with a Wuyi. In distinction to any of the shuixians, Meizhan does tolerate fluctuations to yield liquor with lesser bitterness and astringency. That’s one other excuse it is modern amongst blenders.

Because of its lesser fame, even a top quality Meizhan cannot attain anyplace near a medium worth Dahong Pao. It is a much more fulfilling tasting experience though. Non-blended teas have on a regular basis been further distinct, presenting its true self throughout the liquid that is the fruit of the entire laborious work and experience between the bush and the cup.