This classic organic tea from China is carefully hand-rolled during manufacture to attain the delicate eye-brow shape that it is known for. For this reason, Chun Mee is also referred to as "Precious Eyebrows." This Fair Trade Certified organic loose leaf tea produces a medium-bodied golden infusion with a slight fruity tartness that some liken to plums. A very faint smokiness can also be detected from the vigorous rolling and firing process used on this organic green tea.
Ingredients: organic and Fair Trade Certified Chinese green tea
Jiangxi Province, located in eastern China, is surrounded by mountains on three sides and sits comfortably in a subtropical climate, making it an excellent place for growing tea. Situated in Wuyuan county, the Da Zhang Shan Tea Garden maintains the region’s 1200-year reputation as the “golden triangle” of exceptional tea production. Certified organic in 1997, Da Zhang Shan was the first producer organization in China to gain Fair Trade certification in 2001. With over 5,400 member households, the Da Zhang Shan Tea Association has used their premiums to renovate 3 factories, establish a microcredit program, and build a school, among many other initiatives.
At Arbor Teas, we believe tea should be brewed to suit your personal taste. We’re happy to make recommendations to get you started, but don’t hesitate to experiment! When brewing your tea, your main considerations are tea quantity, water temperature, and steeping time. We recommend green and white teas to be steeped for 2 to 3 minutes in water heated to not-quite-boiling, just as bubbles begin to form on the bottom of the pan (approximately 170 to 180 degrees F). For the best flavor, use fresh water whenever possible. Try not to steep your tea longer than necessary, as you’ll extract undesirable bitterness from the leaves. If you want a stronger brew, don’t steep longer, just use more tea. And don’t forget to re-steep your tea leaves to get the most out of your leaf!
Looking for more info? Check out our How-To Guides and Eco-Brewing Tips!
"An excellent representation of artisanal Chinese tea-making."
"I like that this tea has a bit more body than our Dragonwell green tea, while retaining some of the delicate qualities."
I am usually one to like bitter things but I always like my green teas to have minimal to no bitterness, I tried more tea less brew time and all sorts of ratios but it always tastes to bitter to me. My friends all agreed. I think black tea is great with some bitterness because of the bold flavors to back it up but a good green has flavors too delicate to for the same amount of bitterness. Wasn't horrible if you can look past the bitterness but not reccomended.
This tea looks beautiful. The leaf is a gorgeous deep green and the style of curled leaves looks lovely. The flavor profile however lacks any real taste to the infusion aside from bitterness. I've played with steep times, water temp, leaf ratio, etc. and it's always slightly too bitter. It has a strong skunky astringent taste on the palate and it lingers afterward with no real tea taste to speak of. Unfortunately it's not for me.
I cold brew iced tea and this is my favorite "base" flavor as it is so versatile blended with other teas like Russian Caravan and Hibiscus. Absolutely love it!
I sampled other green teas trying to reduce my Chunmee dependence and ordered a smaller amount. Less than a month later I accept that I must order a pound.
I find this tea hard to resist. My routine is 2 tsp brewed 3 minutes in 7-8 oz water before the boil; the 2nd brew 10-20 minutes later is also a delight. Ahhhh.
I really enjoy this tea best after a good long steep. It's good when hot, but also makes an excellent iced tea. Lemon is a nice addition, especially when iced. Will be ordering again for sure.
Nutty, a little earthy and woody, with some mild smoke in the back. I'm not usually one to add anything to my tea, but I could see this one taking well to some honey, milk, or lemon juice. As another reviewer said, it's not very forgiving with steep time, so be careful. It's plenty stout with only a short steep, but the bitterness really ramps up if you wait too long.
I want to start off by saying that this is a nice green. My only qualm (and it's not a big one) is that it's a little more sensitive to brewing for too long or at too high a heat. Some teas can be a bit more forgiving. Not this one.
This green has a generous amount of flavor. The smokiness is what my tongue notices first. Behind the smokiness is a vegetal flavor that is balanced by a nice amount of astringency. If you don't like too much astringency don't over-steep this green. I guess I'm weird, because I usually let greens steep a long time to purposely bring out a heavy taste experience on the tongue, and I welcome astringency, but that's just me.
I drink two cups of this in the morning as an "everyday tea"and find that one strainer with a tsp will, indeed, make two cups. This tea grows bitter FAST in the mug so I do not allow more than a minute steep time. For that second cup (w/ the same batch & strain) I allow a longer steep but the strength of these Precious Eyebrows is potent!
This green tea is my go to tea at work. It has an interesting flavor profile and an enjoyable taste. I wouldn't recommend drinking this before bed as I had crazy dreams every time I did
Love this tea. Slightly bitter but perfect with a little lemon. Could become my staple green.
The Chun Mee option is an interesting tea that I enjoy brewed at a temperature between 150-160 F, at 1-1.5 Tbs for 90 to 120 seconds. As some have said before me, this tea is fairly easy to over-steep, so experimentation with temperatures between 140-175 F might help you discover your personal potency preference. This Chun Mee is an herbacious tea, having a distinct mineral flavor composition (somewhat salty) which is appealing just before the light characteristic bitterness, perhaps an acquired taste. The palate of the brewed water is of some similarity to white teas (Bai Mu Dan), while also possessing a hint of fragrance similar to Sencha greens and even more faintly... plums(?). The brewed liquid's color reminds me of bright yellow autumn leaves.
I love this tea, it has an amazing taste.
The dry leaf is very attractive. Tightly rolled leaves almost irridescent green/blue. With an aroma that's just wonderful. Peach jam. This delightful aroma is lost in brewing and the liquor is very unattractive. Cloudy and bronze. But when you taste you'll know this is an above average Chun Mee. Surprisingly robust. I would say this tea could easily be blended with another strong flavor such as mint or ginger or rosemary and the result would be exceedingly pleasant. Words of Warning: Brewed at 180* for two minutes and it was skewing bitter. Perhaps a lower temp or shorter brewing time would yield a more nuanced cup. At the least, less astringent/tannic cup.
This, along with dragonwell, is one of my favorite everyday green teas. It's delicious and also tastes different enough from dragonwell to justify having them both in my cupboard at the same time. I notice a very slight smoky taste in the tea, although much less so than with a tea such as gunpowder. Personally, I quite enjoy that nuanced flavor. A great green tea overall
This is one of my favorite Chinese teas. It is more flavorful than Dragonwell and less smoky than gunpowder. It can be enjoyed on its own and is great with a meal.
Notes of freshly cut grass and toasted chestnuts, with a light minerality