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£2.00 per cup
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Emperor's Golden Eyebrow, also known as Golden Beautiful Eyebrow and Jin Jun Mei.
This is an extremely rare exquisite black loose leaf tea - quite possibly the rarest of them all. Hand rolled from the most delicate spring buds by Master Wen in the protected forests of Wuyishan.
Never will you have a deeper, richer, more complex black tea.
Tasting Notes
Tasting Notes
It has the sweetness of the spring buds, containing natural sugars long stored over winter, but married to a complex depth with subtle notes of tropical fruit, violets, honeysuckle and burnt toffee. Dark caramels lie behind bright fragrance. There is a strong character hidden behind an elegant impression. The flavour is intense yet extremely complex and faceted. Layer after layer of flavour is revealed through many infusions. The first infusion gently wakes up the leaf revealing the first notes of burnt toffee and a wondrously silky mouth feel. The second infusion opens up the tropical fruits - gentle but bright notes of pineapple. The third and fourth infusions reveals violets. By the fifth you may note kumquats and cape gooseberries. At six and seven the burnt sugar is softening to rich caramel. At eight the tropical fruit returns - but softening. Nine and ten are soft and sweet like the drops of nectar in the base of a nasturtium flower. By eleven and twelve the leaf are becoming exhausted and may need a longer infusion - but we enjoy them best cold infused in 200ml of water overnight - so that the next morning you might savour the last precious drops and the memory of the previous days delights.
Cost Per Cup
Cost Per Cup
£2.00 per cup based on 3g of tea per 150ml of water and 6 infusions.
Origin
Origin
Wuyishan, Fujian province, China.
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Recommended Infusion Guide
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Quantity
To truly experience this leaf, we recommend quick, small infusions - 3g of tea for 70ml of water.
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Temperature
Use water at 95°C - hotter than you might expect - but the infusions will be very quick.
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Time
Infuse for about 20 seconds - and strain to the last golden drop.
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Infusions
You can infuse this tea at least six times, often more if doing multiple small infusions. With each careful infusion, different subtleties of flavour are revealed.
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Quantity
To truly experience this leaf, we recommend quick, small infusions - 0.2 oz of leaf for 2.5 fl oz of water.
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Temperature
Use water at 203°F - hotter than you might expect - but the infusions will be very quick.
-
Time
Infuse for about 20 seconds - and strain to the last golden drop.
-
Infusions
You can infuse this tea at least six times, often more if doing multiple small infusions. With each careful infusion, different subtleties of flavour are revealed.
-
Quantity
-
Temperature
Use water at 95°C - hotter than you might expect - but the infusions will be very quick.
-
Time
Infuse for about 20 seconds - and strain to the last golden drop.
-
Infusions
You can infuse this tea at least six times, often more if doing multiple small infusions. With each careful infusion, different subtleties of flavour are revealed.
More infusion tips
How to infuse your tea is very personal, and these are just our recommendations based on experience. Please experiment with these variables to your heart's delight. These are our recommendations, not hard and fast rules. The most delicious tea is the one you love.
Our guide uses a standard tea cup size (150ml/5.5 oz) as a measure, please adjust the quantity of leaf accordingly for less or more water. Our whole loose leaves are of such a high quality that you can infuse our teas at least twice, and the second infusion is often better than the first, with different flavours revealed as the leaf softens. If you prefer your tea stronger, add more leaf, don’t leave it for longer (this will just make it bitter).
Origin & Craft
This tea comes from deep in the forests of the Wuyishan Nature Reserve, in Fujian Province, Eastern China.
It is one of the most precious and rare teas in the world - a black tea made only from tiny spring buds. Like silver tip white tea it is made entirely from these tender spring buds - no open leaf. The buds are painstakingly plucked before they unfurl to the first flush of spring leaves. The varietal used yields only tiny slender buds, unlike the Big White of silver tip. These extremely tender, delicate leaf-buds are then delicately hand rolled. This Jin Jun Mei was rolled by Mr Wen, one of only three masters who roll Jin Jun Mei tea of this grade. He needs over 100,000 buds for each kilo. The tiny tea gardens allowed within the Nature Reserve can not produce more. So this is it.
"I was incredibly privileged to get the chance to meet Mr Wen and be able to purchase a little of his most precious craft. I was offered a great deal of money for this tea in Beijing, but I brought it home. I wanted you to have the chance to taste it. If I'm ever going to see my revolution take place - where people in the West once again appreciate tea like wine - and buy and drink it for quality over price - we need access to the very best. This tea has true value - it's utterly delicious."
Henrietta Lovell
We suggest pouring each infusion into a jug and then sharing it in small tasting cups or your finest wine glass. In this way each sip, and the intense aroma can be savoured.
Mr Wen made the tea 12 times in a row - the same leaf infused over and over again. Infusions 3-7 were the most exquisite.
Shipping, delivery & more...
UK Shipping Information
FREE UK Tracked when you spend £30 or more
FREE UK Express - Next Day* when you spend £60 or more
UK Tracked - Two Day Tracked £3.99
UK Express - Next Day* Tracked £5.49
UK Express - Next Day* Courier from £8.49
*Subject to next day cutoff and postcode location. Availability of rates depends on location and order weight. For a complete overview of our shipping rates please see our delivery page.
All prices quoted in GBP and will be converted to your local currency if available.
Returns
The Rare Tea Lady believes that our teas are some of the greatest in the world, and that our range and service are second to none.
In the isolated case that you are not completely satisfied with any tea or teaware you purchase from our website, please get in contact with our customer services team to discuss returning your order.*
In most instances we will give you a full refund of the item’s cost excluding postage. We may ask you to return the item to us. Customers in the European Union have a statutory cooling-off period of fourteen days that is not affected by this guarantee, but any tea pouches much remained sealed for this to be in effect.
*We only accept returns/refunds for tea within two months of receipt, because it is impossible for us to know if the tea has been stored correctly.
