Jinxiu Fengjiu 2022 – The Hairy

To summarize all tea cultivars from the tea tree Camellia sinensis in China would require a longer time to study Chinese sources. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of them. Tea plantations in Fengqing city (Yunnan province, China) were established during the Ming dynasty (14th-17th century), and this “hairy” cultivar named Fengjiu was created in 1983.  Its spring harvest season is quite wide as it starts early in spring and lasts till late June. Almost every leaf is covered with hairs (or mao in Chinese) and after processing into green tea or puer tea its buds turn white. This tea was hand-picked from young trees, hand-processed by roasting on a pan, and finally dried on the nets in the sun. This way processed loose-leaf tea is called maocha, which often needs some time to get ready for pressing into cakes.   This quite young maocha has a significant fruity taste with an inherent metallic character and a caffeine bomb-like strike. It feels similar to a strong coffee. You can get 2g for 100ml for a morning sprint. The aftertaste has a long-lasting cooling effect on the tongue, almost like a mint. Really interesting tea with a good price-performance ratio.