2012 Lao Shoumei 老寿眉 - Aged white tea, Stone - pressed cake - Eastern Leaves
2012 Lao Shoumei 老寿眉 - Aged white tea, Stone - pressed cake - Eastern Leaves

2012 Lao Shoumei 老寿眉 - Aged white tea, Stone-pressed cake

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In a Chinese popular saying, white tea is described as "tea after one year, medicine after three years and a treasure after seven years". According to these words, this Shoumei white tea from 2012 is aged enough to be widely considered a treasure.  

We encountered these precious leaves in one of our frequent visits to Fujian white tea producers that have conquered our admiration and trust over the years. As we tasted this tea taste for the first time we immediately found ourselves in front of the meaning of the popular saying above. 

A gentle honey sweetness envelops the mouth immediately, opening the mind to a taste that will grow in intensity over the future brews. Notes of dried flowers and wild herbs come along the sweetness and make the taste of this aged Shoumei complex and layered, full of all the richness in body that comes with time. 
With ageing, white tea content in flavonoids increases, while caffeine content lowers. More flavonoids translate into a more sweet, malty taste and a darker colour of the liquor, while with less caffeine comes also less bitterness.

We chose to press the big and fierce leaves of this aged Shoumei into cakes to enhance its ageing process, looking forward to retaste its more precious brews over the time that will come.  

 

Origin: Fuding, Ningde, Fujian province
Altitude: 300 m asl
Flush: Spring 2012
Pressed: September 2024
Producer: Zheng Xiaodan
Format: 100 gr (3.5 oz) and 200 gr (7 oz) stone-pressed cake


GONGFUCHA EASTERN BREWING
Quantity: 1 gr. of tea every 20 ml of water
Rinse: before starting the infusion, rinse the leaves with a very fast washing in order to let them rehydrate and release a more intense brew. Gently cover the leaves with boiling water and pour it after a few seconds.
Brewing time: Begin with a 40 second brew. Increase with each successive brew as needed.
Water temperature: 90-95°C
Number of brews: 8-10


WESTERN BREWING
Quantity: 1 gr. of tea every 100 ml of water
Brewing time: 4-5 minutes
Water temperature: 90-95C


COLD BREW
Quantity: 1 gr. of tea every 100 ml of water
Brewing: put the tea leaves in room temperature water and steep for 3-4 hours, or in the fridge for 6-7 hours. Filter the liquor and drink within 24 hours.

The teas that do not come from our land are the result of a careful selection made among the best Chinese producers, who share the key points of Eastern Leaves: care for the environment, precise and accurate processing methods, and only best-quality teas.

The years of commitment to our land, taking care of the trees and trying to achieve to best quality through the leaf-processing, continuously learning season after season, allowed us to build valuable relationships with other tea-producers all over China that we are glad to support and share with you.

Our constantly updated offer includes all tea categories: white, green, yellow, red, dark (fermented heicha), and wulong.

Follow us on our social media channels, and travel with us to China to meet all our fellow producers!

For all European countries and America we ship through our distributor located in Italy, Europe, while for Asia, Oceania and African countries we use our logistic center located in China (link).

For European countries there is no custom-clearance procedure
; for all the other shipments we accompany the package with all the necessary papers to ensure the fastest process possible.

Europe

Country Standard Shipping Free Shipping Above
Italy 6,9€ 69€
France, Germany, Monaco, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, Greece, Austria, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Poland 12,9€ 79€
Denmark, Finland, Croatia, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania 17,9€ 119€
Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Andorra, Norway, Malta, Turkey 25,9€ 129€
Russia, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Gibraltar, Iceland, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine 38,9€ 139€

 

North America

Country Standard Shipping Free Shipping Above
United States, Canada 29,9€ 139€

 


Asia and Oceania

Check our new Asia website: www.easternleaves.asia


Other countries

Country Standard Shipping Free Shipping Above
All countries 39,9€ 199€

 

Within the European Union the shipping time is between 1-5 days, while for Extra-UE shipment the delivery time varies between 5 and 12 days. Orders are shipped on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: for special requests, please add a note to your order, we will endeavor to fulfill them.

 

In Italy we ship through BRT. In Europe and US we ship through DHL Express courier or UPS; For shipments in Italy, you can select a BRT point where to collect your package, for shipments Europe you can choose a UPS point, and for the US you can choose a DHL service point. In Asia we use EMS.

Eastern Leaves’s Guarantee
We guarantee the product will arrive securely as well as beautifully packed. While very rare, breakage in shipping can happen. In the unlikely event of breakage please contact us and we will replace the defected item with no additional charge. Please email info@easternleaves.com to arrange for a replacement or return.

福鼎 Fuding, the birthplace of white tea

mount taimu and the origin of white tea

According to folklore, during Xia dynasty (around 4000 years ago), a lady called Lan Gu of Taimu Mountain in Fuding used white tea to save many children from measles, thus earning the nickname “Taimu auntie”. Mount Taimu 太姥山 (literally “old woman”) later became one of the most famous white tea mountains where Lu Xue Ya 绿雪芽, the mother tree of white tea, still grows, although it is now used mostly to make green tea.

where the best cultivars grow

Fuding Dabai 福鼎大白 (literally "big white") and Fuding Dahao 福鼎大毫 (literally "big fluff"), with their thick buds rich in precious silver fur, are now the most popular cultivars for white tea in Fujian. Since 1985, they were respectively given the name of Huacha n.1 华茶一号, and Huacha n.2 华茶二号, according to a Chinese classification system which identifies the best cultivars at a National level.

At about 600 meters above sea level, Fuding is both close to the sea and to the mountains. Here, when walking around tea trees, you can both breathe the sea breeze and the fresh mountain air, and the tea trees also get to enjoy this complex ecosystem, which is released in the flavor at each brew.

Customer Reviews

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Pieter Kartikeya Das
Honey dew

Absolutely love this tea. It's fragrance is already captivating and the soup colour turns a beautiful dark amber brown. The taste is sweet and bold with a nourishing after effect. Truly a medicine on it's own right!