Meijiang Cui Pian

Meijiang Cui Pian

　　Meijiang Cui Pian is a specialty of Meitan County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province. The tea leaves are flat and smooth in shape, resembling sunflower seeds, with sparse visible fine hairs. They have a vibrant green color, a refreshing and pleasant aroma, a rich chestnut fragrance accompanied by fresh floral notes, a mellow and refreshing taste with a sweet aftertaste, a bright yellowish-green liquor, and tender, even green leaves.

　　Meijiang Cui Pian, originally named Meijiang Tea, gets its name from being produced along the Meijiang River in Meitan County, Guizhou. Located in northern Guizhou, Meitan County enjoys a mild climate with frequent misty rain, fertile and loose soil rich in minerals—conditions highly favorable for tea tree growth. Meitan has a long history of tea cultivation. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Lu Yu, in the world’s first monograph on tea, the Classic of Tea, noted that not only could tea be produced in Meitan, but the tea also had a delightful flavor. By the Song Dynasty, there are records of tea being offered as a tribute. Today, Meitan is home to nationally renowned large-scale tea plantations and numerous scattered tea gardens in rural areas. It also hosts the Guizhou Tea Research Institute, established in the late 1930s.

　　Meijiang Cui Pian is produced at the Meijiang Tea Farm and Meitan Tea Farm, located within the urban area of Meitan County in northern Guizhou. The Meijiang River flows through the county town, encircling it on three sides. With its picturesque landscape of clear waters and green mountains, and contiguous tea fields along both banks, the area is widely known as a “tea town.” The soil on both sides of the Meijiang River is of high quality, deep, fertile, loose, and moist, mostly acidic or slightly acidic sandy loam. The region enjoys a mild climate with abundant rainfall, an average annual temperature of around 15°C, and annual precipitation between 1100–1200 mm. The air is fresh and often shrouded in mist, with no severe summer heat or winter cold, featuring concurrent rain and heat as well as warm humidity. Tea gardens are situated at elevations of 750–1200 meters, where large diurnal temperature variations occur. Coupled with low annual sunshine exposure (below 35%), there is more diffused light, resulting in moderate photosynthesis. This prevents the tea leaves and stems from becoming coarse or aging abruptly, helping them remain tender for longer and conducive to the formation and accumulation of aromatic compounds, proteins, amino acids, caffeine, vitamins, tea polyphenols, and other nutrients in the tea.

　　Meijiang Cui Pian is harvested from the tender shoots of premium Meijiang tea cultivars. Plucking begins around the Qingming Festival, with pre-Qingming tea being of the highest quality. The picking standards for Special Grade and Grades 1–2 Cui Pian are: one bud with one newly unfolded leaf, with the bud longer than the leaf, and lengths of 1.5 cm, 2 cm, and 2.5 cm respectively for buds and leaves. For Grade 3 Cui Pian, the standard is: one bud with two newly unfolded leaves, with the combined bud and leaf length not exceeding 3 cm. Typically, over 50,000 buds are required to produce 500 grams of Special Grade Cui Pian, while about 40,000 buds are needed for Grade 1. The plucked buds and leaves must be sorted and spread out in a ventilated, shaded area, with a thickness of 1–1.2 kg per square meter, until about 8% of moisture is lost. This process generally takes 3–5 hours.

　　The pan-firing technique used for Meijiang Cui Pian is meticulous, drawing on methods from West Lake Longjing tea while also having its own unique features. The main process consists of five steps: fixation, cooling, second fixation, cooling again, and final firing. All are performed manually in an electric wok. The key techniques include shaking, swinging, placing, hooking, patting, grasping, pulling, pushing, rubbing, and pressing. These methods are flexibly adjusted based on the tenderness of the fresh leaves and their moisture content, adapting fluidly to the situation.

　　Meijiang Tea is one of China’s famous teas, renowned for its premium quality. The tea leaves are flat and smooth, resembling sunflower seeds, with sparse visible fine hairs, a vibrant green color, a refreshing and pleasant aroma, a rich chestnut fragrance accompanied by fresh floral notes, a mellow and refreshing taste with a sweet aftertaste, a bright yellowish-green liquor, and tender, even green leaves. From 1986 to 1992, it was continuously rated as a Quality Product of Guizhou Province; in 1988, it won the title of Ministerial Quality Product. It has been featured in publications such as Selected Studies on China’s Famous Teas and The Complete Collection of Chinese Foods: Traditional Foods of Guizhou. Its name is also recorded in the book Ten Years of Reform and Opening Up in Guizhou.