Nanshan Shoumei Tea

Nanshan Shoumei Tea

　　Nanshan Shoumei Tea is a specialty of Liyang City, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. The quality characteristics of Nanshan Shoumei Tea include being tightly rolled, slightly flat, uniform in shape, resembling flat eyebrows, covered with fine downy fuzz, and having a bright emerald green color. It boasts a high, clear aroma, a mellow and refreshing taste, a green and clear soup, and tender, even, and bright leaves.

　　Nanshan Shoumei is produced by the Nanshan Tea Professional Cooperative in Lijiayuan, Liyang City, Jiangsu Province. Production began in 1985, passed technical appraisal in 1986, and won the national famous tea title at the Famous Tea Evaluation Conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Xi'an in 1989. The Lijiayuan tea plantation is located in the mountainous area at the border between Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. The hills here are not high, but undulate gently, covered with lush forests and bamboo, crossed by streams, with moist air and fertile soil — an ideal place for growing tea trees.

　　The picking and processing techniques of Nanshan Shoumei Tea are characterized by selecting young buds carefully, with not overly complicated procedures, yet exquisite craftsmanship, continuous operation, and seamless execution. The main processes include withering, fixing, rolling to show fuzz, and firing. The golden season for harvesting Shoumei Tea is from Clear and Bright to before Grain Rain. The picking standard is one bud with one leaf or one bud with two initial leaves, with buds being 1.5–2.0 cm long. Typically, around 60,000 buds and leaves are needed to produce 500 grams of top-grade dry tea. The picked buds and leaves must be carefully sorted to achieve tenderness, uniformity, and cleanliness. The sorted buds and leaves are spread on bamboo trays for 2–4 hours before processing.

　　Fixing: This is done in a 60 cm diameter far-infrared flat pan. The pan temperature is 120–124°C, and the leaf input is 300–400 grams. Using shaking, flipping, and arranging hand movements, the tea leaves are fixed thoroughly and evenly. When the leaves become soft and their color turns darker, it’s time to move on to the rolling to show fuzz process.

　　Rolling to Show Fuzz: This is the key procedure for shaping Shoumei Tea. Through rolling, the leaves lose moisture, become tightly rolled into strips, and reveal their fuzz. The pan temperature is 70–80°C, using shaking, arranging, rolling, and grasping techniques. First, the tea strips are straightened, then rolled by cupping both palms together. The techniques of arranging, rolling, shaking, and grasping are flexibly mastered and alternated. The pressure applied follows the principle of light, heavy, light — that is, when the moisture content is high or low, the movement should be gentle to avoid clumping or breaking the leaves. When the tea strips are round and slightly flat, the fuzz is visible, and the dryness reaches about 70%, the pan temperature is lowered to 50–60°C, and the process moves on to firing.

　　Firing: The purpose is to further arrange and shape the strips, achieving fixed form and thorough dryness. Slow stirring is used to promote moisture evaporation, straighten the tea strips, and fix their shape. The firing continues until the fuzz is clearly visible, and the pan temperature is slightly increased by about 10°C. When a lasting, delicate aroma emerges, and the tea can be crushed into powder when rubbed, with a moisture content of about 6% or less, the firing is complete. The tea is then removed from the pan, spread out to cool, and stored. The whole process takes 35–40 minutes.

　　Nanshan Shoumei Tea features slightly flat and slightly curved strips, emerald green color covered with white fuzz, resembling the eyebrows of an elder. It has a refined, long-lasting aroma, a fresh, mellow, and smooth taste, a clear and bright soup, and tender, intact green leaves.

　　Nanshan Shoumei won the title of “National Famous Tea” at the 1989 National Famous Tea Evaluation Conference. In 1993, it took home the Special Prize of the “China Tea Cup” at the China Tea Science Society Famous Tea Evaluation. Starting from 1993, it participated in every Jiangsu Province Famous and Special Tea Evaluation and won the Special Prize of the “Lu Yu Cup” four times in a row. In 2003, it was certified as a “Pollution-Free” agricultural product; in 2004, it was selected for inclusion in the “Chronicles of Famous Teas in China”; and in 2005, it was chosen as the official tea for the “9th Liyang Tea Festival and the 1st Tianmu Lake Tourism Festival.”