Harvest Location: Tongmu Village, Wuyishan City, Fujian Province
Harvest Date: March 2025
Cultivar:  Xiao Cai Cha
Elevation: 650m
 
Jin Jun Mei (金骏眉), meaning "Golden Steed Eyebrow," is a modern masterpiece among Chinese black teas, created in 2005 in Tongmu Village, the historic birthplace of Lapsang Souchong. Though relatively new, it has quickly become one of China’s most beloved and prestigious black teas, celebrated for its elegance and depth.
 
Made entirely from tender spring buds of the traditional Xiao Cai Cha cultivar, Jin Jun Mei is carefully hand-crafted and charcoal-baked using traditional techniques. The dry leaves are slim, curly, and dark with golden tips, resembling fine horsehair — a nod to the tea’s name.
 
The liquor is amber-gold, with a complex honeyed aroma and layered notes of orchid, caramel, dried fruit, and sweet malt. Its smooth, mellow body and lingering, deep aftertaste make it a benchmark of high-end Chinese black tea.
 
Unlike its ancestor Lapsang Souchong, Jin Jun Mei contains no smoke and relies on its pure bud material and refined craftsmanship for its remarkable flavor.