2017 GongMei Supreme White Tea

2017 GongMei Supreme from Wuyang Mountain, Panxi – aged as loose leaf, not as a cake

Most aged Gong Mei you meet has been pressed into a cake. This one took the other road: it was kept as loose leaf, and that changes how seven years of aging taste. Harvested in 2017 from tea gardens on Wuyang Mountain in Panxi, Fuding, it sits at the higher-quality end of the Gong Mei grade, and its age has knitted the flavours together so it drinks as a settled, mellow aged white rather than a young one.

Origin and raw material

Three details set this tea apart from a standard Gong Mei, and all of them come from the growing conditions or the picking standard. Wuyang Mountain in Panxi is hilly and mist-covered, terrain that favours slow-growing tea with a dense set of aromatic compounds. GongMei Supreme is a better leaf selection within the grade, with a higher bud content and neater picking than standard Gong Mei. And the 2017 vintage means seven years of age have given the tea a settled, mellow profile that is ready to drink now.

Keeping it loose rather than pressing it into a cake is a deliberate choice: loose leaf ages a little faster and more evenly on the surface, so a seven-year loose Gong Mei tends to show its honeyed, woody notes more openly than a cake of the same age, which still holds some of its young character at the core.

Tasting notes

The dry leaf smells of aged hay and a hint of spice. Brewed, the tea is golden amber, with a mellow, almost creamy texture, notes of cooked grain and dried apricot, and a gentle sweetness that builds over several infusions. The first steeps are soft and rounded, with the cooked-grain and apricot notes at the front; later infusions bring up a light honey sweetness and a woody depth that never turns harsh. The mouthfeel is thick and smooth, and the aftertaste is sweet and long.

Because the leaf is forgiving, the tea stays pleasant even if a steep runs a little long, which suits both careful gongfu sessions and casual pots.

How to enjoy it

Brew with 5 g per 150 ml of water at 95°C. Gongfu-style infusions of 20–30 seconds give a balanced cup; the leaf holds flavour across many steeps, so a session can run to a dozen infusions. If you prefer a denser brew, raise the leaf to 6–7 g; for a lighter afternoon pot, reduce it and steep a little longer. Because of its mellow character it also brews well as a daily pot of tea, steeped Western-style for two to three minutes and re-steeped as the pot empties. Store sealed in a cool, dry place away from strong odours. Available in 50 g and 250 g packs.

Who this tea suits

Gong Mei Supreme sits in a useful middle ground in the white tea range: it has the sweetness and body to satisfy a daily drinker, the age to interest someone collecting aged whites, and a price that makes generous brewing easy. It is a good everyday aged tea for home or office, and because the leaf tolerates long steeps without turning bitter, it is forgiving for someone still learning to brew gongfu style. It also makes a gentle introduction to aged white tea for anyone who finds young whites too grassy or too light.