White tea is very different from other types of tea such as green or black tea. White tea leaves are plucked from a special varietal tea bush called Narcissus or chaicha bushes. Secondly the leaves are not steamed or pan-fired (the process used in green teas) or fermented and fired (the process used in black tea). The leaves are naturally withered and dried in the sun. If mechanical drying is required it is a baking process at temperatures less that 40’C. Thirdly only special ‘two leaves and a bud’ are selected. These leaves must show a very light green almost gray white color and be ideally be covered with velvet peach fuzz down. Shou Mei is one of the lower grades of white tea, but despite this it has the properties attributed to white teas. The leaves for Shou Mei are plucked during late April, May and June. The lack of processing and hand selection is evident in the leaf appearance of Shou Mei as it is somewhat mixed and tending flaky and flat. This Shou Mei has a more pronounced taste profile - almost oolong tea-like. Many white tea drinkers prefer this cup in that there is a ‘substance’ to the taste compared to the delicate nuances of other white teas.