# Gong Mei (貢眉)

*Gòng Méi · White · Metal*

**archetype:** Imperial scribe

An imperial scribe in a quiet study: an even sweetness, a measured aroma, a soft breath of silk.

## History

Gong Mei — 'tribute eyebrow' — is made from the Xiao Bai Cha cultivar (a small-leaf white bush, distinct from the Da Bai Cha used for Yin Zhen and Bai Mu Dan). The leaf is finer, the profile more refined. Once Gong Mei was cheaper than Shou Mei but was positioned as 'tribute to the emperor' — hence the name. Today a good Gong Mei is valued for the subtlety and precision of its taste, without showiness.

> It is said that in the Qing era a governor of Fujian, choosing tea to be sent to the capital, found in a corner of a barn a basket with a particularly fine leaf. The leaf came from the small bushes of a neighbouring garden — no one had counted it among the important. The governor tasted it and said: 'This is the tribute.' Since then Gong Mei has been 'what is noticed only by those who know what to look at'.

## Terroir

300–700 m. weathered granite and slate. humid mists, mild winters. The standard is the leaf of small Xiao Bai Cha bushes, mostly from the village of Taimu in Fuding.

## Leaf

- **dry leaf:** small elongated leaves with silvery buds, neat, without large stems
- **warmed:** the warmed leaf — white honey, meadow herbs, vanilla, a faint silken note
- **after pour:** after the infusion — honey, acacia, meadow herbs, vanilla
- **taste:** white honey, meadow herbs, vanilla, a thin sweetness
- **finish:** measured, long, leaving a warm silk in the throat

## Properties

- **TCM:** cool, yin; nourishes yin, supports stomach and lungs
- **Modern:** rich in antioxidants and theanine; very gentle stimulation, suits a sensitive nervous system
- **Cha qi:** light, warm, measured; felt as 'a straight back in an armchair'
- **Caffeine:** moderate (25–40 mg)

## Brewing ritual

a 150 ml gaiwan; 90 °C; 5 g / 150 ml. 18s — an even honey, meadow herbs; 22s — the peak: vanilla, a thin sweetness; 30s — a measured note, a long calm finish; 50s — a late trail — warm silk.

## When to drink

day and early evening. spring and autumn. for quiet writing, for precision, before composing an important text. acacia, white pear, fine biscuits, white cheese. solitary work over a text; a conversation with an equal

## Tea meditation

1. Sit straight. The leaf is written only in stillness.
2. Each sip is a measured line.
3. Don't strike out the aftertaste — let it write itself out to the end.

## Questions and answers

### How do you brew Gong Mei?

a 150 ml gaiwan; 90 °C; 5 g / 150 ml. 18s — an even honey, meadow herbs; 22s — the peak: vanilla, a thin sweetness; 30s — a measured note, a long calm finish; 50s — a late trail — warm silk.

### What does Gong Mei taste like?

white honey, meadow herbs, vanilla, a thin sweetness

### How much caffeine is in Gong Mei?

moderate (25–40 mg)

### What are the effects of Gong Mei?

rich in antioxidants and theanine; very gentle stimulation, suits a sensitive nervous system

## Related teas

- [Bai Mu Dan](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/bai-mu-dan)
- [Shou Mei](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/shou-mei)
- [Bai Hao Yin Zhen](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/bai-hao-yin-zhen)
- [White](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/class/white)