Lao Shou Mei (老壽眉)
archetype: Old grandmother with herbs
An astringent simplicity, a healing nature, the smell of an attic full of dry herbs.
History
Lao Shou Mei is aged Shou Mei (5 years and older). In Fuding the white tea is traditionally kept in the attic: dry air, wood, a minimum of light. Year by year the 'lunar' note of the young tea recedes, and honey, dry herbs, warm stone and dried fruit emerge. After 10–15 years the leaf becomes dark chestnut and the brew a saturated red-brown. As the saying goes: 'three-year — tea, seven-year — medicine, fifteen-year — treasure'.
In the villages of Fuding the grandmothers always kept a brick of old white tea in the attic — for a cold, fever or melancholy. When a child fell ill, the grandmother broke off a piece, boiled it in a clay kettle with dates and gave it to the sick. After that the illness left faster than it had come. Lao Shou Mei is 'a grandmother in a cup': she knows what you need better than you do.
Terroir
200–800 m (leaf), stored in attics of houses in Fuding. red clay, sandstone; the main factor is the duration and conditions of ageing. the dry air of the attic, cool nights in winter, a warm summer. Not to be confused with quick 'aged' white tea: a real Lao Shou Mei is slow oxidation in a dry environment, not wet fermentation.
Leaf
dry leaf: large dark-chestnut leaves with silvery buds; in the hand smelling of attic, dry herbs and warm wood
warmed: the warmed leaf — dry herbs, honey, bark, warm stone
after pour: after the rinse — dry herbs, prune, honey, incense
taste: dried fruit, honey, bark, healing herbs, a long warming aftertaste
finish: very long, warming; the aftertaste lasts an hour, leaving a warm calm in the chest
Properties
TCM: warm (after ageing), gentle; warms the middle, nourishes kidneys and lungs, disperses cold and damp, raises immunity
Modern: very high antioxidant content; traditionally used as a cold and cough remedy, supports immunity
Cha qi: dense, warm, descending; felt as a 'grandmother's palm' on the chest
Caffeine: low (20–35 mg) — much of it breaks down with ageing
Brewing ritual
a 200 ml clay kettle — to boil 'lao bai cha'; 100 °C, may be boiled directly; 6 g / 200 ml. 20s — the first decoction: dry herbs, honey; 25s — the peak: bark, prune, healing depth; 40s — a long warming note; 70s — the finale — a warm trail of the attic; 120s — a very long decoction — may be boiled together with dates.
When to drink
day and early evening; may be boiled at night. winter and a damp shoulder season. at the first signs of a cold, in a seasonal slump, when the body is tired. dried fruit, dates (especially good cooked together), honey, ginger pastry, baked pumpkin. solitude on a cold evening; tending to a sick relative
Tea meditation
- Grandmother knows better what you need.
- Don't hurry the brew.
- This tea warms not the stomach — but the inner roads of the body.
Questions and answers
How do you brew Lao Shou Mei?
a 200 ml clay kettle — to boil 'lao bai cha'; 100 °C, may be boiled directly; 6 g / 200 ml. 20s — the first decoction: dry herbs, honey; 25s — the peak: bark, prune, healing depth; 40s — a long warming note; 70s — the finale — a warm trail of the attic; 120s — a very long decoction — may be boiled together with dates.
What does Lao Shou Mei taste like?
dried fruit, honey, bark, healing herbs, a long warming aftertaste
How much caffeine is in Lao Shou Mei?
low (20–35 mg) — much of it breaks down with ageing
What are the effects of Lao Shou Mei?
very high antioxidant content; traditionally used as a cold and cough remedy, supports immunity
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