Jin Jun Mei "UNIBROW"

The infamous Jin Jun Mei. Apparently this tea really blew up recently and was the hot new thing a couple years ago. The process for making it was first developed around the mid 2000s and -- while coming in various 'qualities' -- is famous for taking tens of thousands of individual buds to make a half a kilo of tea.

What about this Jin Jun Mei?
We're calling this bad boy UNIBROW because it's not your typical Jin Jun Mei. I've drank 'tippier' (read: pricier) versions of this tea but I felt they lacked some of the malty, gentle robustness of the teas I really liked. It seemed like I was paying extra to taste less?

Enter UNIBROW. Just like actual unibrows, while they may not be the 'go-to' look, they have a special quality all their own. Some people even go out of their way to nurture them. That is how we view this tea. It is Jin Jun Mei and contains all the fruity, floral and near-hoppy flavor, but is a bit less delicate than other, more expensive tip-centric collections. It also has that mysterious and captivating yancha-minerality.

I think this tea really sums up the sensibilities of this tea shop: it both tastes as good if not better (in my opinion) and costs far less than other versions of these teas.

How to brew?
I prefer brewing about 3 or 4g in a small gaiwan (65-80ml) in short steeps to get balanced flavors without overstressing the minerality or general power of the tea. I would be careful about brewing grandpa-style and leaving the leaves in forever.