méichá

Zhenmei (zhēnméi 珍眉) is China’s principal export green tea, an “eyebrow” leaf of the long pan-fired type, whose name literally refers to a twist “like an eyebrow”. A whole hierarchy of commercial grades is built around it — from the premium tèzhēn to the sifted xiùméi — which for decades has fed the markets of North and West Africa.

Origin and Terroir

The homeland of mei cha (眉茶) is the so-called “green triangle” at the junction of three provinces: Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangxi (浙皖赣三角). It is here that the culture of long pan-fired green tea cháng chǎoqīng (长炒青) developed, from which, after finishing, the entire spectrum of “eyebrow” grades is obtained.

Within this area, regional trade names have historically become established, essentially denoting the origin of mei cha:

• Tunlü (túnlǜ 屯绿) — from Anhui, the Tunxi/Xiuning area (屯溪/休宁); a historical export brand of Huizhou tea, immortalised in the formula “qíhóng túnlǜ” (祁红屯绿) — “Qihong red and Tun green”.
• Wulü (wùlǜ 婺绿) and Raolü (ráolǜ 饶绿) — from Jiangxi, Wuyuan/Shangrao counties (婺源/上饶); the local tea is described by the saying “chá bù dào wùyuán bù xiāng” (茶不到婺源不香) — “tea is not fragrant until it reaches Wuyuan”. Today the region is known for supplying organic green tea to the EU.
• Suilü / Hanglü / Wenlü (suìlǜ / hánglǜ / wēnlǜ 遂绿/杭绿/温绿) — the main Zhejiang trade names for mei cha.

Outside the triangle, long pan-fired green tea under provincial names (xiānglǜ, èlǜ, qiánlǜ, yùlǜ, shūlǜ — 湘绿/鄂绿/黔绿/豫绿/舒绿) is produced for both the domestic market and for export.

Raw Material and Processing Type

The foundation of the entire range is maocha (毛茶) — the unrefined, “crude” tea of the long pan-fired type. Its profile determines the character of all subsequent grades: a twisted thread “like an eyebrow” (条索如眉), a green, oily tone of the leaf (绿润), a chestnut aroma (栗香, lìxiāng), and a dense, full-bodied infusion (醇厚).

Production is divided into two stages.

Primary processing (chūzhì 初制) yields maocha: fixation by pan-firing, rolling, and drying using a hot pan-firing method, which forms the cháng chǎoqīng type.

Refining and finishing (jīngzhì 精制) transforms the heterogeneous maocha into calibrated commercial grades. Key operations include:

• shāifēn (筛分) — sifting and calibration by size and shape;
• fēngshàn (风扇) — winnowing to separate light fractions;
• jiǎntī (拣剔) — picking out stems and defects;
• pūhuǒ (扑火) — final drying and “tightening” over fire.

It is precisely the sorting by fraction and shape — not different raw materials — that produces the various grades: the same maocha separates into large, even leaf, fine selections, short twisted particles, and fine siftings.

The Gradation Range of “Eyebrow” Teas

The mei cha family is structured as a continuous series from the highest to the lowest:

Tezhen (tèzhēn 特珍) — “Special Chunmee”, the highest grade of mei cha: the most even and large leaf of the zhenmei class. It is exported, primarily to North and West Africa.

Zhenmei (zhēnméi 珍眉, Chun Mee) — the main export grade and the “face” of the entire category. Under the name “Chun Mee”, this is the primary Chinese green tea in the Moroccan market and, more broadly, the country’s main export green tea.

Fengmei / Zhenmei Needle (fèngméi / zhēnméi 凤眉/针眉, Sowmee/needle) — a medium grade: finer and smaller selections of the “eyebrow” leaf.

Yucha (yǔchá 雨茶, Young Hyson / “rain tea”) — short, twisted particles sifted out during finishing; notably, yucha is obtained from both long pan-fired (眉) and round pan-fired (珠) tea.

Gongxi / Xichun (gòngxī / xīchūn 贡熙/熙春, Hyson) — a historical grade: it was “熙春/贡熙” that was supplied to Europe as Hyson in the 18th century, leaving a mark on English tea nomenclature.

Xiumei (xiùméi 秀眉, Sowmee) — the lowest grade: fine, light siftings.

Parallel to the “eyebrow” axis exists the “pearl” axis: Pingshui Zhucha (píngshuǐ zhūchá 平水珠茶, Gunpowder) from Pingshui (Shaoxing) in Zhejiang. This is a round pan-fired green tea (yuán chǎoqīng 圆炒青), rolled into tight pellets “like pearls” — “green pearls”, known in the West as “gunpowder tea” for its pellet shape; it is famed for its endurance through multiple infusions (耐泡) and the historical brand 天坛 (Temple of Heaven). During finishing, zhucha also separates into grades — pearl tea proper, as well as yucha and xiumei.

Standards and Position in the System

Mei cha belongs to the long pan-fired green tea category, and its gradations are an institutionalised part of China’s export commodity system, where grades are determined by the result of refining (calibration by shape, size, purity, and degree of fire-finishing). The logic of standardisation here is not a difference in raw material, but the reproducibility of the grade: a buyer in Casablanca or Dakar must receive the same “eyebrow” under the name Chun Mee year after year. (Specific current GB/T numbers for each grade are not cited here, to avoid introducing unverified data.)

Taste and Brewing

The basic profile of mei cha is defined by the cháng chǎoqīng type: a chestnut, toasty aroma (栗香), an oily-green dry leaf, and a dense, “full-bodied” infusion (醇厚). Moving down the range — from tèzhēn to xiùméi — the leaf becomes finer, the infusion sharper and simpler, and evenness is lost in the lower siftings.

For the Moroccan style, the tea is traditionally brewed strong, with an abundance of fresh mint and sugar, in a metal teapot — here, it is the endurance of the infusion and the saturation that are valued, not nuance. To assess the pure character of mei cha, a moderate leaf quantity, hot (but not aggressively boiling) water, and a short steeping time are sufficient: this reveals the chestnut note, the density of the body, and the evenness of the twist.

History and Culture

Mei cha and zhucha are the two pillars of Chinese green tea exports. Under the name Hyson, “熙春/贡熙” reached European tables as early as the 18th century, and in the 20th century, “Chun Mee” (zhenmei) and “Gunpowder” (Pingshui zhucha) became recognisable international labels, especially in the markets of North and West Africa, where Morocco is the largest consumer of “eyebrow” green tea. The regional names — túnlǜ, wùlǜ, the Zhejiang suìlǜ/hánglǜ/wēnlǜ — record that behind the unified export brand stand the specific historical tea districts of the Huizhou and Jiangxi-Zhejiang tradition.

How to Distinguish and Avoid Confusion

• “Eyebrow” versus “pearl”. Mei cha is a long, curved, thread-twisted leaf (long pan-fired, 长炒青); zhucha/Gunpowder consists of dense, round pellets (round pan-fired, 圆炒青). These are two different rolling methods within the same family of pan-fired green tea.
• The grade is read by shape and uniformity. The high-grade tèzhēn and zhēnméi are even, large, clean “eyebrows”; fèngméi is finer and smaller; yǔchá consists of short twisted particles; xiùméi is a fine, light sifting. The more dust, fragments, and stems present, the lower the grade.
• Name ≠ grade. Hyson/gòngxī is a historical trade label, not the “best” tea; Young Hyson is yucha. Do not confuse Western names with the Chinese gradation system.
• A regional name indicates origin. Túnlǜ, wùlǜ, suìlǜ point to where the mei cha comes from, but are not grades in themselves: within each region, the entire range from tèzhēn to xiùméi exists.
• Type ≠ flavouring. Pan-fired mei cha with its chestnut tone should not be confused with oven-dried (烘青) green tea, which serves as the base for jasmine tea: the pan-fired tea has a noticeably “hotter” and denser aroma.

Thus, the “eyebrow” range turns out to be not just a list of varieties, but an engineering system: a single pan-fired maocha, separated by sieves and winnowers into reproducible commercial classes, which have borne the export reputation of Chinese green tea for a century.