Méichá jiāzú

Méichá (眉茶) — “eyebrow tea” — is not a single variety but a whole scale of commercial gradations of long fried green tea (长炒青 cháng chǎoqīng), which for centuries was the main face of Chinese green tea exports. Under the international name “Chunmee,” this class still holds the markets of North and West Africa.

What méichá is and its origins

The name 眉茶 (méichá) describes the shape of the finished leaf: thin, twisted, slightly curved strips resembling a woman’s eyebrow. The basic raw material is long fried green tea 长炒青, which undergoes “killing the green” and rolling with a final roasting-drying, giving it its characteristic dense, elongated twist and a pronounced roasted (栗香 lìxiāng, “chestnut”) note.

The historical core of production is the junction of three provinces, the so-called “green triangle” of Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangxi (浙皖赣 Zhè-Wǎn-Gàn). This is where the classic commercial names “by place” were formed:

• 屯绿 (túnlǜ, Tunlu) — from Tunxi and Xiuning in Anhui, historical 徽州; together with Qimen black tea, it formed the famous pair “祁红屯绿”.
• 婺绿 / 饶绿 (wùlǜ / ráolǜ) — from Wuyuan and Shangrao in Jiangxi; tea from here is said to be “茶不到婺源不香” (“tea has no fragrance until it reached Wuyuan”), a region known for organic supplies to the EU.
• 遂绿 / 杭绿 / 温绿 (suìlǜ / hánglǜ / wēnlǜ) — the main Zhejiang méichá marks.

Outside the triangle, the same style is produced by other provinces under their own names — 湘绿, 鄂绿, 黔绿, 豫绿, 舒绿 (Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Henan, Anhui), going to both the domestic market and for export.

Raw material and processing: from máochá to refining

The key to understanding the entire family is the division into two stages.

初制 (primary processing) gives máochá (毛茶) — “raw” long 炒青 of uneven size, with an admixture of fragments, stalks, and dust. At this stage, the leaf is already green-lustrous (绿润), with an “eyebrow-like” twist, a rich chestnut aroma, and a dense, soft infusion — this is the foundation of all export green tea.

精制 (refining) — what turns one máochá into a whole line of grades. Technological operations:

• 筛分 (shāifēn) — sieve sorting by size and length;
• 风扇 (fēngshàn) — air blowing to separate by weight and density;
• 拣剔 (jiǎntī) — picking out stalks, coarse and foreign particles;
• 扑火 (pūhuǒ) — final finishing-fire drying to stabilize moisture and aroma.

It is sorting, not different gardens or seasons, that forms the hierarchy: the same source material is divided into fractions from the largest and most even to the fine screenings.

Gradations of the Chunmee family

The scale is built primarily by size, evenness, and “class” of twist.

特珍 (tèzhēn, Special Chunmee)

The highest grade of méichá. The most even and large leaf of the 珍眉 class, a selected fraction of long 炒青. Exported as a premium item, primarily to North and West Africa.

珍眉 (zhēnméi, Chunmee)

The main, “load-bearing” grade of the entire family and the source of the international name Chun Mee. This is China’s main export green tea, the core of the Moroccan market. Thin curved strips, even twist, clean chestnut-green profile.

凤眉 / 针眉 (fèngméi / zhēnméi, Sowmee/needle)

Medium grade. Finer and smaller selections of méichá relative to 珍眉 — “needle-like” fractions separated during sorting.

雨茶 (yǔchá, Young Hyson / “rain tea”)

A special position: short twisted screenings obtained during refining. Importantly — 雨茶 is formed not only from long 炒青 but also from 圆炒青 (round fried, i.e., from the 珠茶/gunpowder line). These are compact, short-twisted particles separated in refining from both the méichá and zhūchá streams.

贡熙 (gòngxī, Hyson) / 熙春 (xīchūn)

The grade with the longest European history. Under the names “熙春/贡熙,” this tea was supplied to Europe as early as the 18th century (English Hyson). Today it belongs to the 炒青 class and is separated during sorting from both 珠茶 and 眉茶 production.

秀眉 (xiùméi, Sowmee)

The lower grade of the line — small, light screenings. The smallest and lightest fraction, separated by blowing and sieves; it completes the méichá scale.

When refining the round line (珠茶), a parallel set of grades is formed: 珠茶-贡熙 / 雨茶 / 秀眉, that is, the same “tail” names are applied to the zhūchá stream. This explains why 雨茶, 贡熙, and 秀眉 are found on both sides — both for “eyebrows” and for “pearls”.

Place in the 炒青 family

To avoid confusing the lines:

• 眉茶 / 长炒青 — long “eyebrow” twist → 特珍 · 珍眉 · 凤眉 · 雨茶 · 贡熙 · 秀眉.
• 珠茶 / 圆炒青 (平水珠茶, Gunpowder) — round “pearl” twist, a historical icon from Pingshui in Shaoxing (Zhejiang), “green pearl,” resistant to multiple infusions, brand 天坛. Its refining also yields 珠茶/雨茶/秀眉.

Both lines are the export pillars of green 炒青, diverging through the same African channels.

Taste and brewing

The profile of the Chunmee family is recognizable: lustrous green dry leaf with an “eyebrow” twist, clean chestnut (栗香) aroma, dense, even, softly rich (醇厚 chúnhòu) infusion without sharp grassiness. Higher grades (特珍, 珍眉) give a cleaner, more collected cup; lower ones (秀眉) — simpler and lighter, with a shorter aftertaste.

Practical guidelines for brewing green 炒青:

• water below boiling, approximately 80 – 85 °C, so as not to “burn” the leaf;
• glass or gaiwan to see the unfurling of the twist;
• short infusions, increasing steeping time to taste;
• large even grades (特珍, 珍眉) hold more infusions than fine 秀眉.

This is a workhorse, “everyday” green — its strength lies not in the nuanced aromatics of high-mountain artisanal tea, but in reliable, repeatable purity and body.

History and culture

The méichá family is primarily a history of trade. The grades 熙春/贡熙 (Hyson) feature in European trade of the 18th century, when Chinese green tea was a status commodity in England and on the continent. Later, the main consumer became not the West but the Maghreb: “Chun Mee” and Gunpowder entered the foundation of Moroccan and wider North and West African tea culture, where green tea with mint and sugar is an everyday social ritual.

Within China, the same long 炒青 technology nourished the historical 徽州 pair “祁红屯绿” and formed a dense network of regional marks by place of origin. Today, Wuyuan’s 婺绿 is notable as an organic supply to the EU.

How to distinguish within the family

Since all grades originate from one máochá through sorting, orient yourself by shape and fraction, not by “variety”:

• 特珍 / 珍眉 — long, even, clean “eyebrows”; large or medium-large fraction; minimum of fragments.
• 凤眉 / 针眉 — noticeably thinner and smaller, more “needle-like.”
• 雨茶 — short twisted particles; remember they can also come from the 珠茶 line.
• 贡熙 — a separate 炒青 fraction with a European “Hyson” lineage, found across both lines.
• 秀眉 — the smallest and lightest material; lighter in the cup, simpler in body.

And the main distinction by geometry: “eyebrow” (长炒青) versus “pearl” (圆炒青/珠茶). If the twist is long and curved — it is the méichá family; if they are dense round pellets — it is already Gunpowder, even with the same tail names of grades.