This Jin Jun Mei is currently the second most expensive black tea in China, with shops selling the higher grade for prices up to $1600 for 100g. It has soared in both popularity and cost since it was created in 2005 by Mr. Jiang Yuan Xun, the general manager of Wu Yi Zheng Shan tea company. Whilst accompanying some guests on a visit to the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian, famous for Oolong teas, some wild tea bushes were discovered growing at over 1800 metres altitude in the Wuyi Nature Reserve. The guest suggested making some black tea so the harvested buds were sent to Tongmu village where the first black tea, Lapsang Souchong was created 300 years before. The famous tea master Mr. Liang Junde took upon the task of making the new tea himself, using a process similar to the traditional Lapsang Souchong but eliminating the distinctive smoking process. This leaves the tea to develop a complex character, with aromas of fruit, flower and honey and malt. Part of the reason for the high price of this tea is that it will take over twenty, skilled farmers a whole day to collect enough shoots to make just a few hundred grams of tea. The artful hands of the tea master are then set to work for another labour intensive part of the manufacturing process. As I mentioned, even given this, the current price of the next higher grade Jin Jun Mei is more reflective of the demand for this fashionable tea, which is given by those that can afford it, as an honoured gift. This tea comes in a bewildering array of grades and is now even faked to satisfy the demand. The tea we are selling is from the early March picking, before the Qing Ming or Tomb Sweeping Festival, the time when most of the famous teas from China are made. The delicate, twisted leaves, with a high concentration of golden tips, are smaller than many other gold tipped teas. It has a beautiful appearance, both in the leaf and in the infusion, which has a clear, sweetish flavour that delivers the promised notes of honey and fruit. We can also supply the highest grade Jin Jun Mei to order for an approximate price of £550 for an original 100g tin.