祁门金针 Qimen Jin Zhen "Gold Bud / Gold Needle" is a tippier, more delicate, premium grade of the globally recognized "Keemun Black Tea" from Qimen County in southern Anhui Province.

The utmost care is demanded by the craft of this varietal and is evident in its pillowy, delicate texture of sweet yam and appled broth briskly delivered through a tight, succinct mouthfeel structure with ample returning sweetness and salivation.

Inspired by Fujian hong cha styles, Qimen red tea was developed in the late 1800s and gained recognition beyond its domestic market to become the primary export commodity black tea coming out of China, competing with the leafy, maximally oxidized, and robust expressions of Indian black teas, and eventually winning gold medals at international tea expos throughout the 20th century, as well as becoming a favorite of the British royal family.  It is now in the ranks of the Four Major Black Teas in the world, alongside Darjeeling, Assam, and Ceylon black teas.

As the domestic market demand for more specialty varietals increased in the late 20th century, this more delicate Gold Bud varietal was developed by highlighting a tippier plucking grade during its harvesting.  Whereas the existent 祁红毛峰 Qi Hong Mao Feng features a later harvest with more leaf mass, Gold Bud features a meticulously gathered pickings of 1 bud - 1 partially opened leaf in the early spring; its harvest window only lasting a couple of days and requiring much attention to detail with low yield.

This tea was harvested on April 1st at 800 meters outside of Hongqiling, in the Xianyushan scenic area, an area renowned for its clean alpine environment and selenium-rich soils.  The producer Mr. Li is pictured below.

A precursor to Jin Jun Mei?

Jin Jun Mei, a tippy, early spring-harvested red tea from Tongmu Village, played a key role in further invigorating the red tea market in the mid-2000s. Its creator, Liang Junde, may have drawn inspiration from Qimen Gold Bud during a visit to Qimen County just before developing Jin Jun Mei. When this new government-backed varietal debuted in 2007, it set record prices for red tea, sparking a shift in the market toward higher quality production; the success pushing farmers to meet the growing demand to improve versions of existent red tea. While Qimen Gold Bud may have influenced Jin Jun Mei during its inception, it has in turn benefited from its descendant's success, becoming not only a gourmet varietal within the Qimen family, but a premier rival to the monumental Jin Jun Mei.

While not from Tongmu so therefore not an official Jin Jun Mei, this year's Zhenghe County "Jin Jun Mei" crafted by white tea legend Yang Feng serves us another tippy, gourmet red.  While sure to be in the shadow of the real Tongmu Jin Jun Mei, we recommend Qimen Gold Bud and Zhenghe JJM as ideal alternatives due to their competitive quality at a much more approachable price.