Mei Cha (Vine Tea)

What is Mei Cha?

Mei Cha is drunk by the locals in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province - the amazing mountains where Avatar was filmed.

It is not a true “tea leaf” - it is a vine covered in a white frost of nutrients that dissolve in water, imbuing the brew with a unique taste. The more white frost, the better the Mei Cha.

Mei Cha has a grassy note mixed with surprisingly strong herbal flavor that wouldn’t be expected from a clean, clear, green-yellow liquid. But those more unique flavors are balanced by a floating honey sweetness both in the drink and the aftertaste.

It is light and smooth – a refreshing drink that is not heavy.

Mei Cha naturally has no caffeine, meaning it can be enjoyed even late at night or by people sensitive to caffeine.

Mei Cha + Water = So Sweet?!?!

Mei Cha has a surprising and unexpected superpower. The nutrients in the Mei Cha interact with the taste receptors on the tongue to “sweeten” normal water, giving an unexpected “sugar-water” taste to normal drinking water.

Drink some mei cha – a few sips is enough – and then drink some water. The water is now imbued with a clean, fresh sweetness that coats the whole mouth!

Take a look at the surprised reaction of Jesse and the team when trying the first Mei Cha samples in Changsha:

Jesse Says:

I’ve always been on the lookout for more herbal teas that are high quality, can be steeped Gongfu style, and are unique to certain regions of China. This one is special.

I have found I really take advantage of its strange ability to sweeten the taste of water in order to hydrate more at night time.

As a nighttime tea, Mei Cha not only scratches my gongfu tea itch, it also makes drinking normal water almost as sweet as a sports drink, but without any of the cloying sugar or corn-syrup taste.

I alternate between a few sips of the Mei Cha and a few sips of water, and both go down very well together. For someone like me with a lot of tea already, it’s good to have a tea that fits a different part of my day and a different habit than normal gongfu tea alone.

Also, because a serving of Mei Cha is only 3g, our 50g canisters will go a long way.

NOT JUST TEA, TEA CULTURE

Jesse believes the key to making good tea is to help his Chinese tea friends share not just their best teas, but the best ways to make the teas.

That's why each box comes also comes with an info card that tells you:

- Tea Origin
- Steep Temperature
- Steep Time
- Directions for both teapot steeping and gaiwan steeping

All Jesse’s Teahouse Tea Friends (that’s you now!) also get access to private YouTube videos where Jesse and his Chinese tea friends show you how to make the teas and explain the tea-making process. 

The links are on QR codes on the back of the info card included in the tea box.

Don't Forget Your Tea Pets!

In Chinese Gongfu Tea Tradition, Tea Pets accompany you at teatime and you "raise" them by feeding them tea! Don't forget to check the tea pet page before you go!