This premium black tea may raise an eyebrow - a Golden Eyebrow!

Golden Eyebrow, relatively new on the tea scene, comes from China's Fujian Province. 

Raise your teacup, but not necessarily an eyebrow, to a relatively new black tea from China:  Golden Eyebrow. 

Jin Jun Mei - translates to "noble or high quality golden eyebrow" - comes from the Wuyi Mountains in the Fujian Province, located in southeast China. This region is known for producing great oolongs and black tea, including the hearty, smoky lapsang souchong. Although sharing the same locale as lapsang souchong, Golden Eyebrow has neither the heavy campfire taste nor it's centuries-old history. In fact, it hasn't yet met its quarter-century mark of existence.

Golden Eyebrow's  was founded in 2005 by a group of tea enthusiasts from Beijing who suggested to one of the local lapsang souchong tea producers to use only buds for a new tea, a departure from the standard one bud and two leaves. The idea behind this change-up was to produce a brew with a smoother taste and greater overall appeal to the tea-drinking market than lapsang souchong.

Golden Eyebrow's name derives from it color and shape.

The name derives from the shape and color of the tea leaves after they are oxidized. 

Not surprisingly harvesting and production is more labor intensive and comes with a higher price as well - though there's a range. The lower cost varieties are often comprised of older, larger buds, which yield a mostly gold color with a flatter, more earthy taste. Higher end Golden Eyebrow is made with younger, smaller buds, with a mix of gold and black, giving the tea a more vibrant, sweeter and delicate taste. 

Golden Eyebrow, curled shape in a blend of black and gold.

We purchased our Golden Eyebrow at, perhaps an unlikely source of fine teas, Zingerman's Delicatessen (BTS blog story coming soon!) in Ann Arbor. This is one of their own private label blends. (Maybe not a perfect pairing with a loaded pastrami sandwich, but a delightful accompaniment to another Zingerman's specialty, chocolate rugelach.)

Zingerman's tea pairs nicely with its chocolate rugelach.

The label describes Golden Eyebrow's taste notes as "starting with honeysuckle, then burnt sugar, then malted grain". We found it smooth, mellow, and delicious.  

Brewing guide, also on the label, recommends bringing water up to 185 degrees F and steeping for 1.5 seconds. Since we made a full pot, we upped the steeping time another 30 seconds for wonderful results. 

Current cost of  Zingerman's tea,  $15.00 for a 2 ounce package. 

Two thumb's up - as well as two approving eyebrows raised - to Golden Eyebrow tea.

Sources: Red Blossom Tea, Wu Feng Tea