Mei Yang
Chief examiner — oolong programme
Mei Yang chairs the oolong examination board at the tea academy, with concurrent oversight of black-tea cross-panel calibration. Her remit covers paper-setting, candidate appeals, and the annual recalibration of cupping reference standards used across the Teamotea credentialing constellation. She completed her formal apprenticeship in 2008 under Master Wei Yuesheng of the Wudong ridge cooperative on Phoenix Mountain (凤凰山), Chaozhou, Guangdong — a four-year residency covering charcoal-roast cycles, single-bush selection, and the sensory taxonomy of the ten classical *Dāncōng* (单丛) aroma types. Following the residency she spent six years as resident evaluator at a Chaozhou export house, where she audited consignments against GB/T 21733-2008, the national standard for *Wūlóng chá* (乌龙茶), and built the cupping protocol now used in the Level I evaluator paper. Her specialty register on the examination board covers *Dāncōng* (单丛), *Mì Lán Xiāng* (蜜兰香), Phoenix Mountain (凤凰山) cultivars, *Zhèng Shān Xiǎo Zhǒng* (正山小种 — lapsang), *Jīn Jùn Méi* (金骏眉), and the broader *Hóng chá* (红茶) category. The Mì Lán Xiāng reference sample retained in the academy vault — drawn from the 2019 spring harvest at 1,150 m elevation — was selected and sealed under her supervision and remains the calibration benchmark for all candidates sitting the oolong evaluator examination. As chief examiner of the Certified oolong evaluator (Level I) credential, Mei Yang sets the blind-flight composition (typically eight infusions across four cultivars), authors the written aroma-identification section, and chairs the three-member panel that scores candidate cupping notes against the reference rubric. She is also a standing member of the recertification committee for Foundation tier holders working in hospitality. Beyond the examination board she contributes field documentation to the puerh.app and thetea.app editorial archives, with particular attention to the comparative oxidation curves of Guangdong oolong versus Fujian *Hóng chá* (红茶). Candidates seeking pre-exam exposure to her reference vocabulary can sit her open lectures listed via tea.events, and licensed material accompanying the Level I syllabus is distributed through shop.thetea.app. She holds no commercial interest in any single producer, in accordance with the academy conflict-of-interest charter ratified in 2022. Appeals against Level I oolong examination outcomes are directed to her chambers via the academy registrar within fourteen days of result publication.
Specialties
- *Dāncōng* (单丛)
- *Mì Lán Xiāng* (蜜兰香)
- Phoenix Mountain (凤凰山) cultivars
- *Zhèng Shān Xiǎo Zhǒng* (正山小种 — lapsang)
- *Jīn Jùn Méi* (金骏眉)
- *Hóng chá* (红茶)
Mei Yang chairs the oolong examination board at the tea academy, with concurrent oversight of black-tea cross-panel calibration. Her remit covers paper-setting, candidate appeals, and the annual recalibration of cupping reference standards used across the Teamotea credentialing constellation.
She completed her formal apprenticeship in 2008 under Master Wei Yuesheng of the Wudong ridge cooperative on Phoenix Mountain (凤凰山), Chaozhou, Guangdong — a four-year residency covering charcoal-roast cycles, single-bush selection, and the sensory taxonomy of the ten classical Dāncōng (单丛) aroma types. Following the residency she spent six years as resident evaluator at a Chaozhou export house, where she audited consignments against GB/T 21733-2008, the national standard for Wūlóng chá (乌龙茶), and built the cupping protocol now used in the Level I evaluator paper.
Her specialty register on the examination board covers Dāncōng (单丛), Mì Lán Xiāng (蜜兰香), Phoenix Mountain (凤凰山) cultivars, Zhèng Shān Xiǎo Zhǒng (正山小种 — lapsang), Jīn Jùn Méi (金骏眉), and the broader Hóng chá (红茶) category. The Mì Lán Xiāng reference sample retained in the academy vault — drawn from the 2019 spring harvest at 1,150 m elevation — was selected and sealed under her supervision and remains the calibration benchmark for all candidates sitting the oolong evaluator examination.
As chief examiner of the Certified oolong evaluator (Level I) credential, Mei Yang sets the blind-flight composition (typically eight infusions across four cultivars), authors the written aroma-identification section, and chairs the three-member panel that scores candidate cupping notes against the reference rubric. She is also a standing member of the recertification committee for Foundation tier holders working in hospitality.
Beyond the examination board she contributes field documentation to the puerh.app and thetea.app editorial archives, with particular attention to the comparative oxidation curves of Guangdong oolong versus Fujian Hóng chá (红茶). Candidates seeking pre-exam exposure to her reference vocabulary can sit her open lectures listed via tea.events, and licensed material accompanying the Level I syllabus is distributed through shop.thetea.app.
She holds no commercial interest in any single producer, in accordance with the academy conflict-of-interest charter ratified in 2022. Appeals against Level I oolong examination outcomes are directed to her chambers via the academy registrar within fourteen days of result publication.