Use a Chunmee code to choose which samples to request, not to approve a shipment. Codes such as 41022, 9371, 9370, 9369, 9368, 9367, 9366, 4011 and 3008 are useful export-trade references, but the code alone does not fix leaf uniformity, cup profile, analytical limits, destination compliance, packing or lot acceptance. A defensible purchase converts the code into an approved sample, written specification and contract decision rule.

What the number means - and what it does not

Chunmee, also called Mee tea, is the eyebrow-shaped Chinese green-tea family. The codes help suppliers and buyers open an RFQ in a familiar commercial lane. They are more like search keys than complete technical descriptions. Two offers carrying the same code can still differ by particle distribution, stalk and powder, colour, aroma, briskness, body, season, sorting target and destination-market programme.

China's official standards platform, checked on 7 August 2026, lists GB/T 14456.5-2016, Green tea - Part 5: Mee tea, as a current recommended national standard, published in 2016 and effective from 1 January 2017. The catalogue entry establishes the standard's status and scope; it does not make a bare grade code a complete purchase order, and this article does not reproduce the standard's controlled text.

Keep five controls separate

  • Trade reference: the Chunmee code narrows the commercial style and expected position. It is shorthand, not proof.
  • Legal requirement: destination rules for food safety, residues, contaminants, labelling and import control apply independently of the code.
  • Voluntary standard: a recommended GB/T or an ISO standard becomes controlling when law, a buyer specification or the parties' agreement adopts it.
  • Buyer specification: the buyer states measurable leaf, sensory, analytical, packing and documentation requirements.
  • Contract requirement: the signed agreement identifies the controlling sample and specification, inspection timing, decision rule, remedies and precedence if documents conflict.

A practical map of the nine codes

The table below maps Yunjing Tea's current Chunmee shortlist to a sensible starting comparison. It is not a claim that every supplier or market ranks the codes identically. Never select from the row alone: request adjacent candidates, compare them blind and record what the actual samples show.

CodeUseful starting laneInspect most closelyCompare against
41022Fine, tight appearance and upper-position selectionEyebrow shape, evenness, clean high aroma and repeatability9371 when appearance value must justify the step
9371Upper commercial balanceTightness, uniformity, briskness and rounded body41022 and 9370
9370Balanced wholesale or repacking programmeParticle range, clean cup and cost-to-target fit9371 and 9369
9369Regular mid-range distributionRecognisable shape, firmness, clarity and consistency9370 and 9368
9368Price-conscious commercial rangeSize variation, stalk, powder, toasted notes and briskness9369 and 9367
9367High-volume wholesale or blendingBroader distribution, cup strength and batch repeatability9368 and 9366
9366Value commercial programmeVisible variation, cleanliness, foreign matter and landed yield9367 and 3008
4011Strong export-style routeCompact-to-medium particles, body and strong-brew performanceA sensory target, not an assumed place in the 9371-9366 sequence
3008Economy bulk, blending or large-volume routeCoarser variation, powder, stalk, cleanliness and cost-in-use9366 plus the intended blend or packed product

Notice that 4011 should not be inserted into a simple numerical ladder. It is safer to treat it as a separate strong-cup route and test it against the buyer's end use. Likewise, a visually finer candidate is not automatically the best commercial choice if the market needs strength, a particular pack price or blend performance.

Use this six-step selection method

  1. Write the end use. State whether the tea is for loose wholesale, consumer repacking, a house blend or further processing. Record the destination, target price structure, brewing convention and attributes that customers notice first.
  2. Request an adjacent sample set. Start with one likely code plus the closest higher and lower commercial alternatives. For a strong-cup requirement, add 4011. This reveals whether extra appearance or a lower-cost lane changes the actual buying outcome.
  3. Compare under one protocol. Blind the identities and hold tea mass, water, temperature, time, vessel and serving order constant. The site's consistent supplier cupping method provides a repeatable worksheet and stop conditions.
  4. Measure the dry leaf. Replace words such as "fine" or "clean" with a retained reference, screen or particle-distribution method, maximum stalk and powder limits, foreign-matter rule, colour description and agreed defect tolerances. Photographs can support the record but should not replace a physical retained sample.
  5. Qualify safety and composition separately. Apply the destination's current legal limits and agreed test methods. ISO's catalogue says ISO 11287:2011 covers green-tea definition, basic chemical requirements, packing and marking; it remains current after confirmation in 2021. Use the applicable full standard and market law, not a code-based assumption.
  6. Lock the shipment control. Identify the approved sample, production lot, sampling method, laboratory evidence, pre-shipment comparison, pack marks, acceptance rule and remedy. ISO lists ISO 1839:1980, Tea - Sampling, as current after confirmation in 2024; its scope includes containers of all sizes, sample packing, labelling, dispatch and the sampling report.

Copy this comparison specification

FieldWrite into the RFQ or specificationEvidence at approvalContract checkpoint
IdentityChunmee code, supplier item, origin and intended useLabelled candidate samplesLot and package marks match
AppearanceShape, screen range, stalk, powder, colour and foreign matterSealed sample plus measurementsProduction composite compared with reference
SensoryPreparation method, target aroma/liquor/taste and critical off-notesBlind comparison sheetsPrewritten pass, clarify or stop rule
AnalyticalParameter, limit, unit, method, basis and destination ruleQualified laboratory scopeLot-linked report and decision rule
PackingInner liner, outer pack, net mass, closure, marks and pallet planApproved pack sample/artworkInspection and packing-list match
Conflict rulePrecedence among contract, specification, sample and seller documentsSigned revision setRemedy, retest and rejection path

For sensory work, ISO's catalogue lists ISO 3103:2019 as current after confirmation in 2025 and says it specifies preparation of tea liquor for sensory tests. If the contract requires ISO preparation, obtain the full document and cite the edition. If the team uses a house method, write it fully and do not label it ISO.

Common buyer mistakes

  • Assuming a larger or smaller number always means better tea.
  • Requesting only one code, leaving no adjacent sample to test value.
  • Comparing quoted prices before blinding sensory evaluation.
  • Using adjectives without a reference sample, measurement or tolerance.
  • Approving a sales sample that is not linked to the later production lot.
  • Letting a supplier's code replace current destination-law checks.
  • Specifying laboratory limits without method, unit, basis or decision rule.
  • Ignoring pack dimensions and net yield when comparing landed cost.
  • Changing acceptance rules after seeing a preferred supplier's result.
  • Treating a voluntary standard, buyer specification and signed contract as interchangeable.

Practical conclusion

The safest path is end use - adjacent codes - blind samples - measurable specification - representative lot sample - legal and analytical review - contract release. The winning code is the one whose actual production lot meets the buyer's target at the agreed commercial terms, not the number that sounds most prestigious.

Start with the full Chunmee product range, use the bulk green tea specification template, review Yunjing Tea's sample-to-shipment quality controls and bulk packing options, then send the destination, end use, target sample and volume when requesting an adjacent-code comparison.

Sources checked 7 August 2026: SAMR national standards platform, GB/T 14456.5-2016, Green tea - Part 5: Mee tea (current recommended national standard); ISO 11287:2011, Green tea - Definition and basic requirements (confirmed 2021); ISO 1839:1980, Tea - Sampling (confirmed 2024); and ISO 3103:2019, Tea - Preparation of liquor for use in sensory tests (confirmed 2025).