Nowadays, Xiamei village is just a dot on the map of China, but if you open a history of Chinese tea, you'll discover that the village once played a crucial role in the globalization of the beverage.

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Xiamei was the first departure point for the export of Wuyi rock tea from Fujian province.

The early history revolves around the Meixi River, the shallow waterway that bisects the village. Xiamei is located on the lower reaches of the river, hence its name, xia, which means "lower" in English. Further upstream is a village called Shangmei, or "higher mei".