Description
Best Before: 30 years from date of harvest, when stored in good conditions.
Technique: Fully Hand Made 全手工
Description of Packaging: Tin
Storage guide: Store away from strong smells and out of direct light. Best kept in an air tight container.
Harvest: Spring
Tea Farmer: Mr Chen
Tieguanyin (Oolong)
Tieguanyin is the most famous of Anxi county's Oolong teas. Tieguanyin's complex process of rolling during oxidisation forms tight pellets of tea with a complex range of flavours which slowly emerge when brewed. Prior to the 1990’s Tieguanyin and other Oolong teas were more heavily oxidised with a longer baking process, producing a deep brown coloured dry leaf tea, that was sometimes classed as an amber Oolong. Modern styles of Qingxiang (light fragrance) Oolong are much lighter and often mistaken as green tea due to the bright colour of the dried leaf. For this reason, you will often find these being called Jade Tieguanyin or just Jade Oolong.
Tieguanyin (Tie Guan Yin 铁观音) is spelt in a number of different ways including, Ti Kuan Yin, Tieh Kwan Yin & Tie Kwan Yin etc. which are derived from the Min Nan language and dialects where it is pronounced Tit Kwun Yum or Thih-koan-im. The name Tie Guan Yin can be translated as Tea of the Iron Bodhisattva, Iron Goddess of Mercy or sometimes just Iron Buddha tea. Traditionally the premium grades of Tie Guan Yin are known as Tie Guan Yin Wang or Tie Guan Yin King, though today you will find many mediocre teas with this title.
Gande, Anxi, Fujian 福建省安溪县感德镇
Dai Yun mountain range 戴云山 runs to the South East of Gande, and is the main mountain range of central Fujian.
The average altitude in Gande is around 807m, with the highest peaks being around 1600m, and the lowest point at 390m. Due to volcanic activity around 200m years ago, the local soils are high in silica which according to research from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University yields some of the best soils for Tieguanyin cultivation.
Not so many years ago, getting to Gande took several hours from Anxi along windy roads. Now, a direct high-speed, elevated road means that within 40 minutes you can be in the tea fields. It is believed that the annual output of tea from Gande is around 4800t.
Brewing Tie Guan Yin in a Gai Wan
Vessel Capacity: 150 - 200ml
Tea Quantity: 8g (loose leaf)
Water Temperature: 95 - 98c
People / Servings: 4
Medthod: Rinse the tea with a little hot water and then discard it. Next refill the tea pot and follow the infusion times below. For a 120ml Gaiwan you can either keep back 1-2g or add all the leaf. If you add all the leaf, you may want to revise the brewing times slightly (downward) to allow for the fuller flavour. Please note using a Zisha teapot times should be revised downward to allow for time for the liquor to pour from the tea pot.
Infusion Times (in seconds):
1st = 30.
2nd = 30.
3rd = 40.
4th = 50.
5th = 70.
6th = 90.
7th = 120.
Please visit our online tea brewing guide, which includes different methods and infusion times for all tea types.