The Tie Guan Yin Oolong tea

Tie Guan Yin History

Tie Guan Yin (English translation Iron Buddha) is one of the most popular Oolong teas. Some confused it with green tea due to its green appearance. The birth place of Tie Guan Yin is the An-Xi area of the Fu Jian Province, south-east of China. It is therefore often marketed as An-Xi Tie Guan Yin to emphasise its authenticity.

Tie Guan Yin Production

Tie Guan Yin is lightly fermented in comparison to the other Oolong teas, which is what gives it the deep green appearance. Its tastes is also gravitated towards the green tea end of the spectrum, refreshing and fragrant, yet with Oolong teas’ full body flavour and smooth texture. Some describe its fragrance as similar to a mild version of jasmine, but not as strong and over powering and of course it is not scented.
Tie Guan Yin is consumed wildly in south-east China and Asia. It is a very accessible tea and is one of the most popular teas used in Kung-Fu tea tasting.

Tie Guan Yin quality grade

Similar to all other Chinese teas, the quality difference in Tie Guan Yin is vast. From the top quality product which is typically:

• Harvested from plantations of high altitudes and ideal growth conditions including lack of environmental pollution;
• Harvested during the optimal time of the year, best being around the Qing Ming period according to the Chinese calendar (April) and under the ideal weather conditions (not too sunny with right level of humidity);
• Processed with highly traditional skills including many steps and stages, some repeated a few times;
• Fetching astonishing market prices up to hundreds folds of the lower quality counterparts.

There are also other quality grades for normal tea consumers’ daily consumption.

Organic Tie Guan Yin

The cost of the organic Tie Guan Yin production is relatively higher than the organic green teas, mainly due to the more mature leaves it uses, and thus requiring logger organic care. Organic Tie Guan Yin has a lighter fragrance and flavour.

Tie Guan Yin is a tea of must try. I however recommend the naive tea drinkers not to start from the top grade as it can take a little while to appreciate the subtle differences, similar to premium wines in this regard.