The Tie Guan Yin Oolong tea
- Written by En Jie Rudd
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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.
En Jie Rudd
The founder and owner of Valley Green Tea
I grew up in the Fu-Jian Province – the tea country of China. Tea drinking has been part of our daily life for as long as I can remember.
While I was working as a public health researcher a few years ago, I read many research reports conducted over the last 30 years about the health benefits of green tea in fighting certain life style related challenges such as cancer, obesity, cardio-vascular and inflammatory diseases etc.
From my research, I realised there is a significant gap between what people consume (i.e. commercial tea bags) for assumed health benefits and the actual benefits that have been enjoyed by the Chinese for a long history from the premium loose leaf teas.
As well as being potentially beneficial to health, the premium loose teas (green tea being the biggest group) are most enjoyable beverages with a fascinating history, colourful culture and holistically dynamic in every aspect.
It is my passion to share, not only the products, but also the whole culture dynamics around the premium teas with the tea enthusiasts, here in Australia and around the world.
Valley Green Tea currently supplis a diverse range of premium loose teas to the tea drinking community that suit all tastes and all cultures and to pass on a deep understanding of the history and benefits of this wonder beverage.
Website: https://www.valleygreentea.com.au