Ya-Ya’s Tea-Board

Only 2 oolongs are on the list of the 10 most famous Chinese teas: Da Hong Pao (’Big Red Robe‘) and Ti Guan Yin (’Iron Goddess of Mercy‘), both originally from Fujian Province. Both come from Fujian Province, Da Hong Pao (DHP) from Wuyi Shan in Northern Fujian and Ti Guan Yin (TGY) from Anxi in Southern Fujian. While both are very famous oolongs, they also represent a kind of ‘archetype’ of two different shapes of oolong: ball-shaped (TGY) vs. stripe-shaped (DHP) oolongs. In this post, I’ll be looking into the history and some of the characteristics of Ti Guan Yin.

First off, the spelling for this tea varies greatly and you might come across names like Ti Kwan Yin, Ti Kuan Yin, Tiguanyin and others. They all refer to exactly the same tea: a ball-shaped greenish oolong originally from Anxi in Fujian Province, China.

Legend has it that Mr. Wei, a poor farmer in Anxi County, passed by a dilapidated temple for Guan Yin - the goddess of merci and an incarnation of Buddha - every day on his way to his field.
He didn’t have money to fix the temple but whenever he passed by, he stopped and did what he could to keep it tidy. One day, as he sat down in the temple for prayer, the statue of the goddess came alive and spoke to him. Guan Yin thanked him for his devotion and told him that he would find a reward for all his efforts outside behind the temple. He should take care of it and it would secure his future and that of future generations. When Mr. Wei woke up from his trance, the goddess had once again turned into a statue. Following Guan Yin’s words, he went outside to look behind the temple. There, he found a small and weak tea plant which he undug and took home with him. After a few years, it had grown into a majestic tea bush and the tea that he prepared from it was unlike any other tea. The leaves produced an incredibly fragrant infusion and its reputation spread far and wide. Before long, many bushes were grown from clippings of Mr. Wei’s tea bush and the tea trade in the area flourished.

While TGY originated in Fujian Province, it was brought to Taiwan by immigrants in the late Qing dynasty (1644 - 1912).  Interestingly enough, both types of TGY have developed in different ways. As is so often the case, the tradition that’s been brought to a different land has preserved much more of the old culture than the ever-evolving tradition in the place of its origin. So today, Taiwan’s TGY processing gives us an insight into the ‘traditional’ TGY where the floral fragrance is balanced with a medium to strong roasting, while the roasting is now often very light in Chinese TGY because the Chinese market prefers the ethereal floral notes.

TGY that has undergone a decent amount of roasting is very well suited for ageing and can build up a high level of Qi. In fact, I had my first experience of strong Qi drinking a TGY from the 1970s!

We offer a Chinese ‘Organic Autumnal AnXi Tie Guan Yin‘ for $25.30 / 100g and a Taiwanese ‘Organic Tie Guan Yin‘ for $19.90 / 100g (If you’d like to buy some, please visit our ordering page)