Tieguanyin (lron Goddess of Mercy),a famous Chinese tea
Originally produced in Xiping Town, Anxi County, south of Fujian, it spread to Xianghua, Gande, Changkeng, Huqiu and Jiandou towns. In Anxi, tea plucking starts from middle April to continue through the year. Spring tea tastes good, autumn tea has great fragrance, followed by winter tea, and summer tea is the poorest in quality. Heavy, green Tieguanyin looks like twisted granules. Beautiful like Kuan-yin, heavy like iron, its liquid is golden, with a longlasting fragrance of orchids and a mellow flavor. The brewed leaves have silk-like luster and are fragrant even after seven brewings.
Tieguanyin rough processing: fresh leaves-→sun withering →fixation →roasting for fixation →twisting →preliminary baking →packing twisting→drying. Fixation consists of alternately shaking and insulating 4-5 times and takes 8-10 hours.
Tieguanyin is a blue tea with the highest market share. As one of the most popular teas, Tieguanyin is expensive. It has great variety-dense fragrance, light fragrance, charcoal baked, ice fresh and preserved. Fresh Tieguanyin is best, so it is better to consume within the year of purchase.
Some tea merchants mix other blue tea with Tieguanyin. Be careful when you buy teal!
TIPS:
lce fresh Tieguanyin, a special variety seldom seen he market, should be kept in ice for freshness. The "dry tea"compact and actually wet. Brewing needs more leaves usual.
It has a lovely fragrance and should not be brewed for long.