Tie Guanyin (Iron Guanyin, or Buddhist Goddess of Mercy | 鐵觀音) is one of most famous oolong teas in China; it is originally from Anxi, in Southern Fujian Province. The tea is also very popular among Cantonese people.
There are several levels of oxidization available for this tea, from very green (flowery flavour) to highly oxidized (ideally charcoal fired, and much warmer in energy).
Traditionally, Tie Guanyin was crafted only using it's eponymous cultivar (鐵觀音). These days, many of the teas grown in the Anxi region and labeled as Tie Guanyin are often created with other cultivars. These include:
- Mao Xie (毛蟹), translated as 'hairy crab'. This cultivar has high yields but (in our experience) may not have the same complexity of flavours as the heirloom.
- Ben Shan (本山) is another very old cultivar from the Anxi region that can also develop some very interesting aromas.
In the late 1970's and early 1980's Taiwan was quickly modernizing its tea industry; rolling tea leaves into tight 'pearls' was one of the innovations that quickly became very popular. When dealing with lightly oxidized, bright and floral high mountain oolongs, tightly rolled tea presented two advantages: it provided some protection against oxidization and it enabled more efficient transportation (since tight pearl occupy less space and are less brittle).
Taiwanese influence was quickly felt in Anxi, where the vast majority of tea growers adopted the new ways. Moreover, Anxi growers also started to gravitate towards lighter oxidized, more floral oolongs.
