What is Tie Guan Yin Tea?
Tie Guan Yin (also known as Iron Goddess of Mercy) is one of the 3 subcategories of Chinese WuLong (Oolong) tea. Its distinct flavor and aroma set it apart from other Wu Long teas.
Traditional Tie Guan Yin is roasted and has deep floral notes and metallic rocky undertones. But in recent years there’s been a trend of making ‘greener’ styles that emphasize floral elements.
TIE GUAN YIN
Iron Goddess of Mercy
• Type: WuLong (oolong tea)
• Terroir: Fujian Province
• Taste: floral, metallic, rocky, light caramel (if roasted)
• Aroma: floral, sweet, metallic
• Tie Guan Yin refers to an entire subcategory of Chinese WuLong Tea, so there will be some variation in flavor and aroma depending on style
Let’s talk about this popular Wu Long (Oolong) and get to it – What is Tie Guan Yin Tea? Before getting too far into we’ll cover some basics about Wu Long (Oolong) Tea:
What is Wu Long Tea?
What is Wu Long (Oolong) tea? Wu Long Tea is one of the 6 categories of Chinese tea, but arguably the most diverse and loved by connoisseurs. Within the category of Wu Long, there are 3 distinct types or styles of tea:
Tie Guan Yin
Dan Cong
And Yan Cha
If you’re new to Wu Long, check out our What is Chinese WuLong (Oolong) Tea? guide here. It goes into detail - without being too heady or confusing.
Why is it Called Iron Goddess of Mercy?
Tie Guan Yin translates to the Iron Goddess of Mercy. The tea gets its name from Guan Yin, the goddess of compassion, important within Chinese Buddhism.
What does Tie Guan Yin Taste Like?
It’s important to note that there are a few different styles of Tie Guan Yin that taste pretty different.
Traditional Tie Guan Yin Taste
Deep, floral, metallic, roasty
New Style ‘Green’ Tie Guan Yin Taste
Bright, crisp, floral, and a bit metallic
What does Tie Guan Yin Smell Like?
Traditional Tie Guan Yin Taste
Toasty, metallic, sweet
New Style ‘Green’ Tie Guan Yin Taste
Bright/crisp floral, and a bit metallic
Where is Tie Guan Yin Grown?
Tie Guan Yin is grown in Anxi County in South Fujian, China.
Fujian is an important place for Wu Long. It’s also home to WuYi YanCha, another famous kind of Chinese Wu Long. Fujian is a mountainous, rocky area. This has a great impact on the tea as it’s growing and starts to influence the flavor of the tea.
Teas from this area have a slight minerality that the flavor is expressed around.
Simply put: They taste a little rocky, but in a good way. More or less what you’d imagine the environment in Fujian tastes like (this is the basis of Terroir, by the way).
How is Tie Guan Yin Made?
These are the steps involved in making Tie Guan Yin. If you’re totally new to Wu Long (Oolong), check out the section on how is Wu Long Tea Made?, the guide we made about all things Wu Long. It goes over all these steps in much more detail.
Common Varietals Used
Tie Guan Yin
Huang Jin Gui
Ben Shan
Grassy
Mao Xi (Hairy Crab)
Picking Season
What’s unique about Tie Guan Yin, is that its fall harvest usually sells for just as much as the spring harvest. Why is this special?
Well… Almost all Chinese tea is picked during a small window of time during the spring, right when the tea plants bud. These buds are thought to be the best for making tea because they contain nutrients that yield the best flavors during the making.
So most teas (especially Green teas) are only harvested once a year in the spring. In most tea-growing areas, tea plants will bud again in the fall, and sometimes tea is made from them. But the teas produced are usually inferior in flavor. Therefore, they sell at lower prices.
Why Are Autumn Tea Harvests (Usually) Inferior?
Because the summer growing months don’t necessarily stress the plant in ways that winter and spring do. Slight stresses in the plant actually increase some of the desired chemical properties within the leaf. That’s why the first flush in early spring is typically the best time to harvest the tea - although it’s more expensive.
Why Is the Autumn Tea Harvest Good for Tie Guan Yin?
The rainy weather in Anxi during the late spring and summer causes the autumn harvest to have a better aroma, which is a highly desired attribute. Though the taste is a little less flavor-forward in fall teas, the aroma gives autumn tea a unique position compared to other fall-harvested teas.
Tie Guan Yin Processing Styles
Tie Guan Yin has 2 processing styles:
Traditional (where fermentation/oxidation steps happen at room temperature)
New Style (where fermentation/oxidation steps are done with controlled room temperature)
Picking Grade
3-4 leaves and a stem, but no buds.
Withering
Once the leaves are picked, they are spread out to wither. Moisture starts to leave the leaf and the oxidation rate increases.
Shaking/Fermentation
The leaves are then shaken or tumbled to move nutrients through the leaves. This process is a super important step in producing flavor. As the nutrients move throughout the leaves, they control or change the rate at which chemical reactions occur inside the leaf. In the tea world, this process of the enzyme metabolism/chemical reaction control is referred to as ¨oxidation¨ or ¨fermentation¨.
Extra note: Understanding how enzymatic oxidation works is one of the keys to understanding how so many different types of tea can be made from the same leaves. If you want to learn more, I invite to read on detailed article Oxidation in Tea here.
Traditional Tie Guan Yin is made at room temperature, meaning:
Temperature fluctuates
So the leaves are therefore shaken more times, meaning more oxidation occurs
Newer Styles of Tie Guan Yin are made within a controlled environment, meaning:
Temperature doesn’t fluctuate
The leaves are shaken less, so lower oxidation
Kill Green
This step halts any further oxidation or fermentation of the leaves. The tea leaves are placed in a wok, which heats the enzymes in the leaf and stops them from carrying out additional chemical reactions. This step effectively allows the tea producers to ¨fix¨ the taste of the tea.
Rolling
Then the leaves are rolled into their signature half-ball shape.
Baking
After this, the teas are baked dry.
Roasting
Traditionally made Tie Guan Yin is roasted at this point.
Stem Removal
The last step is the removal of the leaf from the stem. After this, you have a finished Tie Guan Yin tea.
How to Brew Tie Guan Yin Tea
Tie Guan Yin should be brewed using the Gong Fu brewing method, which basically just means you should use a small brewing vessel called a Gaiwan that uses a large amount of tea and a small amount of water.
To make things easy, we made a brewing section in our guide ¨What is WuLong Tea?¨, so take a look at ¨How to Brew Wu Long Tea the Traditional Way¨ and you’ll be brewing Tie Guan Yin with confidence in no time. Or if you’re totally new to brewing with a gaiwan, check out our Gaiwan Brewing Guide.
Tie Guan Yin FAQ
Still not sure what Tie Guan Yin tea is? Here are some common questions we’ve been asked.
Caffeine in Tie Guan Yin
Tie Guan Yin tea does contain caffeine.
That’s not because Tie Guan Yin is special, but because all Tea contains caffeine.
The amount can vary between each tea, and even between the same style of tea year to year.
Extra note: Did you know that caffeine has an important protective function for tea plants? They actually use caffeine as a natural insect repellent.
Pesticides in Tie Guan Yin
There’s been some controversy since 2012 around pesticides in Anxi Tie Guan Yin. Greenpeace sampled different lots of Tie Guan Yin Wu Long teas and it was shown that many Tie Guan Yin teas contained high levels of pesticide residue.
Most of these teas were mass-produced teas, not necessarily the smaller batch, high-end teas we’re likely to drink, but it’s done a lot of damage to the tea growing and selling in Anxi. So right now it’s best to just buy organic Tie Guan Yin, or from a small seller you trust. That way you can ensure the tea is safe.
Is Tie Guan Yin Green Tea?
Nope. Tie Guan Yin is one of the 3 distinct subcategories of Chinese Wu Long (oolong) tea, and Wu Long is one of the 6 categories of Chinese Tea. Green Tea is a separate category of tea that has different production methods. Tie Guan Yin is green in color, which is maybe the cause of the confusion.
Extra note: the other 2 subcategories of Wu Long tea are Wuyi Yancha (such as Da Hong Pao, Rou Gui, and Shui Xian teas), and Feng Huang Dancong (such as Da Wu Ye, Bai Ye, Ya Shi Xiang, and Mi Lan Xiang teas).
Brew With Us
Now that you know what is Tie Guan Yin and all about its unique harvesting, processing, and flavors, you can brew in confidence. If you found this article helpful and want to learn more, we’d love to connect with you.
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