Tieguanyin, Tie Guan Yin, Ti Kwan Yin. Ti Kuan Yin or the Iron Goddess or Mercy is a Chinese oolong tea from the Anxi county in Fujian province. Fujian is a very important tea province and a cradle of famous Chinese teas. Chinese white tea like Silver Needle and Pai Mu Tan, black Lapsang Souchong and famous WuYi rock tea such as Red Robe, all originate from Fujian.

Tieguanyin is a type of Chinese oolong tea, but also a name of the tea cultivar. Just like all real teas tieguanyin it made from Camellia sinensis tea plant. It can be made from tieguanyin cultivar or other tea cultivars. Some Tieguanyin teas may even be a blend of different tea cultivars. The authentic Tieguanyin oolong should always come from Anxi. Today, other areas are producing this tea too. Although it may be similar in shape, and even in flavor, it’s not considered authentic. There are other very similar teas to tieguanyin, like maoxie oolong, huangjingui oolong or benshan oolong.

What also makes this tea unique is that it’s actually a really wide category of teas. They can be more or less oxidised, more or less roasted, and have a different flavor profile. What’s common to all of them is that they all have leaves shaped in small, tightly rolled balls and don’t contain any branches. For example, when you brew Taiwanese high mountain teas you will see a bud and a few leaves attached to a branch. Tieguanyin contains leaves only.

Tieguanyin can be harvested in spring, summer, autumn and winter. The winter harvest is very rare. The best tieguanyin is harvested in spring and autumn.