Roasted Iron Goddess Oolong

Roasted Iron Goddess Oolong tea, otherwise known as Tie Guan Yin.
From Anxi, China
Spring 2022 harvest

Roasted Iron Goddess Oolong

Grown in Anxi, Fujian Province in China. Birthplace of Iron Goddess Oolong (Tie Guan Yin).

As with all famous Chinese teas there is a story with this one.

In the countryside near Anxi, sat a temple. Long forgotten apart from one poor old man who visited daily. He cleaned the altar of Guanyin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, and prayed.
In recognition of his kindness, Guanyin appeared in a dream, requesting he visit a nearby cave where she’d left a gift.
Upon waking he went to the cave and found a little seedling. Despite his dubiousness, he planted the seedling in his garden and tended it every day.
He was soon disappointed that only leaves came from the plant.
One day when  friend was visiting the old man brought up the story of the seedling with him, who then asked to try the leaves. They boiled the leaves in water and drank, discovering a heavenly taste and a rich aroma.
They then tried roasting the dry leaves, and found that this added a depth to the tea they’d never experienced before.

This is the Spring 2022 harvest, so it is still quite fresh. This lends itself to incredible roasted caramalised notes.

Think caramelised popcorn and smooth toffee. The toffee notes linger on your tongue leaving you looking for more tea.

How do I prepare this tea?

For Western style brewing, use 2g of leaf to 300ml of water (china tea cup size).
Bring the water to boil, then pour over the leaves.
Infuse for approx 90 seconds.
Leaves used this way can be reused up to 3 times!

For Gong Fu or Chinese style brewing, use 5g of leaf to 150ml of water (general gaiwan size).
Bring the water to the boil,
Then pour over the leaves, wait 10 seconds and decant your tea.
Leaves use this way can be reused at least 6 times!

These are intended as a guideline only, everyone is different. I encourage you to play with different water temperatures and infusion times.

Store in a cool dry place away from sunlight.