Anxi Tie Guan Yin Iron Goddess of Mercy · Anxi Oolong 96g

The tea that made Fujian oolong famous worldwide, and the only Chinese tea named after a bodhisattva. Anxi has been making it since the 1720s, and the local benchmark hasn't changed: 七泡有余香 — still fragrant after seven infusions.

Origin:

Anxi county, Quanzhou, Fujian. High interior hills, red soil, heavy fog. The authentic cultivar is 红心歪尾桃 — "red heart, crooked-tail peach" — a slow, low-yielding bush that most gardens have quietly replaced with easier plants. It's worth asking whether yours is the real one.

The craft:

Semi-oxidised and then rolled, epeatedly, under cloth, into tight jade beads. Anxi people call the shape 蜻蜓头, dragonfly head. The rolling is what holds the aroma in; drop the beads in hot water and they unfurl into whole intact leaves, which is the easiest quality check any buyer can run at home.

What you're listening for is (观音韵) yin yun, the Guanyin rhyme. Wuyi has rock rhyme; Anxi has this. A cool orchid note that sits in the throat and returns between sips.

Taste:

Pale gold, bright and clean. Orchid and lilac on the nose, unmistakable. In the cup: creamy texture, fresh green sweetness, a milky roundness across the tongue, and a long cooling floral finish. Zero bitterness when brewed right. Among the most immediately likeable teas China makes, this is the one to hand someone who thinks they don't like tea.

Brewing:

8g per 110ml gaiwan. The beads expand enormously; they need the room and the ratio.

Water at 95–100°C. Flash to wake and open them, then quick steeps  / 6s / 8s / 12s, extending. 7–10 infusions.

Smell the empty cup after you drink. Anxi drinkers judge the tea on 杯底香, the fragrance left in the bottom, and this is where Tie Guan Yin shows off.

Grandpa: 2g per 250ml, 95°C, 2 minutes. Workable, but you lose the aroma progression that's the whole point.

Specs: Anxi, Quanzhou, Fujian · Semi-oxidised oolong (乌龙茶) · Store sealed, cool, dark, away from odours.