Tie Kuan Yin Oolong

• 3gr/200ml
• 80-90°C
• 2-4 min infuse

This green oolong tea comes from Fujian province in China, which is a mountainous area with the perfect, moist and fertile atmosphere for a high quality tea. This oolong tea is oxidized to 20-25%, making this tea closer to green tea than to black tea. The process of making Oolong is really fascinating. After Tie Kuan Yin is picked and then lightly oxidized, it is rolled up by hand or machine. The leaves are packed in bags, rolled, then unpacked, repackaged and rolled about 100 times to make these perfect little balls.

Tie Kuan Yin will charm you with its unique floral taste that evokes a natural sweetness. As with most better teas, it can also be poured several times with warm water of 80 to 90 degrees.

Tie Kuan Yin owes his name to the goddess of mercy. According to legend, deep in the heart of Fujian there was an abandoned temple with an iron statue of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Every day a poor farmer walked past this temple to work on his tea fields. He could not see the way this temple was left behind and found it very disrespectful to the Buddha. One sunny day he decided to take his broom to the temple, wiped it clean and lit incense to worship the Guanyin. He continued to do this for many months, then Guanyin came to him one night in his dreams. She told him that there was a treasure in a cave behind the temple and he had to share it with everyone he saw. The next day, the farmer rushed to the temple and found a small shoot inside the cave. He planted it in his tea fields and became a lush shrub. Once he flourished, he gave cuttings to his neighbors and they began to sell it under the name Tieguanyin, Iron Bodhisattva of Mercy. Since that day, the village has cherished the temple and has had success with this beautiful tea.