Spring Tie Hu Gong Cha

Tie Hu Gong Cha is Tribute grade Tie Guan Yin.

Tie Guan Yin is a semi-fermented tea, selected from the leaves of the finest tea plants grown in An-Xi, Fujian Province, China. The tea leaves has a roll and round appearance. It is known for its refined and refreshing fragrance as well as its rich, mellow aftertaste which lingers on the palate. It is an ideal drink after meals and is effective in improving mental alertness and regulation the stomach. It is even said, its aftertaste reveals the lingering charm of Guan Yin, the Chinese Iron Goddess of Mercy.

The Legend of Tie-Guan-Yin

Around the third year of the Yong-Zheng Reign of the Qing Dynasty, in An-Xi, Fujian Province there was a tea farmer called Wei Yin. He was a far-famed tea master who often stayed all day long in his tea farm cultivating tea plants.

As a devoted believer, he offered three cups of tea to the status of Goddess Guan-Yin every morning and evening. He had been doing this faithfully for years.

One night, Wei Yin dreamt that Guan-Yin was appearing on the cliff behind his abode. Putting his palms together, he went up to the cliff. The tea plant, which was about the height of an adult and has thick branches and exuberant leaves, squirted a charming orchid-like aroma.

Being curious, Wei Yin tried to pluck the leaves. But a blast of god bark wakened him from the dream.

Next morning, Wei Yin found the path that appeared in his dream. As in the dream, he saw a tea plant in the rift, glittered under the morning sun. Its sprouts purple red, the leaves were stout, elliptical and verdant. It was not an ordinary tea plant.

Wei Yin picked some of its leaves and returned home, roasted them carefully. The tea infusion produced a lingering aroma and it is extremely refreshing.

So he grafted and transplanted to his yard, taking care of them as if they were a treasure. Three years later, they grew strong with stout, verdant leaves. He then roasted and processed them into the tea of superior quality and unique aroma, which won praises from all the people who had tasted it. To proclaim that it was Goddess Guan-Yin who had sent the message to Wei Yin through the dream, later people named the tea Tie-Guan-Yin, meaning “the Iron Goddess of Mercy.”

*Information from Purple Cane