China Oolong Tieguanyin Loose Leaf Oolong Tea

🍵 The Leaf — Autumn-harvested Tieguanyin from Fujian's Anxi County, medium roasted to around 30 percent oxidation in the traditional style, with small, tightly rolled balls of pure oolong that slowly unfurl in the cup

🍵 The Liquor — A warm amber-gold infusion, clean and bright, with a smooth peachy sweetness and none of the astringency you might expect from a more heavily processed tea

🍵 The Character — Roasted nuts and ripe peach on the nose, with a delicate gardenia florality and a soft, lingering sweetness that stays on the palate long after the cup is finished

🍵 The Occasion — Ideal for mindful afternoon brewing, particularly well suited to multiple steepings in a gaiwan or small teapot, each infusion gently different from the last

The name Tieguanyin translates as Iron Goddess of Mercy — a name bestowed, according to legend, by the Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong himself, who was so struck by the weight of the compressed leaf and the beauty of the brew that he named it after the Buddhist goddess Guanyin. That heritage alone sets this Fujian oolong apart. This is one of China's most celebrated and widely admired teas, and this autumn harvest from Anxi County shows exactly why.

Anxi, in southeast Fujian Province, is where Tieguanyin was born and where it remains at its finest. The county's mountainous terrain, misty climate, mineral-rich red soil, and significant day-to-night temperature variation all contribute to the depth and complexity of the leaf. This tea is crafted in the traditional Anxi style — a richer, slightly higher-fired approach than the lighter jade-style oolongs that have grown popular in recent years. Oxidised to around 30 percent and given a medium roast, it sits comfortably between the freshness of green tea and the fuller body of black, with a character all its own.

Production follows a careful sequence: the leaf is tumbled in a bamboo drum to bruise the edges, then left to wither and partially oxidise before being rolled into the tight little balls that are the hallmark of this style. The medium roasting that follows adds warmth, body, and that distinctive layered aroma. In the cup, roasted nuts and ripe peach come forward first, followed by a delicate gardenia note and a clean, naturally sweet finish that requires nothing added to it — no milk, no sugar, no embellishment.

This is a pure oolong tea with no added flavourings. What you taste is entirely the result of the leaf, the terroir, and the craft of the process.

Since 2008, High Teas London has been one of the country's leading independent tea specialists, with a collection of over 350 teas and infusions — one of the largest in the country. Teas like this one, where quality and provenance speak for themselves, are exactly what that collection is built around.

Ingredients: Oolong tea.

Brewing Note: Tieguanyin rewards a little ceremony. The tightly rolled balls of leaf benefit from a brief rinse before the first steep — pour water at around 90 to 95°C over the leaves, swirl gently, and discard after five seconds. This opens the leaf and prepares it to release its full character. For the first infusion, steep for one to two minutes; subsequent steepings can be extended slightly as the leaf continues to open. The tea will comfortably give three to five infusions, each one subtly different in character. Brewing in a gaiwan or small clay teapot in the gong fu style is traditional and lets you appreciate how the liquor changes between pours — but a standard infuser and a patient approach will serve you just as well.