Anxi Tieguanyin
安溪铁观音 · Iron Goddess of Mercy
Oolong
There was a poor farmer in Anxi named Wei. On the way to his fields he passed a small temple with an iron figure of Guanyin inside. He had nothing to give, so he kept its lamp burning.
They say she came to him in a dream and showed him a place in the rocks. He found one tea shoot growing from a crack, carried it home, and planted it in a broken iron pot, because that was what he had. The leaves came out dark and heavy, like the pot they grew in. Iron Guanyin.
Anxi still rolls it in cloth and roasts it low for days. Seven steeps, they say, and the smell is still there.
- orchid
- floral
- honeysuckle
- Origin
- Anxi, Fujian, China
- Water
- 95°C / 203°F
- Ratio
- 5 g / 100 ml
- Caffeine
- Medium
- Rinse
- Yes · 5s
China ten-famous-teas
How much leaf
Gong fu brewing is leaf-heavy and short. Set your gaiwan or pot size and this is what to weigh out.
Vessel volume
100 ml
Recommended dose
Use ~5.0g of tea
The session
6 infusions after the rinse, about 3m 55s of total contact time.
- Rinse5sWake the leaf and pour it away — this one isn’t for drinking.
- Steep 120sSomething floral, not yet placed.
- Steep 225sOrchid steps out of the gold.
- Steep 330sRoast warms under the flowers.
- Steep 440sA honeyed edge returns and coats.
- Steep 550sFlorals thin as sweetness deepens.
- Steep 61m 5sOnly the throat still remembers orchid.
Also sold as
Tieguanyin, Iron Goddess, TGY, Iron Buddha, Ti Kuan Yin, Tit Kwun Yum
In Czech and Slovak shops
Železná bohyně milosrdenství, Železná bohyně
Steaper times this session for you
A countdown per infusion, a gong when each one is up, and the whole library in your pocket. Coming to iPhone.
Get notified at launchThese numbers are a median of independent gong fu sources, not a law. Leaf age, vessel and water all move them. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.