Introduction
Tieguanyin tea, a traditional Han Chinese famous tea, belongs to the oolong tea category, and is one of China's top ten teas. It originally comes from Xiping Town, Anxi County, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. When brewed, it has a natural orchid fragrance, pure and rich taste, and long-lasting aroma, earning the reputation of "retaining fragrance after seven infusions." In addition to the general health benefits of tea, it also has effects such as anti-aging, anti-arteriosclerosis, diabetes prevention, weight loss and fitness, dental caries prevention, heat-clearing and fire-reducing, and sobering up from smoke and alcohol.
Tieguanyin finished products can be roughly divided into three types according to fermentation degree and production process: light aroma type, strong aroma type, and aged aroma type.
Light aroma Tieguanyin: The taste is relatively light, with a slight sweetness on the tip of the tongue. It tends to be made with modern processing techniques and currently has the largest market share. Light aroma Tieguanyin has an emerald green color, clear soup, rich aroma, obvious floral fragrance, and pure taste. Because new tea is cold in nature, it should not be consumed in excess, otherwise it may cause some degree of stomach discomfort and insomnia.
Strong aroma Tieguanyin: The taste is mellow, the aroma is high and long, and it emphasizes returning sweetness. It is made from tea leaves processed using traditional techniques, then roasted and further processed. Strong aroma Tieguanyin has the characteristics of "fragrant, strong, mellow, and sweet." It has a dark, lustrous color, golden yellow soup, pure aroma, and rich taste. Compared to light aroma Tieguanyin, strong aroma Tieguanyin is warm in nature and has effects such as quenching thirst, promoting body fluid, and strengthening the spleen and stomach.
Aged aroma Tieguanyin: Also known as old tea or ripe tea, it is made from strong aroma or light aroma Tieguanyin that has been stored for a long time and repeatedly reprocessed. It is also a semi-fermented tea. Aged aroma Tieguanyin has the characteristics of "thick, mellow, smooth, and soft." It appears black in color, with a rich soup, sweet and mellow taste, and a deep, aged aroma. Its qualities and taste are close to Pu'er tea, black tea, and dark tea, and it carries a heavy historical and cultural沉淀.
Charcoal-roasted Tieguanyin is a type of strong aroma Tieguanyin. This is the final quality-changing step in the processing of finished oolong tea. It involves roasting light aroma Tieguanyin tea leaves over charcoal. The roasting time, number of roasts, and heat level depend on personal taste and market demand.
Health Benefits
Beauty, Weight Loss, Anti-aging
The crude catechin complex in Anxi Tieguanyin has strong antioxidant activity, which can eliminate reactive oxygen molecules in cells, thereby protecting the human body from aging and diseases. The content of manganese, iron, fluorine, potassium, and sodium in Anxi Tieguanyin is higher than in other teas, with fluorine content ranking highest among all tea types, making it significantly effective in preventing dental caries and osteoporosis in the elderly.
Socializing, Cultivating Character, and Good Mood
Anxi Tieguanyin has unique effects in entertaining guests, socializing, and personal self-cultivation. Brewing Anxi Tieguanyin requires boiling water and washing cups; the preparation process allows host and guest to exchange pleasantries. While tasting the tea, the guests chat with the host, creating a very harmonious and intimate atmosphere. Therefore, the ritualized brewing and drinking process calms the mind and is conducive to cultivating character and maintaining a good mood.
Cancer Prevention, Enhanced Intelligence
Anxi Tieguanyin has a high selenium content, ranking among the top of the six major tea categories. Selenium stimulates immune proteins and antibodies to resist diseases and inhibit the occurrence and development of cancer cells. At the same time, Anxi Tieguanyin also has effects on enhancing intelligence. British scientists have found that the acid-base balance of human brain fluid is related to IQ. Tea is an alkaline beverage, and Anxi Tieguanyin is significantly alkaline. Therefore, regular consumption can regulate the body's acid-base balance and improve intelligence. The content of vitamins, caffeine, amino acids, minerals, and tea polyphenols in Anxi Tieguanyin is high.
Refreshing the Mind and Enhancing Thinking
Anxi Tieguanyin can refresh the mind and enhance thinking, mainly due to the caffeine in the tea. Caffeine has the function of exciting the central nervous system, improving thinking, and increasing efficiency. Therefore, drinking tea can break sleepiness, refresh the mind, relieve boredom, eliminate fatigue, clear the mind, and improve thinking, significantly enhancing oral response ability and mathematical thinking reaction. At the same time, because Anxi Tieguanyin contains polyphenols and other compounds, it offsets the adverse effects of pure caffeine on the human body.
Inhibiting Cardiovascular Diseases
The tea polyphenols in Tieguanyin play an important role in human fat metabolism. High levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the human body, fat deposition on the inner walls of blood vessels, and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques after the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells are related to cardiovascular diseases. Tea polyphenols, especially the catechins ECG and EGC and their oxidation product theaflavins, help inhibit this plaque-like hyperplasia, reduce the formation of fibrinogen that increases blood viscosity, clarify coagulation, and thus inhibit atherosclerosis.
Treating Tooth Sensitivity
Tieguanyin tea has a good anti-allergy effect. Do not throw away finished Tieguanyin tea casually; it can be "reused" by placing it in the mouth, especially chewing it on sensitive teeth. Alternatively, fresh Tieguanyin tea leaves can be placed directly on the sensitive areas of the teeth and chewed gently. When using chewed Tieguanyin tea leaves to treat tooth soreness, it is not necessary to use high-grade Tieguanyin tea.
Life Tips
1. For scalds or burns, use an appropriate amount of Tieguanyin tea to decoct a strong liquid, cool it quickly, and immerse the affected area in the tea water; or apply the tea water to the wound, 4-5 times a day.
2. For motion sickness and drunkenness: Prepare a small cup of warm tea in advance, add 2-3 ml of soy sauce, and drink. This method can also be used to relieve drunkenness.
3. For bleeding gums when brushing teeth: Drink tea regularly. Tea is rich in vitamin C, iron, and hemostatic components, which can make gums tougher, increase capillary elasticity, and prevent bleeding.
4. For bad breath or palpitations and nausea caused by excessive smoking: Rinse the mouth with Tieguanyin and drink an appropriate amount of strong tea to relieve.
5. Prevention of dental caries in children: The fluorine in tea water can prevent teeth from dephosphorizing and decalcifying in the acidic environment of the mouth. Therefore, rinsing the mouth with tea water can prevent caries.
6. For inflamed and reddened skin folds in infants: Boil Tieguanyin tea leaves in water, cool to a suitable temperature, and wash the infant's skin externally.
7. For excessive fatigue: Brew a cup of new tea and drink it to quickly eliminate fatigue and restore energy.
8. For those who are overweight, drink tea water regularly, especially oolong tea, which has a good weight loss effect.
9. For those with high cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases, drink a cup of tea water daily to lower cholesterol and protect the cardiovascular system.
10. For poor appetite and yellow urine, drink more light tea water.
11. For discomfort from excessive greasy food, drink stronger hot tea, such as brick tea or tuo tea, which has a better degreasing effect.
12. For mild上火 (internal heat), drink Tieguanyin to help reduce heat.
Brewing Techniques
Start with water, teaware, and brewing time. Mountain spring water is best for water; good water quality can better bring out the tea's inner qualities. Brewing with 100°C boiling water is optimal.
1. Light aroma series products: Raw materials all come from tea plants grown in the high-altitude, rocky soil of Anxi, the birthplace of Tieguanyin, with the comprehensive characteristics of "fresh, fragrant, charming, and sharp."
Brewing method: Put 5-10 grams each time into a cup, brew with boiling water. Pour out the tea water after 10-20 seconds for the first infusion, then extend the time sequentially, but do not steep for a long time. It can be brewed continuously 6-7 times. Brewing with mineral water or purified water is best; mountain spring water offers the best effect.
2. Strong aroma series products: Tieguanyin tea made using the traditional craftsmanship of "tea as the sovereign, fire as the minister," using century-old unique roasting methods, slow roasting over gentle heat, and rapid cooling with moist air.
Strong aroma Tieguanyin should be brewed in a purple clay pot, and with a wide spout. If a small-spout purple clay pot is used, it is not conducive to the dissipation of heat from the tea leaves. The tea leaves will quickly "mature" in the pot, and the flavor of the tea will show a "bitter" side.
3. Charming aroma series product characteristics: "Guanyin charm" is the unique flavor of Anxi Tieguanyin, a symbol of the quality and characteristics of authentic Tieguanyin, encompassing color, aroma, and taste. Due to origin differences: Inner Anxi Tieguanyin has pure charm, Outer Anxi Tieguanyin charm is secondary, and Hua'an Tieguanyin charm is minimal.
4. Charcoal-roasted strong aroma series products: The characteristic production method is to further roast the traditional authentic flavor tea leaves at about 120°C for about 10 hours, enhancing the mellow taste and developing the aroma. Raw materials all come from tea plants grown in the high-altitude, rocky soil of Anxi, the birthplace of Tieguanyin, after careful selection and blending with traditional fine processing techniques. The tea leaves are fully fermented with a traditional authentic flavor, having the taste characteristics of "strong, charming, smooth, and special." The aroma is high, the returning sweetness is good, and the charm is sufficient. It has long been favored by the majority of consumers. Charming aroma Tieguanyin should be brewed in a gaiwan (lidded bowl), because gaiwans are made of white porcelain, do not absorb flavor, and conduct heat quickly.