Tieguanyin aka Iron Goddess of Mercy or Iron Goddess for short is one of the best known teas in the world. If you started drinking tea in the past decade or so, odds are the Tieguanyin that you most commonly come across would be the ‘green style’ Tieguanyin. In fact for most people, that is the only Tieguanyin they know of.
Today I was chatting with a tea friend online and we talked about how people tend to be wishy-washy on the net about tea- excluding those ‘tea gurus’ of course- about how everything is fine, so long as you like it. No real opinions either way.
Probably that prompts me to write in more definitive terms that I otherwise would- it’s a shame if you only know ‘green style’ Tieguanyin.
There, I said it. I’m a self-opinionated egomaniac. I am taking a definite stand.
Let me rephrase that: in my opinion the traditional styles of processing Tieguanyin is superior to the modern ‘green style’.
But first things first-
What are the Various Styles of Tieguanyin?
From left to right- Green, Charcoal and Deep Roasted
On this photo you can see 3 different styles of Tieguanyin, from left to right they are the green style (清香) Tieguanyin, the charcoal roasted (碳焙) and the deep roasted (浓香) Tieguanyin.
In the interest of full disclosure I should note that I do sell the charcoal roasted Tieguanyin and would sell the deep roasted one if my wife didn’t remind me that I would probably end up drinking most of the inventory myself. Not that it’s a bad thing just doesn’t make business sense.
The green style Tieguanyin has lush verdant tea leaves and in terms of dry leaves appearances is probably the most attractive. In contrast, the charcoal roasted leaves looks yellowish while the deep roasted ones look chocolaty, not exactly the most attractive color for leaves.
‘Green Style’ Tieguanyin
The ‘green style’ method of production was imported from Taiwan, commonly using the mantra 原滋原味 or the original flavor of tea. Minimal oxidation, minimal roast, the tea leaves retains much of its vibrant colors and its taste profile is very similar to green tea.
Probably the combination of aesthetics, fragrance and an innocuous entry level taste profile led to widespread popularity of ‘green style’ Tieguanyin especially outside of Guangdong and Fujian where green tea is choice of tea lovers.
Charcoal Roasted Tieguanyin
From left to right- green, charcoal and deep roasted
As its name suggest, the tea leaves are roasted over charcoal ‘steamers’ for 5-12 hours, evaporating the moisture, giving the tea a toasty aroma. The liquor tends to be a darker shade of yellow and it has none of the ‘green smell’ of the modern type of Tieguanyin.
Also, more often than not these are more heavily oxidized than ‘green style’ Tieguanyin.
These variants of Tieguanyin tend to be favored for its smooth throat feel and deeper taste components, even though its fragrance may be less pronounced than a ‘green style’ Tieguanyin.
Deep Roasted Tieguanyin
For charcoal roasted and deep roasted Tieguanyin, the ‘firing skill’ of the master is of paramount importance. The optimal point of maximum moisture lost without over-burning the leaves ad charring it is a delicate balance, one that requires experiences and skills, not an SOP manual.
For deep roasted Tieguanyin, it is baked over a moderate fire and cooled rapidly to achieve a balance of moisture content. The taste is generally stronger and the liquor is a darker orange shade. These are generally favored among long time tea drinkers for its distinct mouth feel and lingering aftertaste.
Taste is personal, why do I advocate the traditional styles?
From left to right- green, charcoal and deep roasted
Besides the fact that I’m a bigot, there are some objective reasons why you ought to lean towards the traditional styles.
Sustainable Farming Practices
Minnan oolong has a bad reputation among tea lovers for that dreaded p-word, pesticides. The Anxi tea industry basically exploded, growing at an unprecedented rate. However that meant that a lot of new farms had to be explored and new farmers.
Non-traditional farmers often take the easy way out- inorganic fertilizers and pesticides- to boost their production and growth of the new plants.
This phenomenon is particularly for the green style Tieguanyin where new farmers hop on the bandwagon of that rapidly expanding segment. In addition, the aesthetic value of the green style Tieguanyin meant that more pesticides tended to be employed in order to preserve the beauty of the leaves.
For the traditional styles, the deeper oxidization and roasting meant that the ‘greenness’ of the leaves would not have been preserved anyway, hence there is less emphasis to preserve the verdant leaves.
Celebrate the Skills of the Producers
As mentioned above, the ‘green style’ is a newer fad and the demand outweighs the number of skilled producers. Unlike traditional styles though, the skill of the producer is of lesser importance since it’s a minimal roast, there is less concern that the leaves would be over-roasted. Production can be a largely machine based affair and the rattling process is mostly done through ‘tumbling machines’ rather than by hand. Automation- as we all know- reduces reliance on human competency.
The traditional styles though are very much predicated on the skill of the producer- an often underrated aspect in the quality of tea. Whether the rattling aka ‘Yao Qing’ stage or the firing, it takes experience and knowledge to achieve the optimum balance.
Storage Difficulties of Green Style Tieguanyin
This is why in China green style Tieguanyin are always stored in a fridge and vacuum sealed immediately after removal from the fridge. If you bought a green style Tieguanyin outside of China (and Taiwan) you would probably realize that vendors are not so fastidious or knowledgeable. Small wonder the name of Tieguanyin is often brought into disrepute.
The traditional styles of Tieguanyin though do not require storage below room temperature since their moisture content is low and can be preserved for much longer.
In terms of gastronomic value of traditional style Tieguanyin, I could deliver a lengthy discourse on it but then objectivity of it may be challenged since taste is subjective. However hope that I managed to convince you that if all you have tasted is ‘green style’ Tieguanyin, give good ol’ traditional style Tieguanyin a shot.
