Huang Jin Gui (黄金桂) aka Golden Cassia is commonly referred to as the ‘little brother of Tieguanyin’ which is not as much a backhanded compliment as it would seem, considering the fame and repute of Tieguanyin- at least before the low grade ‘green style’ Tieguanyin besmirched its name.
Certainly it’s not hard to see where the Tieguanyin references came from. Firstly, Huang Jin Gui is from Anxi in Fujian, the very same hometown of Tieguanyin. Secondly, the dry leaves look virtually identical- the half-beaded style that characterizes most of Minnan and Taiwanese Oolongs. Thirdly, the taste profile is rather close except that the Tieguanyin has fuller body and more of the distinct natural sourness while Huang Jin Gui is more fragrant.
One more key difference is because of the relative fame of Tieguanyin, typically Huang Jin Gui can be available at a lower price and arguably (arguable because valuation of such matters is personal) better value.
Technically, Huang Jin Gui refers to the end product while the cultivar is generally known as Huang Dan- written as 黄旦 or 黄棪 but this is now often used interchangeably.
The Legends
The First Version
During the reign of Emperor Jian Feng (between 1850-1860), an Anxi man from Luo Yan village by the name of Wei Zhen was making his way to another village when he stumbled on curious looking tea tree. Captivated by the beauty and majesty of the tree (don’t ask me why), he grafted the branches of the tea and cultivated it in his own backyard.
Subsequently, he used it to produce tea leaves that were so fragrant that his neighbors nicknamed it “Tou Tian Xiang” (not to be confused with the Phoenix Dancong- Tong Tian Xiang) which can be translated as the ‘Fragrance that Penetrates the Heavens”.
The Other Tale
Another tale tells of a man by the name of Lin Xiang Qin who lived in Hu Qiu Village (Anxi). He married a lady named Wang An Dan (王暗淡) who grew up in the nearby XiPing ZhuYang Village. In line with the custom of that time, when she was married into Hu Qiu Village, Wang brought a native tea plant from her village.
How and why she saw fit to cultivate it in her new home is beyond me but subsequently tea produced from that plant became a hit with the locals. In her honor (though as you will see the ‘honor’ is somewhat lacking) the tea became known as Wang Dan (dropping the middle name) and as it was a homophobe in the local dialect, it subsequently became known as Huang Dan.
The original plant was said to have perished in 1967 when the descendants of this couple moved house and attempted to transport the plant as well.
Back to Reality
Though neither tale sounds particularly convincing, the tea made from the Huang Dan cultivar is undoubtedly captivating.
In 1940, the Anxi LuoYan JinTai Tea Merchants boosted the popularity and repute of Huang Jin Gui, both locally and overseas- especially in Hong Kong and Singapore. Doing a wordplay on the homophobe and the Chinese obsession with auspicious sounding names, Huang Jin Gui was at one stage known as Huang Jin Gui- written as 黄金贵 or (as) precious (as) gold.
In 1982, Huang Jin Gui was awarded a Golden Cup by the Chinese commerce association.
In 1985, the Agricultural and Fishery Department as well as Chinese Tea Association classified Huang Jin Gui as a Famous China Tea (although it never made it to the Top 10 list).
But perhaps the best praise came from famous Chinese tea expert Chen Yuan (陈橼) who said “When you mention Huang Jin Gui, those who have the fortune of tasting it will immediately think of the unique fragrance and pure, rich, brisk sweetness”.
Anxi is more than just Tieguanyin- as wonderful as it is- don’t sleep on Huang Jin Gui.
Huang Jin Gui available in stores here.
