What is Tie Guan Yin?
What is Tie Guan Yin?
A vegetal, light oolong tea, Tie Guan Yin resembles the flavour and body of a high quality green tea. Tie Guan Yin is a semi-oxidised tea (about 20%) that is rolled into jade green pearls. Because it is so lightly oxidised, it sparked debate as to whether it should be classified as a green tea or an oolong tea, but the general consensus now is that it is an oolong tea with green tea characteristics.
If you want to learn more about the tea classifications, read this blog.
What Are The Health Benefits of Tie Guan Yin?
When we were travelling China, we stayed in a friend’s village near the Anxi Mountains in Fujian Province, the world’s most renowned region for Tie Guan Yin.
When I was feeling unwell and asked our friend, 'what is good for upset stomachs?’, he replied Tie Guan Yin. When I asked ‘what tea to drink for a headache?’, he said Tie Guan Yin. When I asked ‘what tea to drink when I felt tired?’, he said Tie Guan Yin. When I asked, ‘is there anything Tie Guan Yin isn’t good for?’, he said no. Now you can’t argue with thousands of years worth of knowledge and culture about that.
However, if you feel like arguing, research has found that Tie Guan Yin is high in amino acids and antioxidants. This tea is believed to improve digestion, aid weight loss, promote a healthy heart, assist with boosting the immune system and bone and teeth strength.
What Does Tie Guan Yin Taste Like?
This delightful oolong tea smells and tastes of orchids, hyancinths, green grass and snow pea. It is delicate, smooth and has a slight sweetness and gentle astringency.
What Does Tie Guan Yin Pair With?
Having both oolong tea and green tea characteristics, this tea can be enjoyed with a range of foods. The vegetal flavours of the green tea allow Tie Guan Yin to be enjoyed with soft cheese like camembert and the grassy flavours make it an excellent pairing with Asian styled foods. It’s oolong attributes make Tie Guan Yin a perfect pairing with chicken, pork, spicy foods, Asian styled foods and caramel desserts.
THE ULTIMATE TEA & FOOD PAIRING GUIDE
How Do I Brew Tie Guan Yin?
Water temperature: 90-95 degrees
Amount: 2g or 1 tea bag per 250mL water
Steeping time: 1-2 minutes
Approx. refills: 2-3 times
Serving suggestion: Drink hot, cold or iced
Where Do I Buy Tie Guan Yin in Australia?
From us! We supply high quality teas from around the world to Australia. You can purchase Tie Guan Yin here.
If you enjoyed this blog post, found it useful, have any questions or have anything to add about this tea, be sure to leave a comment below! We love hearing from you and will get back to you as soon as possible.