For senior tea friends, when it comes to the tree species of oolong tea, everyone may not be able to say it all in a day, such as Da Hong Pao, Daffodil, Cinnamon and so on. So when it comes to Anxi, Presumably most tea friends will blurt out "Anxi Tieguanyin". Yes, to some extent, Tieguanyin has become a geographical indication of Anxi. But many tea lovers know that Tieguanyin is an oolong tea, but they don't necessarily know that it is actually a tea variety.
First of all, Tieguanyin is a tea tree variety native to Xiping Town, Anxi County, and secondly, it also refers to a production process, including picking, drying, making green, frying, kneading, kneading, drying and other links.
But in fact, the oolong tea tree species in Anxi are not only Tieguanyin.
According to incomplete statistics, there are 64 tea tree resources in Anxi. In addition to Tieguanyin, the native tea plant varieties of Anxi include Golden Gui, Benshan, Hairy Crab, Meizhan, Qilan and so on. These varieties have been widely transplanted for hundreds of years in the north to Wuyishan and south to Taiwan, basically, as long as the place where oolong tea is produced, almost all the places where oolong tea is produced have Qilan, bergamot, Meizhan and soft branch oolong. Some varieties have gone to other places and become well-known local varieties, such as the Buddha's Hand that flourished in Yongchun and Mei Zhan, which became one of the hundred famous flowers of rock tea in Wuyi Mountain. There are also some small varieties, after transplanting, anxi locals have not known.
Then the following tea ceremony jun will talk about those original Anxi oolong tea tree species.
——Tieguanyin——
Origin: Xiping Town, Anxi County, one says Songyan Village, the other says Nanyan Village.
Tea plant characteristics: shrub type, oval leaves, horizontal growth, young buds purple red, mature leaves thick green and oily, thick and brittle flesh, leaf uplift, ribs are prominent, leaf margin teeth are sparse and blunt.
Finished product characteristics: made of oolong tea quality is excellent, often to "Guanyin rhyme" to distinguish other varieties of oolong tea, strips of fat and round knots, mellow taste, golden water color, fragrant and long-lasting aroma, thick and soft leaf bottom; made of red and green tea quality is still good.
——Golden Gui (Huang Dan)——
Origin: Luoyan Village, Huqiu Town, Anxi County
Tea plant features: small tree type, oval or inverted lanceolate leaves, nearly horizontal, yellow-green luster in color, slightly raised leaves, deep and sharp teeth at the leaf margins.
Finished product characteristics: made of oolong tea strips tight and uniform, taste clear alcohol, water color light yellow with golden yellow, the aroma is clear and strange, there is a "transparent fragrance", the bottom of the leaf is yellow and soft and thin; the color of black tea is moist, rich and fragrant.
——Benshan——
Origin: Yaoyang Village, Xiping Town, Anxi County
Tea plant features: shrub type, leaves oval or nearly broad oval, oblique, slightly thin and crisp flesh, leaf surface uplift, yellow-green ribbon lack of luster, leaf margin serrations.
Finished product characteristics: made of oolong tea, rich aroma, taste of clear mellow and thick can return to sweet, soup color clear yellow or orange yellow; made of black tea, white tea, green tea quality are good.
——Hairy Crab——
Origin: Daping Township, Anxi County
Tea tree features: shrub type, oval leaves, nearly horizontal, flattened and slightly raised leaf surface, yellowish green or green, slightly shiny, flesh is still thick and hard and brittle, leaf margin teeth are deep and sharp.
Finished product characteristics: suitable for oolong tea, for the color of high-grade tea; red and green tea, the color is revealed, the appearance is beautiful, the quality is good.
——Mei Zhan——
Origin: Lutian Village, Anxi County
Tea tree characteristics: small tree type, the leaves are oblong oval, horizontally grown, the leaf surface is folded, the flesh thickness is brittle, the leaf surface is smooth, the color is thick green and shiny, the leaf edge is flat, the serrations are shallow, and the qiming is bright.
Finished product characteristics: the production of oolong tea is unique, unique flavor, especially in Wuyi Mountain; black tea, green tea aroma is high, the taste is mellow.
——Big Leaf Oolong——
Origin: Anxi County Changkeng Township, Lantian Township area.
Tea plant characteristics: shrub type, oval or nearly inverted oval leaves. It grows upward obliquely or nearly horizontally, with flat edges, rolled towards the face, thick and brittle flesh, yellow-green or dark green leaves, lack of luster, and serrated teeth.
Characteristics of the finished product: the red edge of the oolong tea is unknown, the quality is general; the black tea is not easy to ferment, the leaf bottom is dark red; the quality of the green tea is still good.
These tea varieties native to Anxi do not mean that they can only be made into oolong tea, some of the characteristics of some varieties make them compatible, can be made of oolong tea, can also be made into black tea or green tea, such as Benshan varieties suitable for oolong tea, black tea, white tea and green tea. After all, there are many ways to name tea, and distinguishing oolong tea according to the selection of tea varieties is just our current conventional naming method.
In addition to the above 6 varieties, varieties such as bergamot, dahong, peach kernel, lantian oolong and other varieties are also tea varieties native to Anxi. Today, these varieties are thriving in other regions. Just as Anxi Tieguanyin is a geographical indication protection product of Anxi County, today, Yongchun Bergamot has also become a geographical indication protection product of Yongchun County.
Therefore, consumers should also polish their eyes, oh, it is very likely that the "Anxi Tieguanyin" you drink is actually Benshan, or golden gui, or their origin is not necessarily Anxi.
The author | Tea Ceremony Jun
Photo| Tea Ceremony New Life reporter