Is Tieguanyin Tea a Green Tea?
This article provides knowledge about whether Tieguanyin tea is a green tea. Please see the detailed introduction below.
Is Tieguanyin Tea a Green Tea?
Tieguanyin is not a green tea; it is a semi-fermented tea and belongs to the category of Oolong tea. Tieguanyin has always been popular, and the tea it produces is quite fragrant. For many tea lovers, Tieguanyin is still quite popular. There are also many benefits to drinking Tieguanyin tea, such as refreshing and invigorating the mind.
Does Tieguanyin Belong to Green Tea?
"Tieguanyin" is probably not unfamiliar to every Chinese person; even if they haven't tasted it, they must have heard of it, as it is pleasant to both hear and remember. It is a famous tea name and also a variety of tea tree. Tieguanyin tea is divided into three types:清香 type,浓香 type, and 陈香 type, with the清香 type being the most common in the market.
Due to its low fermentation level and the removal of the "red edge" from the tea leaves, both the dried tea, tea soup, and tea leaves present a green or yellow-green color, leading many people who are not well-versed in tea to think that Tieguanyin is a green tea.
Although the tea soup of Tieguanyin looks yellow-green, it has nothing to do with green tea. Not all red tea soup is red tea, nor is all yellow-green tea soup green tea.
Actually, Tieguanyin is a genuine Oolong tea. It seems that those wrong ideas have misled many people.
Under traditional craftsmanship, Tieguanyin is shaken more frequently and with greater intensity, and its fermentation level is higher than that of the清香 type. Its process includes an additional roasting step, which results in the浓香 type.
Chenxiang type Tieguanyin is made from清香 type or 浓香 type Tieguanyin after long-term storage and repeated processing. Its tea leaves are black, the soup color is deep, and it tastes sweet and mellow, resembling red or black tea in appearance and taste.
Tieguanyin was first produced in Xiping Town, Anxi County, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. Today, Anxi Tieguanyin is well-known. Now, various places are learning from each other's production methods, and Tieguanyin is also produced in places such as Minbei, Guangdong, Yunnan, and (T-W).
Is Tieguanyin Green Tea or Oolong Tea?
Tieguanyin belongs to the national-level Oolong variety and has the highest output among Oolong teas. The earliest Tieguanyin came from Songyao Village, Xiping Town, Anxi County, Fujian Province, 290 years ago, with medium-sized plants.
The buds and leaves of this tea are green with a purple-red tinge, have fewer pubescent hairs, have a convex leaf surface with a glossy finish, and the leaf body is flat or slightly curled.
Modern techniques mostly make Tieguanyin into清香 type products, which are characterized by obvious sand-like particles and a bright green and oily luster.
Its tea soup has an orchid fragrance, a sweet and refreshing taste, and a golden-bright color, which is why most people mistake it for green tea. The浓香 type product has a dark and oily soup color and a rich and mellow taste.
Therefore, it is acceptable to call the清香 type Tieguanyin green tea, but in terms of classification and taste, the浓香 type Tieguanyin is orthodox Oolong tea.
The above introduction to whether Tieguanyin tea is green tea is for everyone to learn and understand!