Tie Guan Yin is our second Oolong Kombucha (the first one was made with Monkey Picked Oolong, before the creation of this blog).
This one is one our our reoccurring specials, and we are always happy to have back again.
Tieguanyin 鐵觀音 or literally Iron Goddess of Mercy, is one of the a most famous Chinese Oolongs. It originated sometimes in the 19th century in Anxi County, in Fujijan Province, China.
Like with most of the teas, it has many grades, and it varies a bit depending on what area in Anxi, it is produced in.
There are two legends behind this tea, and the whole process of getting it ready is quite complex.
Here's what Wikipedia has to say on that:
"The processing of Tieguanyin tea is complex and requires expertise. Even if the tea leaf is of high raw quality and is plucked at the ideal time, if it is not processed correctly, its true character will not be shown. This is why the method of processing Tieguanyin tea was kept a secret.
1.plucking tea leaves (Chinese: 採青; pinyin: cǎi qīng)
2.sun withering (Chinese: 晒青; pinyin: shài qīng)
3.cooling (Chinese: 晾青; pinyin: liàng qīng)
4.tossing (Chinese: 搖青; pinyin: yáo qīng)
5.withering, this includes some oxidation. (Chinese: 萎凋; pinyin: wĕi diào)
6.fixation (Chinese: 殺青; pinyin: shā qīng)
7.rolling (Chinese: 揉捻; pinyin: róu niǎn) drying (Chinese: 烘乾; pinyin: hóng gān)
After drying some teas go through the added processes of roasting and scenting."
For this particular Kombucha we use lightly baked (green) Tie Guan Yin.
It has a flowery aroma as a tea.
Here are some of the leaves from steeping for Kombucha.
Here's the bottling stage of Tie Guan Yin Kombucha.
And the final product!
The tea has really nice floral notes, but the fermentation brings out even more of them.
We've been making Tie Guan Yin for couple of years now.
Below is a vintage photo from about 2 years ago, when this post was originally written.
Ingredients: Filtered and Revitalized Water, Live Kombucha Cultures, Unrefined Brown Sugar, and Tie Guan Yin Oolong