Exploring Light Oolong Teas from Fujian, China

Sometimes you have to see something with your own eyes to truly understand it. A recent trip to China to visit and collaborate with our producers brought us closer to two new oolong teas we have now launched: a Jin Guan Yin, and a Nong Xiang, to sit alongside our Tie Guan Yin, completing a trio of oolongs that truly show how the nuance of technique in production transforms taste, and how we saw with our own eyes the symbiosis of plant, people, and producer at work.

While many are familiar with the buttery, herbaceous and light notes of a Tie Guan Yin oolong (also known as Iron Goddess of Mercy), it was Nong Xiang (meaning ‘strong fragrance’) that was originally and traditionally sought after for its deeper, nuttier roasted notes. In modern times, however, Jin Guan Yin has been growing in popularity for its distinct smoothness and mellow caramel, lasting sweetness. The three teas aren’t that dissimilar, simply moving along a scale of aroma, colour and flavour by mere margins.

Let’s break down how each differs so you can truly appreciate and understand the ancient art of oolong production. If you’re short of time, here are the flavour headlines:

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Tie Guan Yin –  light, buttery, and herbaceous

Jin Guan Yin – caramel, fruity, and smooth

Nong Xiang – full-bodied, nutty, and roasted

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Traditionally the origin for this type of tea production is in the Fujian area of China in the southeast, lined with coastline to the east and hemmed by land on the remaining sides. Its geography is characterised by mountain peaks and lush green land, prime for agriculture, and rich with economic history due to its proximity to the Silk Road which historically transported goods through and across Asia: silk, spices, tea and more.

The mountains in Anxi County are the centre of oolong production for these teas where competition is fierce. While good examples can still be found, the pressure on farmers for supply mean an increasing application of pesticides to maximise yield from the land they have, compromising quality and taste to meet demand for a product from ‘authentic’ origin, with some farmers also driving up prices for a sub-standard product that comes with the Anxi County origin tag, and yet with none of the original substance that made this tea so famous.

For this reason, we wandered higher up the beaten track to neighbouring Da’tian County to a little village called Ping Shan to meet the Guo family who have won national awards for their production of Tie Guan Yin, Nong Xiang, Jin Guan Yin, and Oriental Beauty oolongs. Smaller villages like these have access to traditional methods and the same tea cultivars as Anxi County, but without the pressure. Their gardens, which are halfway through conversion to organic, sit at 1100m above sea level. Their business is truly a family operation, and we met three generations at once, including a gorgeous newborn baby boy.

The tea master’s wife escorted us to the tea gardens since Mr Guo had an emergency in the village to attend to. We travelled along the narrowest paths, marvelling at the idea that, long ago, someone had the idea and the bravery to even construct them, weaving through dense, steep areas of vegetation. Still, the area was positively bursting with life: bright, blooming flowers (a kind of wild orchid) dripping from the cliffs, thick mosses, and rich soils, so it’s no wonder truly phenomenal tea can be grown here.

Mrs Guo took us to the peak with far reaching views to other misty mountain tops dappled with a beautiful golden-pink light. The air was at once as humid as it was cool, alternating in waves. She paused to hand weed the tea bushes along the way, planted once in rows but that now grow in a flourishing, haphazard, almost-wild style. There was a loud hum in the air; the calming drone of bees going about their business, and birds singing to each other. This combination of altitude, golden sunlight, and mist all contribute to a healthy terroir and the slow, steady growth of the tea plants.

Once back at the factory, Mr Guo had returned and so we drank copious amounts of tea and dived deeply into the nuances of oolong to really understand what it was that we were tasting.

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Tie Guan Yin

Cultivar: Tie Guan Yin, 18^th Century

Leaf: Large, dark green, oily

Harvest: Early May

Oxidation: 10 – 20%

Composition: High in catechins

Taste: Smooth, floral flavour, slightly vegetal

Jin Guan Yin

Cultivar: Hybrid of Tie Guan Yin and Huang Dan (aka Huang Jin Gui ‘Yellow Golden Osmanthus’)

Leaf: Medium-size, golden, lime green colour

Harvest: End April

Oxidation: 20 – 40%

Composition: High levels of theaflavins and thearubigins because of higher oxidation

Taste: Bright fruity notes, caramel, honeyed sweetness.

Nong Xiang

Cultivar: Tie Guan Yin

Leaf: Large, dark green, oily

Harvest: Early May

Oxidation: 30 – 50%

Composition: High in catechins

Taste: Caramelised, nutty, rich

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After an overnight rest in a local inn where the tea workers usually stay (made entirely from fir wood) we were fortunate enough to witness production the next morning.

The overall process, though each tea has variations:

1. Harvesting: spring and autumn
2. Plucking: top three/four leaves only
3. Cooling and resting up to 12 hours
4. Shaking to initiate oxidation: by hand and by bamboo barrel
5. Oxidation
6. Fixing by heat in metal drum
7. Beating
8. Wrapping and rolling by machine
9. Drying / baking in oven
10. Further roasting, if required
11. Sorting by hand

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When drinking tea together, the Guo family are casual, relaxed, and incredibly funny, yet when they are working a comfortable, communal silence spreads among them as they commit fervently to processing the tea – almost meditatively, methodically, in short, intense bursts. They break each session with a collective sigh and smile, rewarding themselves with a stretch on the terrace.

Our visit was finished with a large lunch, including a local speciality duck reared and prepared by a local chef. The full family plus cousins gathered to feast with us. We talked about the history of the gardens and understand that Guo’s grandfather produced green teas yet not much more is known than this since he lost both his grandfather and father at a young age and inherited the farm. His daughter and son-in-law are also at the table and tell us how they will move away with their baby for a few years before returning to resume work here, though we doubt this. Their affection and unity as a group is clear and touching to see and we’re not sure they will want to leave. Indeed, neither do we.