Story of Tie Guanyin

Hi Guys, today I wanna share this tea with you.

Tie Guanyin, also known as Iron Goddess in English, is one of the top ten Famous Teas in China. It is native to Anxi County, Fujian Province. It has a unique ‘Guanyin rhyme'(观音韵), with a delicate fragrance and elegant taste. After brewing, it has a natural orchid fragrance. The taste is pure and strong, and the aroma is rich and lasting. It has the reputation of ‘still tasteful after seven infusions’.

Why is it called Tie Guanyin? There are many stories but I would pick this one to share with you. According to legend, around 1720, there was an old tea farmer Wei Yin (1703-1775) in Songyan village, Anxi County, who was diligent in growing tea, and believed in Buddhism. Every morning and evening, he must worship the goddess Guanyin with a cup of tea. One night, he fell asleep. He dreamt that he went out of the house with a hoe, guided by the goddess. He came to a stream and suddenly found a tea tree in a crevice. It had strong branches and lush leaves, with attractive fragrance, which was different from the tea trees he had seen before. The next morning, he followed the road in his dream last night, and he found the tea tree of his dream. The tea leaves were oval and plump, and the tender buds were purplish red and green. Wei Yin was very happy and transplanted this tea tree into a small iron tripod at home and cultivated it carefully. Because this tea was obtained by a dream and guided by the Goddess Guanyin, it was named ‘Tie Guanyin’ (Iron Goddess).

Guanyin is a bodhisattva is Buddhism, especially famous for her mercy character. She has been a common belief in a few countries in Eastern Asia for more than a thousand years. Guan Yin in Chinese, 观 means observe, 音means voice. She has thousand eyes to observe if someone needs help, and she also has thousand hands to give her help to those people. So during the past thousand years, there has been so many people praying to Guanyin, and telling her their wishes, and being fulfilled.