The real Muzha TieGuanYIn Cultivar processed into TIeGuanYin tea. This heavily roasted tea from a farm at one of the highest elevations in Muzha is as much of a cultural artifact as it is a tea for drinking. It should be noted that Muzha is a very small district, and within it only about 272 acres are used to grow tea. Perhaps, needless to say the amount of tea produced there is also quite small. Demand outpaces supply, and in order to meet that demand some tea sellers there use leaves from other regions in Taiwan, and even go so far as to use tea leaves from other countries. Couple that with the temperamental nature of the Tieguanyin Cultivar, and the rarity of a tea-maker who has the integrity to deal with the added difficulty of growing tea without the use of pesticides, fertilizers — and the will to accept a smaller yield by way of the absence of chemical fertilizers in his gardens and you get the idea of the value of a tea like this. This tea is great after a rich meal. Age it to widen and deepen its flavor profile.
Hand-picked, May 18th, 2016
Sold in 1 and 2 oz. increments.
Recommended serving-sizes and steeping times:
Bring your water to a boil. Use 3 to 6 grams of freshly woken up tea in a 150ml vessel (about half a cup). After letting the water rest for a few seconds steep the tea. Depending on if you like your tea thin or thick, steep from 30 seconds at first up to 5 minutes in succeeding rounds.