Root Mountain (本山, běn shān, "Root Mountain") - The oolongs of Anxi county in Fujian are diverse but largely overshadowed by the most popular cultivar, Tiě Guān Yīn. The hype machine behind this most celebrated of Chinese teas has relegated many of the heirloom tea varietals of Anxi to obscurity or even extinction. Often referred to as the sè zhǒng 色種 ("Color Types"), these minority cultivars are distinctive and worthwhile in their own right, but lack the brand recognition or high yield to justify widespread cultivation. As such, they are often blended and sold as Tiě Guān Yīn. Searching for several days in the tea markets of Anxi failed to turn up examples of these Color Types (or even any decent Tiě Guān Yīn), and it wasn't until we left Anxi empty-handed that we discovered them in a small tea processing operation in Longmen, a tiny hot spring town just north of Xiamen. The octagenarian proprietors of the establishment have long-standing family ties to tea farmers in Anxi who still grow some of the traditional Color Types, and every year they acquire small batches of these heirloom teas which they keep separate and process themselves. A low-oxidation, machine-processed example of the classic Anxi rolled oolongs. Root Mountain, along with Golden Turtle and Hairy Crab, is one of the three most famous varietals that have become synonymous with the term Color Types. It is the most mild of the three, with a subtle cedar fragrance and a clean, refreshing flavor.
2 Reviews
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Root Mountain: Deep Inside a Lovely Tree
This is the tea that validated my (so far) few furtive months of discovering gongfu tea. More than two dozen different teas along in my journey, this is the one that makes me smile the widest. The wet aroma right off the first steep is incredible: cedar with shades of vanilla and pear. It makes all your fantasies of finally eating that fragrant and tragically inedible hand lotion come true. The Jade Tie Guan Yin here is also lovely: clean with a subtler bloom of aroma. But this tea holds its own and then some. Watch it unfurl. Smell it and be happy.
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Root Mountain Oolong
This is a really lovely tea, with woody and floral notes. It has a smooth mouthfeel and satisfying aroma. Drinking this tea gave me the feeling of walking through the woods when the forest floor is covered in bluebells.
