Oolong Teas

Shui Hsien (Shuixian, Water Sprite) Tea

Known for its natural orchid like flavor and long-lasting aftertaste, this tea and Ti Kwan Yin are the two leading types of oolong semi-fermented tea. It is named for the special strain of tea plant from which it is made. The discovery of the latter was a lucky accident for both those who enjoy this tea and for tea culture as a whole.

Over a thousand years ago a type of tall, large-leafed tea tree was noted at Dahu prefecture in west-central Fujian province. Its domestication, however, began only three hundred years ago.

Around the turn of the eighteenth century a large tea tree was found growing lying on the ground, pressed under the fallen wall of a rundown temple. From beneath it several small shoots had developed and taken root. A tea grower from southern Fujian who had migrated to the Dahu area took an interest in them and transplanted some to his garden. They produced a fine tea, and also taught him that tea plants could be reproduced by layering. Both the strain and the method quickly spread to the nearby Wuyi Mountains and other areas.

The meaning of the word shuixian is" water sprite," also the Chinese name for the narcissus. The coastal city of Quanzhou (Chuanzhou), through which this tea was traditionally exported, is famous for its narcissi, themselves an important export product.

The Shuixian strain has a single trunk and sparse branches. Its thick leaves are a glossy dark green, and it has lots of fat, greenish-yellow buds covered with hair. The leaves, processed into loose, twisted strips, are good for many infusions of the clear, bright orange-brown beverage. The leaves can also be processed into black tea and white tea. It is popular in southeastern China as an early-morning drink or served with dim sum brunch.

Wuyi Shui Hsien (also called Wuyi Hsiencha) is the most famous of the Shui Hsien type. Another variety from Yongchun, Anxi and their neighboring areas is loosely grouped as Min Nan Shui Xian (Southern Fujian Shui Hsien). This tea is also grown in Taiwan and in Guangdong. The products of the latter, under the names Fonghwang Tan-chung and Fenghuang Shui Hsien, are popular in Hong Kong and Macao as well as Guangdong.

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