Rolled oolong from the Tieguanyin cultivar, protected as a GI for the whole of Anxi County. GB/T 19598-2025 defines three styles: clean (清香), heavy (浓香) and aged (陈香).
Tight, heavy half-balls, sand-green to dark. Clean-aroma tea is floral, often likened to orchid, with a golden cup. Roasted tea moves to ripe fruit, nuts and caramel; aged tea to dried fruit and herbs. The defining quality is 音韵 or 观音韵, the "Guanyin rhyme". GB/T 19598-2025 defines it as the combined cultivar, regional and process aroma and taste peculiar to Anxi Tieguanyin.
Shoots that have stopped growing (驻芽), picked at small, medium or full open face. GB/T 19598-2025 Annex C defines full open face as a top leaf 71–90% of the second leaf (the EU dossier says 71–100%).
Shaking and resting alternate three to five times over 10–16 hours.
260–300 °C, until the leaf has lost 30–40% of its weight (GB/T 19598-2025). A 2017 Jiemian explainer gives 250–280 °C.
Cloth-ball rolling, repeated, gives the half-ball shape. The 2006 standard omitted these steps; the 2025 edition added them.
60–90 °C, to below 7% moisture: the result is 毛茶.
Only "安溪铁观音" is origin-protected: Tieguanyin-cultivar tea grown and made in Anxi County. GB/T 30357.2 defines plain 铁观音 by cultivar, wherever it grows. The cultivar is planted in neighbouring counties and further afield. Jiemian (2017) reports Guizhou and Hunan "Tieguanyin" passed off as Anxi tea. In Taiwan, 鐵觀音 names a processing style that may use other cultivars; see Muzha Tieguanyin.
Vendors grade clean-aroma Tieguanyin as 正味 ("true taste"), 消青 and 拖酸 ("trailing sour") by when the leaf is fixed after picking, but these labels do not provide a measured oxidation percentage. No standard, government or academic source read for this entry defines these terms. A Jiemian explainer uses 消青 for something else: the softening of leaf between shaking rounds. Treat these names as vendor claims.
"Anxi Tie Guan Yin" has had Chinese GI protection since 8 July 2004 (AQSIQ Notice 2004 No. 91) and covers the whole of Anxi County. Its standard has had three numbers. GB 19598-2004 (原产地域产品) was followed by GB/T 19598-2006, which was withdrawn on 1 September 2025 and replaced by GB/T 19598-2025 《地理标志产品质量要求 安溪铁观音》 (issued 28 February 2025).
The 2025 edition limits the tea to the Tieguanyin cultivar, registration GS13007-1985. It splits the tea by refining into clean, heavy and aged styles; the aged style is new.
It tightens limits to moisture ≤7.0% and broken tea ≤15.0%, against 7.5% and 16% in 2006. Water extract must be ≥34.0% for the clean and heavy styles and ≥32.0% for the aged style. Catechins must be ≥5.0% for clean and heavy, and theanine ≥2.0 g/kg for clean only.
The drafters tested 283 samples and checked them against ISO 20716:2022. They set no theanine limit for the heavy style because its levels varied, and no catechin or theanine limit for the aged style because both decline in storage.
GB/T 30357.2-2013 (oolong, part 2: Tieguanyin) defines Tieguanyin by cultivar only, with no place limit. It has four grades for the clean style and five for the heavy style; its 2016 amendment No. 1 added an aged style in three grades.
Tieguanyin making is national intangible heritage item Ⅷ-150 (2008, declared by Anxi). It also forms part of China's 2022 UNESCO inscription of tea processing.
From about 2012 neighbouring counties planted Tieguanyin on a large scale. Mixed-origin and counterfeit tea, pesticide problems and competition from yancha, white tea and pu'er then ended a decade-long boom (Fujian Daily 2025; Xinhua 2025). Anxi responded with taller bushes and grass cover, less pesticide and fertiliser, and a ban on herbicides and on the 压茶机 tea press.
Spring 2025 output was forecast at 23,000 t, with raw tea mostly above 100 yuan/kg. About 12,000 t a year is exported, around 20% of output, mostly as raw material. Anxi also supplies about 60,000 t of the base tea used in new-style tea drinks.
A 2022 study compared Tieguanyin treatments and grades using volatile analysis; the balance of floral compounds changed with processing. Such work explains why “orchid” is a sensory description rather than evidence of added orchid flowers or a single unique chemical. It also does not establish a universal chemical test for the trade terms Zhengwei, Xiaoqing and Tuosuan.
Tieguanyin identifies the plant material, Anxi Tieguanyin is an origin-bound product, and Muzha Tieguanyin describes a Taiwanese craft tradition. A familiar name can travel while its origin and product requirements change.
Price ranks compare recorded retail offers for the same tea, including offers outside the current delivery filter. Shipping and import charges are excluded.
| Product | Vendor | Price | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| China Oolong Tit Kon Yum - Oolong Tee | TeaworldSelected destinations |
€5.60 / 100 g | $6.28 €5.60 / 100 g ≈ $0.50 a session |
| Halbfermentierter Tee China Ti Kuan Yin - Oolong Tee | TeaworldSelected destinations |
€6.30 / 100 g | $7.07 €6.30 / 100 g ≈ $0.57 a session |
| Bio Oolong China Tie Kuan Yin | Tee Kontor KielWorldwide |
€9.90 / 100 g | $11.10 €9.90 / 100 g ≈ $0.89 a session |
Tieguanyin Nongxiang
Details and price notesThe seller's cart says taxes are calculated at checkout, so this price is not stated to include tax. The seller's terms make the buyer responsible for import duties and taxes on deliveries outside Hong Kong. Excludes shipping. |
Hong Kong Tea HouseWorldwide |
HK$278.00 / 250 g | $14.17 HK$111.20 / 100 g ≈ $1.13 a session |
Tuo Suan Tieguanyin
DetailsCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
|
King Tea MallWorldwide |
$3.99 / 25 g | $15.96 ≈ $1.28 a session |
Xiao Qing Tieguanyin
DetailsCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
|
King Tea MallWorldwide |
$3.99 / 25 g | $15.96 ≈ $1.28 a session |
| Tanbei Tie Guan Yin Oolong | TeewaldSelected destinations |
€7.50 / 50 g | $16.82 €15.00 / 100 g ≈ $1.35 a session |
Gan De Charcoal Roasted Tie Guan Yin
DetailsCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
|
Yunnan SourcingSelected destinations |
$5.50 / 25 g | $22.00 ≈ $1.76 a session |
Classic Oolong Fujian Tie Guan Yin Bio
DetailsCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
|
Yoshi enSelected destinations |
€9.90 / 50 g | $22.21 €19.80 / 100 g ≈ $1.78 a session |
| Tie Guan Yin - Tan Bei | Yunnan CraftSelected destinations |
$1.60 / 7 g | $22.86 ≈ $1.83 a session |
| Qing Xiang Tieguanyin 2026 | NannuoshanWorldwide |
€12.00 / 50 g | $26.92 €24.00 / 100 g ≈ $2.15 a session |
Zheng Wei Tieguanyin
DetailsCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
|
King Tea MallWorldwide |
$6.99 / 25 g | $27.96 ≈ $2.24 a session |
| Organic orthodox Anxi Tie Guan Yin oolong | Les Thés Terre de CielSelected destinations |
€13.00 / 50 g | $29.16 €26.00 / 100 g ≈ $2.33 a session |
| Organic Qing Xiang Anxi Tie Guan Yin oolong | Les Thés Terre de CielSelected destinations |
€6.50 / 25 g | $29.16 €26.00 / 100 g ≈ $2.33 a session |
| Traditional Tieguanyin 2026 | NannuoshanWorldwide |
€14.00 / 50 g | $31.40 €28.00 / 100 g ≈ $2.51 a session |
| Organic Anxi Tie Guan Yin Wang | TheTeaWorldwide |
€14.13 / 50 g | $31.69 €28.26 / 100 g ≈ $2.54 a session |
| Tie Guan Yin Édition Supérieure | Länggass-TeeSelected destinations |
CHF 20.00 / 75 g | $32.38 CHF 26.67 / 100 g ≈ $2.59 a session |
| Superior High Mountain Tie Guan Yin Oolong | TeewaldSelected destinations |
€11.90 / 40 g | $33.36 €29.75 / 100 g ≈ $2.67 a session |
| Tie Guan Yin Sélection Grand Hotel Gross | Länggass-TeeSelected destinations |
CHF 49.00 / 175 g | $34.00 CHF 28.00 / 100 g ≈ $2.72 a session |
| Aged Anxi Tanbei Tie Guan Yin Oolong | TheTeaWorldwide |
€15.87 / 50 g | $35.60 €31.74 / 100 g ≈ $2.85 a session |
Tieguanyin Traditional
Details and price notesCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
Germany/EUR storefront price, excluding tax and tariff. |
Tea HongSelected destinations |
€26.00 / 80 g | $36.45 €32.50 / 100 g ≈ $2.92 a session |
| Tie Guan Yin | Northern Tea MerchantsSelected destinations |
£13.76 / 50 g | $36.73 £27.52 / 100 g ≈ $2.94 a session |
Traditional Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong
DetailsCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
|
The Steeping RoomSelected destinations |
$10.01 / 25 g | $40.04 ≈ $3.20 a session |
| Xiang Hua Handcrafted Guanyin | Flying Bird TeaSelected destinations |
€18.00 / 50 g | $40.37 €36.00 / 100 g ≈ $3.23 a session |
| Anxi Ancient Path Tanbei Tie Guan Yin Oolong | TheTeaWorldwide |
€11.42 / 30 g | $42.69 €38.07 / 100 g ≈ $3.42 a session |
Prices recorded on the dates checked. Conversions use ECB rates dated 2026-10-20; original prices appear alongside. Origin, age and cultivar are stated by the vendor.
| Product | Vendor | Channel | per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| China Oolong Tit Kon Yum - Oolong Tee | Teaworld | International retail | $6.28 |
| Halbfermentierter Tee China Ti Kuan Yin - Oolong Tee | Teaworld | International retail | $7.07 |
| Bio Oolong China Tie Kuan Yin | Tee Kontor Kiel | International retail | $11.10 |
| Tieguanyin Nongxiang | Hong Kong Tea House | International retail | $14.17 |
| Xiao Qing Tieguanyin | King Tea Mall | International retail | $15.96 |
| Tuo Suan Tieguanyin | King Tea Mall | International retail | $15.96 |
| Tanbei Tie Guan Yin Oolong | Teewald | International retail | $16.82 |
| Gan De Charcoal Roasted Tie Guan Yin | Yunnan Sourcing | International retail | $22.00 |
| Classic Oolong Fujian Tie Guan Yin Bio | Yoshi en | International retail | $22.21 |
| Tie Guan Yin - Tan Bei | Yunnan Craft | International retail | $22.86 |
| Qing Xiang Tieguanyin 2026 | Nannuoshan | International retail | $26.92 |
| Zheng Wei Tieguanyin | King Tea Mall | International retail | $27.96 |
| Organic Qing Xiang Anxi Tie Guan Yin oolong | Les Thés Terre de Ciel | International retail | $29.16 |
| Organic orthodox Anxi Tie Guan Yin oolong | Les Thés Terre de Ciel | International retail | $29.16 |
| Traditional Tieguanyin 2026 | Nannuoshan | International retail | $31.40 |
| Organic Anxi Tie Guan Yin Wang | TheTea | International retail | $31.69 |
| Tie Guan Yin Édition Supérieure | Länggass-Tee | International retail | $32.38 |
| Superior High Mountain Tie Guan Yin Oolong | Teewald | International retail | $33.36 |
| Tie Guan Yin Sélection Grand Hotel Gross | Länggass-Tee | International retail | $34.00 |
| Aged Anxi Tanbei Tie Guan Yin Oolong | TheTea | International retail | $35.60 |
| Tieguanyin Traditional | Tea Hong | International retail | $36.45 |
| Tie Guan Yin | Northern Tea Merchants | International retail | $36.73 |
| Traditional Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong | The Steeping Room | International retail | $40.04 |
| Xiang Hua Handcrafted Guanyin | Flying Bird Tea | International retail | $40.37 |
| Anxi Ancient Path Tanbei Tie Guan Yin Oolong | TheTea | International retail | $42.69 |
| Anxi Tie Guan Yin Nongxiang (Charcoal Roast) Oolong Tea (50 g) | Siam Tee | International retail | $43.51 |
| Tan Bei Tie Guan Yin | Länggass-Tee | International retail | $43.71 |
| Hong Kong Cheung Hing Tea Hong Roasted Tieguanyin King (150 g) | Dragon Tea House | International retail | $49.99 |
| Gang De Lilly Xiang Tie Guan Yin 2026 | Flying Bird Tea | International retail | $51.59 |
| Tie Guan Yin Sélection Grand Hotel Klein | Länggass-Tee | International retail | $53.42 |
| Fujian Tie Guanyin | More Tea | International retail | $56.06 |
| Xiang Hua Cloud & Mist High Mountain Guanying Wang | Flying Bird Tea | International retail | $56.07 |
| Bama Sai Zhen Zhu 1000 Nong Xiang Tieguanyin (125 g) | Dragon Tea House | International retail | $59.99 |
| Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea of Gande Village | Yunnan Sourcing | International retail | $68.00 |
| Lao Tie Guan Yin Aged Oolong Tea | Yunnan Sourcing | International retail | $68.00 |
| Hong Bian Tie Guan Yin | Länggass-Tee | International retail | $72.85 |
| Tie Guan Yin | Länggass-Tee | International retail | $72.85 |
| Xiping Old Tree Red Heart Tie Guan Yin | The Essence of Tea | International retail | $75.00 |
| Old Bitter Tieguanyin 2026 (25 g) | Seven Cups | International retail | $80.00 |
| Chuan Tong Tie Guan Yin | Länggass-Tee | International retail | $97.13 |
| Anxi Tie Guan Yin | Yoshi en | International retail | $319.07 |
