Of the big three beverages: Tea, coffee and cocoa – tea is consumed by the largest number of people in China.

China is considered the home of tea. Chinese tea had begun to be exported to Japan and Korea before the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In the early period of the 17th century, Chinese tea was exported to Europe.

The tea from China is in great abundance and variety. To tell if a pot of tea is nice you can mainly rely on the color, smell, taste and form. According to these principles China.org.cn selects 10 of the most excellent from the whole of the country.

   Fujian Tieguanyin (福建鐵觀音)

 

Fujian Tieguanyin [996118.com]

Tieguanyin is one of China's top teas and synonymous with oolong tea. It stands head and shoulder above the rest of hundreds of different types of oolong tea. Guanyin in English means the Goddess of Mercy.

The tea was originally made in the Anxi County, Fujian Province in the 18th century. With precision, it is rolled into tightly knit granulated green balls with red spots and white frost. It has a unique taste with an orchid fragrance.

The legend behind the tea goes like this: A sincere Buddhist praying to the Goddess of Mercy daily. One night, he dreamed of a magic plant, which he discovered the next day. The tree sent out unique fragrance. Buddhists believed it was a gift from the Goddess of Mercy and called it Tieguanyin tea.