Charcoal-Baked Tieguanyin Oolong Tea (Tanbei Tieguanyin)

Charcoal-Baked Tieguanyin is a traditional oolong tea from Fujian Province, China, made from carefully hand-picked leaves of the Tieguanyin cultivar. This tea is processed using a deep-roasting method refined over centuries — a technique blending aspects of aged oolong traditions with nuanced control of fire and time.

The production follows a precise sequence: sun-withering, multiple rounds of shaking and resting, fixation, rolling, shaping, initial drying, secondary rolling, and final baking. The final roasting (baking with precision) is conducted over lychee wood charcoal, in a traditional slow-fire process that allows the tea to settle between each stage. This practice eliminates greenness, enhances complexity, and brings out orchid-honey aromatics through repeated fire exposure and rest.

The resulting tea is tightly rolled into semi-ball shapes with a dark brown, slightly glossy surface. The liquor is amber in color, rich in aroma, and full-bodied in taste — deep florals and mellow sweetness layered with the warm, grounded resonance of fire.