Well-known since the Qing Dynasty, Shuijingui grows in the half Rock of Tianxinyan Duge Village. According to legend, once, the fence around the tea garden in the Tianxin Temple collapsed due to heavy rain. The tea trees were carried by the flowing water to the Half Rock and took root here. Subsequently, the Leishi Temple was built at this site and the tea was named “Shuijingui”. A legal warfare ensured from 1919 to 1920, with both temples claiming ownership of the precious Shuijingui. The Leishi Temple won the case because the trees were brought there by nature, and not stolen by them.
Features of Shuijingui
This red-barked tea tree with slightly curved branches produces long elliptical leaves, bright green in color. The leaves make good quality tea.
Other types of Wuyi Yan Cha
Wuyi Cinnamon (Wuyi Rougui)
Wuyi Cinnamon is made from the tender leaves of cinnamon tea trees first discovered in Huiyuanyan. Today, through a major asexual reproduction drive, it is found Sanyanfeng, Shuiliandong, Matouyan, Guilinyan and Jiuquxi. Wuyi Cinnamon has become the major breed of the Wuyi Yan Cha and is produced on a large scale.
Feature of Wuyi Cinnamon
The compact and curly dried tea leaves are oily brown and green with a sharp cinnamon flavor. The tea liquid is bright yellow, rich in taste and the brewed leaves are edged red. It flavor and pungent taste are the most outstanding features making its uniqueness.
Wuyi Daffodil (Wuyi Shuixian)
Known as a premium quality Wuyi Yan Cha, Wuyi Daffodil was discovered before Wuyi Cinnamon.
Features of Wuyi Daffodil
The dry tea is thick and symmetrical, twisted and the edges and is yellow at the tip, with a black middle and a red base. Wuyi Daffodil has the rich fragrance of orchids. The orange tea liquid is strong in taste with a sweet aftertaste, and the soft brewed leaves turn bright yellow with red edges (described 30% red and 70% green).
2, North Fujian Daffodil.
North Fujian Daffodil is the other main type of North Fujian Oolong Tea, which has fruitlike fragrance, and its yield is good. The tender leaves of the daffodil tea trees are the raw materials used for Oolong, and are named according to the place of origin. The bar-shaped North Fujian Daffodil Tea is made from daffodils growing in north Fujian Province. The tea is “good-looking and tasteful”, with incomparable fruity flavor”.
First discovered around Dahu village of Shuiji Area of Jianyang county in North Fujian 100 years ago, the top-grade Oolong tea is now produced on a large scale at Jianou and Jianyang counties, contributing 60-70% of the production in north Fujian. Different from the traditional north Fujian bar-shaped Oolong teas, today, mass rolling is an added process to compress and curl the leaves. North Jian Daffodil and South Fujian Oolong are similar in shape.
Phoenix Daffodil
It is named “Shuixian” (Daffodil) due to its daffodil-like fragrance. It grows near the Zhuxiantao Cave, near Jianou and Jianyang regions.
Features of Phoenix Daffodil
The leaves are compact and heavy, curled at the top, in the shape of a “dragonfly head and frog leg.” Green in color, they look like a frog’s skin, and have the rich fragrance of orchids. The clear orange tea liquid tastes mellow and thick, with a sweet aftertaste. The thick but soft brewed leaves are yellow, edged or spotted red.