Charcoal roasted for 15 hours at 3 separate times, the Yue family’s Tie Luo Han is a more robust, classic medium roast style rock oolong with deep, rich, minerality and rosy orchid aromas. While the tea leaves were plucked in mid-May, the roasting isn’t complete until August. Additional resting time of several months allows the layered roast to settle and become succinct, often considered a mandatory incubation period for yancha connoisseurs.
Iron Arhat or 铁罗汉 Tie Luo Han originated in the mid-late 1700s, thus considered the oldest of the 4 great bushes of Wuyi, the 四大名丛 Sì Dà Míng Cóng.
Multiple fun origin tales about respectable arhats or monks are often recounted when introducing this tea. The stories not only reveal various historical frames and narratives, but also give us insight into some of the perceptions that continue to shape modern production, marketing, and experiencing of the tea as memetic thought. With lore around Tie Luo Han, we mainly we see this as an association with iron + minerals in general, in addition to an associated strength with more robust roast levels. The tea is associated with a monastic, peaceful, reverential, strong, and benevolent outlook, and is considered perhaps more medicinal than other teas; good for body and the mind. If at all, at what point does myth and marketing penetrate into the production and consumption to become reality?
The Yue family is our connection to well-crafted and unpretentious 岩茶 yancha or rock oolong. These remarkable teas hail from the Wuyi Mountains, the site of a UNESCO world heritage site that features stunning (previously volcanic) mountain crags that stand as a kingdom above lush forests, valleys, rivers, and springs. The mineral profile and acidity in these rocks and soil brings to life a variety of tea cultivars fostered for generations. While the scenic park’s teas demand the highest prices, the price of admission to this club has recently become elitist. Incredible rock oolong in similar and proximal environs isn’t impossible to be found upon careful searching.
During our first trip to the Wuyi Mountains, we met the Yue family, an established greater Wuyi area tea family that tends to 8 acres of tea gardens just outside the Wuyishan Forest Park 森林公园 武夷山, another preserve located upstream just west of the more famous scenic area; north of Tongmu village. The Wuyishan Forest Park hosts a rich ecosystem of rare species of flora and fauna, old-growth forests, waterfalls, and shares the same volcanic mountain range as the scenic area, sitting at a similar elevation.
When asked about the specifics of their location and its terroir, they respond:
We are located at an altitude of 457 meters in 山口自然村 Shānkǒu Natural Village, with Wu San Di to the west, located on the windward slope of the Wuyi Mountains, with sufficient precipitation, coupled with dense vegetation, sufficient evaporation, and high humidity. Heavy, readily forming clouds with mist create a warm and humid semi-shady environment with more scattered light suitable for the growth of tea trees. In addition, the soil in the mountain pass is weathered gravel suitable for the growth of tea trees. The soil has good permeability and high mineral content, which makes the growth of tea trees reach an ideal level.
In an industry fraught with newcomers claiming mastery of marketable + popular styles after just a handful of years, the Yue family has been honing their yancha craft for 3 generations. Yue Jun’s grandmother was the first to begin growing and processing tea in the township of 洋庄 Yángzhuāng. It was her who planted their original 奇丹 Qídān Da Hong Pao bushes, their Old Bush Shui Xian, as well as others.
Also noteworthy is that the Yue family’s work in Tea has been matrilineal, a line of female “tea bosses” in an industry dominated by good ol boys. Tea in Chinese society might be as old school as you can get, and deals can often be colored by a distinct machismo, a kind of patriarchal old guard influence that can seem inextricable from the eastern tea table, so much so that working with the Yue family is always refreshing.
