Huangjin Gui (; pronounced ) is a premium variety of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

oolong tea Oolong (, ; (''wūlóngchá'', "dark dragon" tea)) is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea ('' Camellia sinensis)'' produced through a process including withering the plant under strong sun and oxidation before curling and twisting.Zhonggu ...

traditionally from Anxi in

Fujian province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

. Named after the yellow golden color of its budding leaves and its unique flowery aroma, it is said to be reminiscent of

Osmanthus ''Osmanthus'' ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia ( China, Japan, Korea, Indochina, the Himalayas, etc.),and wa ...

. This oolong is similar to

Tieguanyin ''Tieguanyin'' (; Standard Chinese pronunciation ) is a variety of Chinese oolong tea that originated in the 19th century in Anxi in Fujian province. Tieguanyin produced in different areas of Anxi have different gastronomic characteristics. N ...

, with only a little

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

. Consequently, it has a very flowery, delicate aroma without the astringency of a green tea or the heaviness of a Red/Black Tea.

Legends

There are two legends behind this tea: the Wang/Marriage legend and the legend of farmer Wei. Both date its origins back to about the mid-nineteenth century.

Wang legend

The first legend is in 1860 that this tea originated from tea seedling given to Lin Ziqin by the bride Wang Dan from her home on their wedding day and planted next to their ancestral temple. The plants that grew were to represent the prosperity of their ancestors and families uniting. As a result, it is often given as a wedding present. The tea produced from these had a unique golden color and fragrance like osmanthus, so named as Huang Dan which has similar pronunciation to Wang Dan according to local language.

Wei legend

The other story is in 1850 that a tea farmer named Wei Zhen was strolling by a brook when he noticed a golden plant on the horizon. As a tea farmer he felt obligated to take a sample and cultivate it. To his surprise it had very powerful fragrance of osmanthus and light yet yellow color liquid remained, so together with neighbors they named it as Huang Dan ("Huang" is yellow in English while "Dan" is light). In 1900s tea merchant Lin Jintai got this tea very popular in South East Asia, even as precious as gold, but the old name Huang Dan was not attractive enough, so he changed to Huang Jin Gui("Huang" is yellow, "Jin" is gold while "Gui" is osmanthus).

Mother bush

There are two Huang Jin Gui mother bushes corresponding to different legend. One is about Wang legend in Luo Yan village, one is about Wei legend in Mei Zhuang village. According to the government file, Mei Zhuang village was split up from Luo Yan village in 1961. Both locations got big protective change recently. The farm where Wang legend mother bush locate is made into a beautiful park in 2017, the mother bush is protective with introductory text about its story and history. Mother bush of Wang legend had a stone tablet set up in 2009 which introduce its history and cited support by the Bureau of Finance of Fujian province. There is a small ancestral temple next to it.

References

External links

{{Teas Oolong tea Chinese tea grown in Fujian