Tieguanyin Autumn Tea Hits the Market, Mid-Range Tea Accounts for 70% of Sales

After National Day, autumn tea has fully hit the Guangzhou market. A New Express reporter visited several major tea markets in Guangzhou and learned that the current autumn tea market is dominated by mid-range Tieguanyin. Tea merchant Chen Chao, who specializes in tea from Anxi, Fujian, told the New Express reporter that compared with previous years, this year's autumn tea prices are more affordable, and the autumn tea market has shifted from selling "gift tea" to selling "beverage tea." At the same time, he also said that the current Tieguanyin consumer market is not very hot, and the entire market is showing a sluggish state.

"Spring tea is bitter, summer tea is astringent; for good drinking, autumn White Dew (autumn tea)" - because autumn tea has stable quality and good tea character, it has become the first choice for many tea lovers when drinking tea. Among autumn teas, Tieguanyin is the representative. Many tea merchants told the New Express reporter that in this year's autumn tea sales, mid-range Tieguanyin is consumers' first choice. "Beverage tea sells relatively well now; 70% of our goods are mid-range Tieguanyin," said the owner of Yuheyuan Trading Firm at Kaiyin Tea Trading Market. "After restrictions on 'three public' consumption, we rarely take in high-end tea."

The reporter learned from visits that the Tieguanyin autumn tea on the market comes in many grades of price and quality. Among them, low-grade tea is 100 yuan to 300 yuan per jin, mid-range tea is 300 yuan to 700 yuan per jin, and high-grade tea is more than 1,000 yuan per jin.

At the 2014 autumn Anxi Tieguanyin information briefing recently held by the Anxi County government, it was estimated that this year's output would reach 21,000 tons, basically flat compared with the same period last year, with stable prices.

Discerning Tea Selection

Four Tips for Choosing the Right Anxi Tieguanyin Autumn Tea

Anxi Tieguanyin autumn tea is the seasonal tea of the highest quality. Consumers who want to taste something fresh may as well learn the following four tips:

Tip one: Autumn tea has tightly rolled dry leaves and makes a crisp sound when tossed into a cup. Take a small amount of dry tea and toss it into a lidded bowl. If it makes a crisp sound, it is autumn tea; if the sound is dull, it should be summer tea. The reason is that authentic autumn tea Tieguanyin has a tightly rolled appearance and features of thickness, fullness, and heaviness, so the sound when tossed into a cup is naturally loud, while summer tea has a loose, light, and floating appearance, so the sound when tossed into a cup is naturally relatively dull;

Tip two: Autumn tea has fresh green dry leaves with a luster. Take a small amount of dry tea under lamplight. If it is green and full of luster, it is autumn tea; if the color is dark and lacks luster, it is generally summer tea. However, if the tea leaves show the color of spring tea, that is, a dark oily color (like the frosty color on a persimmon cake), then it is not only true autumn tea, but true autumn tea of superior quality;

Tip three: Smell the aroma. The biggest difference between Anxi Tieguanyin autumn tea and tea from other seasons is that it has the fragrance of fresh fruit. If it does not have this aroma characteristic, it can basically be judged not to be autumn tea;

Tip four: After brewing, leaves with a concave and soft infused leaf are true autumn tea. Take out two or three pieces of tea leaves after several infusions, unfold them, and look carefully. If the infused leaf is concave and soft, it can generally be determined to be true autumn Tieguanyin; if the infused leaf is stiff and rough, it can be judged not to be true autumn Tieguanyin.