Iron Goddess Of Mercy

The history of tea in China is rich with story-telling and fable. Ti Kuan Yin was an elegant statue which stood in the center of a dilapidated stone temple in Fujian Province. Every day, a poor, local farmer, hard on his luck from the drought that plagued the area, would come to pray to the Iron Goddess. At every visit he would pray, light incense, and sweep the floor of the temple out of respect to Guan Yin. One day, the statue came to life to thank the farmer, offering him a camellia sinensis plant. The Goddess told him to tend to it and share it with his neighbors, and they would all be rewarded by the yield of this magical plant. Ti Kuan Yin then returned to her frozen form. After recovering from the shock of the Goddess coming to life, the farmer obeyed her wishes, and reaped the reward of the plants yield, for it was what would become known as one of the most highly prized oolongs in the world, Iron Goddess of Mercy.