Tieguanyin

Description

Legend has that there was a temple in Anxi county that had fallen into disrepair. It held an iron statue of Guanyin, the goddess of mercy. A poor farmer cleaned the temple and burned incense in the temple. He was not able to complete the needed repairs on the temple but he did what he could. After doing this twice a day for many months, he had a dream. Guanyin told him of a treasure in a cave behind the temple and that he would be able to share this treasure with others. The next day he found a tea shoot in the cave. He planted this in his field and grew a large bush that produced the finest tea anyone had tasted. He gave cuttings of this bush to all of his neighbors and began selling the tea under the name Tieguanyin, Iron Goddess of Mercy.