Tie Luo Han (鐵羅漢)
archetype: Iron arhat
An arhat who has gone into the mountains: dark power, mineral depth, monastic silence.
History
Tie Luo Han is the most ancient of the four famous Wuyi yancha — already mentioned in texts of the Tang era. The 'iron arhat' takes its name from the density of the leaf: in the hand it really does feel heavy. The leaf is heavily oxidised (50–70 %), roasted long and in several passes, drawing out a dark chocolate-fig base and a long bitterness in the finish. It keeps for years — with time it only deepens.
Terroir
The best gardens are Huiyuan Yan and Gun Dong Keng. Leaves from northern slopes give the darkest and densest base.
Leaf
dark chocolate, fig, leather, roasted nuts, a long bitterness; in long infusions — dark caramel and warm stone very long, dense; the aftertaste is warm in chest and lower back, holding for an hour or more
Properties
rich in melanoidins and polyphenols, supports concentration; do not drink on an empty stomach — strong dense, warm, descending into the lower body; felt as a 'heavy palm' on the lower back medium-high (45–60 mg)
Brewing ritual
a yixing pot of 120 ml; 100 °C; 8 g / 120 ml. 10s — dark chocolate, leather, warm roast; 12s — the peak of strength: fig, nut, dark caramel; 15s — mineral depth, incense; 22s — a dark sweetness, a thin bitterness; 35s — a long silence — warm stone in the chest; 55s — the arhat remains — a thin echo.
When to drink
day and early evening; do not drink hungry. late autumn and winter. for solitary deep work; when it is hard but you don't want to break down; before a long task