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.
Tradition tells of a wandering arhat who came to the Wuyi Mountains and sat down in meditation at the entrance of a cave. He sat so long that he turned to stone. When the stone broke down with time, a tea bush grew in its place, and the leaves were dark and heavy as iron. Monks call this tea 'the body of the arhat': the one who drinks it falls silent with him.
Terroir
400–700 m, more often on northern slopes. red sandstone, basalt, abundant iron and manganese. narrow dark gorges, minimal direct sun, dense night mists. The best gardens are Huiyuan Yan and Gun Dong Keng. Leaves from northern slopes give the darkest and densest base.
Leaf
dry leaf: heavy dark-chestnut twisted strands with a coal-like cast; in the hand they truly feel dense, smelling of chocolate and dry fig
warmed: the warmed leaf — bitter chocolate, roasted fig, leather, a faint note of dry cliff
after pour: after the infusion — dark chocolate, leather, incense, dry wood, a thin nut
taste: dark chocolate, fig, leather, roasted nuts, a long bitterness; in long infusions — dark caramel and warm stone
finish: very long, dense; the aftertaste is warm in chest and lower back, holding for an hour or more
Properties
TCM: warm, yang; warms the kidneys and lower back, moves qi, dispels cold and damp; traditionally a 'medicinal' tea for tired monks
Modern: rich in melanoidins and polyphenols, supports concentration; do not drink on an empty stomach — strong
Cha qi: dense, warm, descending into the lower body; felt as a 'heavy palm' on the lower back
Caffeine: 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. dark chocolate, fig, aged cheese, dry meats, walnut, incense as background. solitude; or beside someone for whom silence is fitting
Tea meditation
- The arhat does not waste words.
- Be silent beside him too.
- The darkness of this tea is not heaviness, but focus.
- Sit upright. Fold your hands. Drink.
Questions and answers
How do you brew Tie Luo Han?
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.
What does Tie Luo Han taste like?
dark chocolate, fig, leather, roasted nuts, a long bitterness; in long infusions — dark caramel and warm stone
How much caffeine is in Tie Luo Han?
medium-high (45–60 mg)
What are the effects of Tie Luo Han?
rich in melanoidins and polyphenols, supports concentration; do not drink on an empty stomach — strong
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