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The perfect cup of tea Expensive, yet exclusive

It is very expensive, but at 8.50 sterling pounds, a leading store in Britain is promising to present connoisseurs (people with an expert understanding of some subject) with the perfect cup of tea.

The store is to start stocking Tieguanyin tea, a rare Chinese variety which sells for 1,700 sterling pounds per kilogram or around 8.50 sterling pounds per cup.

Believed to be the most expensive in Britain, the tea is said to have an exceptional aroma and taste. Those who stock up their caddies (small boxes for tea) with Tieguanyin, will comfort themselves with the fact that the same tea leaves can be used seven times, without any significant deterioration (worsening) in quality.

It is said to have a 'sweet' and smooth' taste with 'notes of autumn fruit'. The tea produces a 'fragrant, orchid-like aroma' when poured.

To brew a perfect cup of Tieguanyin, fresh mineral water should be boiled to exactly 100C, or 212F, then poured rapidly on to the leaves in a teapot.

About five grams of the tea should be used per brew, and the third of the seven servings will give the best flavour.

Hafizur Rahman, senior tea buyer for the store, said the Chinese tea had a magnificent taste. High in antioxidants, which remove harmful chemicals from the body, it was a very healthy drink, he said.

"Of the thousands of teas I have tried, this is one of the best," he added.

Tieguanyin is almost three times the price of the store's previous most expensive tea, but it expects a strong demand. "The tea connoisseur will be interested," said a spokesman.

Tieguanyin is a premium variety of oolong tea, which comes from Anxi in the Fujian province of China.

The name means 'Iron Goddess of Mercy'.

Legend has it that the goddess appeared to a poor farmer in a dream, and told him that treasure could be found in a cave.

He found a single tea shoot, which he planted and used to grow the finest tea the world has ever tasted.

Tieguanyin was said to be a favourite of an 18th century Chinese emperor, and initially, was used only in the royal court.

Later, scholars, poets, painters and philosophers drank it to give them inspiration.

Daily Mail

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