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Rou Gui Xiang

The cassia-fragrance type among the Fenghuang Dan Cong, and a name that causes real confusion because Rou Gui is also a well-known Wuyi cultivar in Fujian, several hundred kilometres away and in a different oolong tradition. They are different plants: the Wuyi Rou Gui is a cultivar of the Wuyi rock-tea group, while Rou Gui Xiang is a Phoenix aroma classification. Both are named for the spice their aroma is thought to resemble, which is why the collision happened.

肉桂香Camellia sinensis var. sinensisChinaAlso called cassia fragrance Dan Cong

Where it sits in the botany

Rou Gui Xiang is recorded under Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, the variety group one level above cultivar. It is associated with China, which is where it was selected or is most widely planted rather than the only place it grows.

Also transliterated as: rou gui xiang, rouguixiang.

Where it came from

Propagated from Fenghuang trees whose aroma was classified as cassia-like, under the same local system that produced the honey-orchid and duck-dung names.

How firm this is: Inferred rather than taken from a primary breeding or registration record. Founding trees and dates were not verified against a primary source.

What the plant is like

Warm, sweet-spicy aroma with the thin bright body typical of Phoenix material. The name clash with Wuyi Rou Gui is worth checking whenever a seller lists a Rou Gui without saying which mountain it came from.

What it is usually made into

The categories this cultivar is typically processed into. It is a statement about common practice, not a limit — processing decides the category, and a cultivar can be taken down more than one route.

  • Oolong — Partially oxidised teas, bruised deliberately and often roasted — the widest-ranging category in tea.

Other cultivars in Camellia sinensis var. sinensis

Guides covering this cultivar

  • When the tea and the plant share a name — Tie Guan Yin, Da Hong Pao, Shui Xian, Rou Gui, Fo Shou, Bai Ji Guan: each is the name of a cultivar and the name of a tea, and the two do not reliably travel together. This is the most common single confusion in Chinese and Taiwanese tea.

Sources

  • TeaHQ editorial synthesis — TeaHQ

This page is TeaHQ’s own synthesis throughout. No breeding register or institutional record stands behind the account above, which is why the origin note carries its confidence in the open rather than reading as a citation.

How TeaHQ handles sources