Gande

The Anxi township that drove the style most drinkers now think Tie Guan Yin simply is. From the 1990s growers here pushed processing toward minimum oxidation and a short, cool shaking — the so-called xiao qing or ‘sour’ handling — producing an intensely floral, pale green, almost unroasted oolong that photographed and shipped well and sold nationally. It made the county rich and then damaged its reputation, because the style is thin-bodied, fades quickly and does not keep. Gande sits higher and cooler than Xiping, which is part of why the aroma-forward reading works here at all.

感德China600–1200 metres

History on this page: TeaHQ synthesis

TeaHQ's own reading of well-attested general knowledge, with no single source behind it.

This district’s description dates something — a founding, a first planting, a period of expansion. The label above says on what basis, and it applies to the historical statements rather than to the elevation, climate or soil claims below, which carry their own confidence separately.

Elevation

Recorded at 600–1200 metres.

How firm this is: Inferred from general knowledge of the district rather than measured or taken from a source that states it.

When it is picked

The Anxi calendar pushed hard toward aroma: minimal oxidation and a cool, short shaking produce a tea that peaks quickly and fades, so the pick date and the drinking date are both close together. A style that does not keep makes the freshness of the season a commercial necessity rather than a preference.

How firm this is: Inferred from general knowledge of the district rather than measured or taken from a source that states it.

How the name is written

Also transliterated as gan de, gande. Romanisations of a district name vary by system and by vendor, and a packet spelling one way is not describing a different place.

Teas this region is known for

Qing Xiang Tie Guan Yin — Vividly floral and almost green in character, with the aroma at maximum and the body correspondingly light.
Tie Guan Yin — Creamy and intensely floral, with essentially no astringency. The aroma in the empty cup after pouring is part of the experience and is often more striking than the liquor itself.

Other growing regions in China

The neighbouring districts are the useful comparison: they share a country, a grading convention and often a cultivar, so what differs between them is closer to terroir than anything a cross-border comparison can isolate.

Sources

TeaHQ editorial synthesis — TeaHQ

This page is TeaHQ’s own synthesis throughout. No external document stands behind the elevation band, the climate note or the character described above, which is why each carries its confidence in the open.

How TeaHQ handles sources