Wuyi Shui Xian
A Wuyi rock tea from an old, large-leafed cultivar, giving the thickest and softest body in the yancha family. Where Rou Gui is spicy and sharp-edged, Shui Xian is broad, woody and creamy, and older bushes are sold as Lao Cong Shui Xian at a substantial premium.
Character
The softest and thickest of the Wuyi teas, with a woody-creamy weight that coats the mouth. Easier to like on a first encounter than Rou Gui, and less obviously distinctive.
- Flavour
- Woody, Creamy, Roasted, Sweet
- Aroma
- Caramelised, Orchid
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Silky, Rich
- Complexity
- Layered
- Notes
- narcissus, damp wood, coconut, caramel
- Aftertaste
- Thick, sweet and slow-clearing.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- China
- Region
- Wuyi Mountains
- Cultivar
- Shui Xian
- Oxidation
- Partially oxidised
- Roast
- Medium
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Withering → Bruising (shaking) → Kill-green (fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Roasting
Authenticity: Lao Cong (old bush) Shui Xian commands a large premium on the strength of bush age, which the buyer has no way to verify. The mossy, woody character the term describes is real and identifiable; the age claim attached to it is not checkable.
History
Brought to Wuyi from Jianyang in the nineteenth century and planted for structure rather than aroma. Old-bush Shui Xian is the material behind most lao cong claims in the category, because it was planted early enough for the bushes to be genuinely old.
Brewing
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
5–7 g/100 ml · 98–100 °C · 6 authored infusions
Gongfu brewing (Yixing pot)
5–7 g/100 ml · 98–100 °C · 6 authored infusions
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 90–95 °C · 2 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
Common mistakes
- Paying an old-bush premium on a claim that cannot be checked
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Lao Cong Shui Xian
Ordinary and old-bush Shui Xian. Bush age produces a real difference in body, and the claim is unverifiable by a buyer at any price.
- Zhangping Shui Xian
The same cultivar in two provinces and two formats. Zhangping presses it into small paper-wrapped squares, which exists nowhere else in oolong.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Aged Liu Bao
Shares 6 descriptors with Wuyi Shui Xian: woody, sweet, full bodied, rich, silky and caramelised.
- Da Yu Ling
Shares 6 descriptors with Wuyi Shui Xian: creamy, sweet, full bodied, silky, rich and orchid.
- Hong Shui oolong
Shares 6 descriptors with Wuyi Shui Xian: roasted, sweet, woody, full bodied, rich and caramelised.
- Lao Cha Tou
Shares 6 descriptors with Wuyi Shui Xian: sweet, woody, full bodied, rich, silky and caramelised.
- Li Shan
Shares 6 descriptors with Wuyi Shui Xian: creamy, sweet, full bodied, silky, rich and orchid.
- Nong Xiang Tie Guan Yin (roasted)
Shares 6 descriptors with Wuyi Shui Xian: roasted, sweet, woody, full bodied, rich and caramelised.
Written comparisons
Where TeaHQ has set this tea against another in full, rather than deriving the comparison.
- Rou Gui vs Shui Xian — The two most planted Wuyi cultivars, and the pair that best shows what cultivar contributes once roast is held constant.