Shui Xian

shuǐxiān

水仙

"Narcissus" — the deep, woody anchor of Wuyi rock tea, often from old bushes. Where Rou Gui is bright and spicy, Shui Xian is broad, mellow and creamy, with orchid, wood and minerality.

Region: Wuyi mountains, Fujian — old-bush gardens
Harvest: Late spring; roasted over the following months
Oxidation: Medium-high, charcoal-roasted
Cultivar: Shui Xian (often old or "lao cong" bushes)

In the cup

Orchid and narcissus over mellow wood, dark sugar and a creamy depth, with a smooth mineral finish.

What it gives

Warming and rounded — a soft, full-bodied roasted oolong, low in astringency and easy to drink.

Shui Xian — narcissus — is the broad, mellow counterpart to Rou Gui in the Wuyi rock-tea family. It is one of Fujian’s most planted oolong cultivars, and in Wuyi it is often grown as old, even century-old bushes — lǎo cōng — whose deep roots lend a distinctive woody, mineral depth.

Made in the rock-tea way — well oxidised, then charcoal-roasted in stages — Shui Xian comes out dark and twisted, with a soft, creamy character rather than the spice of Rou Gui. Orchid and narcissus float over mellow wood and dark sugar, with the cliffs’ rock rhyme, yányùn, underneath.

In the cup

Rinse, then brew hot and short. The cup is broad and smooth — orchid and a creamy, woody sweetness over a clean mineral finish — and it opens generously over many steeps. Old-bush Shui Xian is prized for the extra depth and a long, soft, returning sweetness.

How to brew