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Shui Xian

Shui Xian (Narcissus) is a really ancient varietal. It originally stems from Mount Wudong (the Phoenix mountains in Guangdong). Very old Shui Xian tea trees can still be found there. ALL Phoenix Single Bush are from Shui Xian bushes or trees. An earlier split-off is Shui Xian Bai Ye (“Narcissus White Leaf”) from plants with whitish leaves. Since the 1980ies, cuttings from certain old tea trees (mother trees) with specific fragrances are taken in order to breed specific Shui Xian varietals, e.g. Mi Lan Xiang (“Hony Orchid Smell”), Xing Ren Xiang (“Almond Smell”), Huang Zhi Xiang (“Gardenia Smell”), Rou Gui Xiang (“Cinnamon Smell”), Gui Hua Xiang (“Osmanthus Smell”), Mo Li Xiang (“Jasmine Smell”), etc. Shui Xian has been cultivated in Wuyishan, Fujian (Wuyi Rock Tea: Shui Xian) for a long time now and there are tea bushes aged over one hundred years Shui Xian is also cultivated in Zhangping, Fujian and used for green Oolong (Zhang Ping Shui Xian), for Brown Oolong (Bei Huo Shui Xian) or more recently for black tea (Shui Xian Gong Fu). Shui Xian is cultivated in Taiwan, too.