Quick Answer: What Is Mao Xie Oolong?
Mao Xie（毛蟹，máo xiè）, or “Hairy Crab,” names both a tea-plant cultivar and tea made from it. Mao Xie oolong is associated with Anxi County in Fujian, with cultivar origins recorded around Fumei in Daping.[1][2]
- Name: Fine hairs and leaf features explain the crab comparison.
- 分類： Oolong describes the processing, rather than the plant alone.
- Leaf: Rolled forms open in water to reveal the worked leaves.
- Finish: Light and more traditionally roasted batches both exist.
The name implies neither a seafood ingredient nor one compulsory roast level.[1][4][5]
Plant, place and finishing craft each explain part of this tea, well beyond its playful English name.
Anxi Origins and the Hairy Crab Name
Mao Xie originated around Fumei village in Daping. A grower’s recollection of moving seedlings in 1907 records propagation, rather than the cultivar’s exact beginning.[1][2]
Oval, toothed leaves and dense whitish hairs on the buds and leaf undersides support the “hairy crab” comparison. The name describes the plant’s appearance.[1]
A Cultivar, Not Another Name for Tieguanyin
Tieguanyin（铁观音，tiěguānyīn）and Mao Xie are different cultivars. They can grow in the same Anxi garden and be processed into superficially similar rolled oolongs. Shared place and shape do not make their plant identities interchangeable.[1][5]
Mao Xie can be processed into oolong, black tea or green tea. Our guide to tea cultivar and tea type explains that distinction. Huang Jin Gui（黄金桂，huángjīn guì）offers another cultivar-focused Anxi comparison.[2]
How Mao Xie Becomes Oolong Tea
Southern Fujian oolong processing first works the fresh leaf through withering, cooling and shaking. This stage, zuoqing（做青，zuòqīng）, precedes heat fixation. Rolling and drying then shape and finish the leaf, often through repeated working and heating.[3]
Later refining can include screening, winnowing, hand sorting, blending and further baking. These operations prepare the final product without changing the cultivar’s identity. The regional framework does not prescribe one fixed schedule for every maker.[3]
A Daping traditional-finish product uses a partial roast; the cultivar name alone cannot specify the finish.[5]
Light and Roasted Batches: Flavor Differences
A May lot from Gande has rolled green leaves and pale golden liquor, with floral, citrus and fresh vegetal impressions. Its tasting notes include yuzu, melon and buttered greens. These describe that lot’s cup, rather than a list of added ingredients.[4]
A separate Daping traditional-finish lot emphasizes chestnut, daffodil and apricot, with a creamy texture. Ask about finishing as well as cultivar when choosing between such styles.[5]
Jasmine-like fragrance also appears in regional descriptions. A floral aroma does not by itself establish that the tea has been scented with flowers.[1]
Choosing and Brewing Mao Xie Oolong
Read the producer, growing area, harvest and finish together. Daping’s connection with the cultivar does not mean every current packet was grown there: the light lot above identifies Gande. Tea origin labels help separate the cultivar’s history from an individual product’s origin.[4]
For that light May lot, a complete documented starting method is:[4]
- Measure 2.5 g of tea and 250 ml of water.
- Use water at 90°C and infuse for 3–4 minutes.
- Pour off the liquor and taste before adjusting another infusion.
Use consistent brewing water when comparing lots, and keep each product’s dose, water volume and timing together.
FAQs About Mao Xie Oolong
Does Hairy Crab Tea Contain Crab?
The traditional name refers to the tea plant’s appearance. It does not identify a crab ingredient; check ingredients on any modern blend.
Is Green Mao Xie Oolong the Same as Green Tea?
No. “Green” may describe a lighter oolong finish. A green-tea product made from Mao Xie would follow a different processing route.
Is Mao Xie Always Lightly Roasted?
No. Documented products include lighter and traditionally roasted finishes. The actual batch description matters.
出典
[1] Anxi County People’s Government. 安溪毛蟹
[2] International Camellia Register. Maoxie
[3] China Tea Marketing Association. 闽南乌龙茶的制作工艺
[4] Curious Tea. Mao Xie Hairy Crab Oolong
[5] Verdant Tea. 2026 Spring Traditional Mao Xie