Baiya Qilan is classified two ways at once by its national standard — shape (granular or strip) and roast level (light- or rich-fragrance) — so the same tea name can describe four meaningfully different combinations.
Baiya Qilan (白芽奇兰) is a Southern Fujian oolong from Pinghe County, protected under China’s national standard GB/T 30357.9-2020.
What’s worth knowing before anything else is how the standard classifies it: two independent axes, not one. Finished Baiya Qilan can be shaped either granular (颗粒形) or as a strip (条形), and separately roasted either light-fragrance (清香型) or rich-fragrance (浓香型) — four grades are defined under each of the resulting combinations. Seeing “Baiya Qilan” on a package tells you the cultivar and origin, not which of these four combinations you’re actually getting.
The name itself includes “兰” (lan, orchid) as part of the cultivar/product name — worth noting only because names containing floral words are a common source of confusion in Chinese tea (jasmine tea’s flowers are genuinely scenting agents; here, “orchid” is simply part of the name, not a documented claim about flavoring).
The standard’s sensory language describes the tea’s aroma as floral and its taste as mellow, with a bright golden liquor.
See the Oolong Tea guide for where Baiya Qilan sits among the Southern Fujian oolongs, and Foshou for another Fujian oolong with its own distinct national standard.
Look · Dry leaf
The standard documents two distinct finished shapes for this tea — granular (颗粒形) or strip (条形) — rather than a single fixed form, alongside the separate light/rich-fragrance roast split.
Smell & taste
Typical aroma: floral. Flavor tendencies: mellow. Body: light-medium. These vary by batch, storage and brewing.
Brew · A starting point
Try 5 g in 150 ml water at 90–100°C for 15–30 seconds. Fully decant before tasting.
Read the wet leaves
Not documented specifically for Baiya Qilan in the source material reviewed.
Sources & review
Compiled by ChinaTea101's editors from Chinese national and industry tea standards and reference material, then fact-checked. Last reviewed 2026-09-25. How we check claims
- Standard GB/T 30357.9-2020 乌龙茶 第9部分：白芽奇兰 (Oolong tea — Part 9: Baiya Qilan) — National Public Service Platform for Standards Information (SAMR). Current standard; status checked on the national standards platform. View source ↗