Qi Lan
Qi Lan ('rare orchid') is a Wuyi rock oolong made from a cultivar prized for its pronounced orchid fragrance. Despite the similar name it is unrelated to Qi Dan: Qi Lan is a guest cultivar that originated in southern Fujian (Pinghe county, in Zhangzhou) and was later widely planted in Wuyishan, where it is now a common and affordable yancha. The variable to watch is how the roast and the cultivar's natural florality are balanced, since a heavy hand buries the orchid lift that is the whole point.
Twisted strip-style yancha leaf, usually a medium roast that reads brown rather than black. The signature is aroma: a clean, lifted orchid fragrance should sit on top of the standard Wuyi mineral base, and a good Qi Lan keeps that florality legible through the roast. If the cup is all char and no perfume, the roast was too heavy or the leaf too ordinary. Yan yun should still be present, though Qi Lan is generally lighter and more fragrant than rou gui or shui xian rather than deeply mineral. As a relatively inexpensive yancha it is a good everyday rock oolong, but it rarely reaches the depth of top zhengyan single cultivars.
Grown as yancha in Wuyishan, northern Fujian, though the cultivar is not native to the rock-tea heartland: Qi Lan is commonly traced to Pinghe county in Zhangzhou, southern Fujian, and was introduced to Wuyi as a productive, fragrant cultivar. The same GI zone economics apply, with zhengyan leaf dearer than banyan or outer-zone. Standard yancha processing with charcoal roasting; roast level is the main stylistic lever.
Gongfu: 6-8 g per 100 ml in a gaiwan, 95-100°C, a brief rinse, 15-25 seconds for the first steep and ascending; 6-8 infusions. Because the appeal is floral, slightly shorter early steeps protect the aroma. Western: 4 g per 200 ml, 95°C, 2-3 minutes.
A reliably good everyday yancha: €15-35 (about $16-38) per 100 g for banyan and outer-zone leaf, with named zhengyan Qi Lan reaching €50-90 (about $54-97) per 100 g.
Prices reviewed June 2026
Qi Dan
The name-twin to keep straight: Qi Dan is the Da Hong Pao clone, Qi Lan the orchid-fragrant guest cultivar.
Rou Gui
The assertive, cinnamon-spicy yancha benchmark; Qi Lan is lighter and more overtly floral by comparison.
Shui Xian
Both are widely planted Wuyi cultivars; Shui Xian is woodier and rounder, Qi Lan brighter and more orchid-floral.
Wuyi Yancha (Rock)
The parent style page covering the rock-tea GI geography and the quality logic behind the price spread.
Qi Lan is one of several southern-Fujian cultivars that migrated north into Wuyishan, where the local rock-tea processing reshapes an originally southern-Fujian fragrant cultivar into a roasted yancha. It is also made as a roasted oolong back in its home region, so the same cultivar can taste quite different depending on where it is grown and how it is finished.