Chinese Tea Mythology: Tie Kuan Yin - Iron Goddess of Mercy (Part 2)

So good, it’ll make you spit fire!!

According to some legends, if you find good Ti Kuan Yin then you will gain the power to spit fire!

One day, a young man was sent by his mother to find some Ti Kuan Yin.  He had left his home just as the sun rose so when he arrived at the first tea shop he had to knock for several minutes before anyone answered.  The recently awoken tea shop owner gave our hero a cup of good Ti Kuan Yin.  However, our hero found himself unable to spit fire.  Instead, he was just hungry.

He returned home to find that his mother had come by and made him breakfast.  After eating and a little rest, our hero continued on his quest for Ti Kuan Yin.  He went to another tea shop.  However, after consuming several cups of Ti Kuan Yin, he was still unable to spit fire.  He found himself hungry again.

Disheartened, our hero returned home to tell his mother of his plight.  Her response was to make him lunch and to take him back to the first tea shop owner.  Once there, he had a cup of Ti Kuan Yin.  After one sip, our hero started to burp.

“Ah,” our hero said with a sigh of relief.  “I found my good Ti Kuan Yin.  Now I can spit fire.”

I found this story to be quite entertaining.  Not what I expected when I heard the words ‘spit’ and ‘fire,’ but still awesome nonetheless.  Still…I can’t help but want to consume a whole pot of Ti Kuan Yin.  Ya know? Discover my inner superhero.  Maybe by consuming enough Ti Kuan Yin, I’ll more than just spit fire….maybe I’ll be the real Human Torch!

Figure 1 – *insert evil laugh*

What do you all think, dear readers?  What do you think of the interpretation of spitting fire?