Basic Introduction to Shao Wu Shuitong Tea
Shao Wu Shuitong Tea is a specialty of Shaowu City, Nanping City, Fujian Province. Shaowu City is far from industrial pollution, with unpolluted soil and climate, providing a unique environment for the construction of non-harmful and organic tea gardens. It is the pride of Fujian teas and one of the two great “miracle teas” in the world.
Shao Wu Shuitong Tea originates from the Minbei Shaowu tea region, which has a long history and rich tea culture. The special geographical location, climate, soil, vegetation, and cultural factors create a superior natural ecological environment for the physiological and biochemical processes of Shao Wu Shuitong Tea. This environment nurtures a tea with excellent qualities such as a fresh, refreshing, and mellow flavor, pure chestnut aroma, high water-soluble content, high amino acids, and rich vitamins.
The Shuigong Tea grows in misty environments among rocky crevices, possessing a fresh, thick, and refreshing flavor and a high content of tea polyphenols. The tea can be used medicinally with notable effects. When the freshly picked leaves or raw tea are chewed together with a copper coin, it takes less than three minutes to crush the coin. Therefore, this tea is called “Shuigong” (literally “crush copper”) tea.
The appearance of Shao Wu Shuitong Tea is fine and delicate, with a lustrous green color, neat and clean. The Infusion is a tender green color, with a fresh, pure, and refreshing aroma, and a fresh and mellow taste, and a pure chestnut aroma. The brewed leaves are tender and green, and the tea is resistant to multiple infusions. Tests have shown that its amino acid content is 1-2 times higher than that of ordinary teas, and the water-soluble content and caffeine are significantly higher than those of regular green teas, creating a unique, rich, and refreshing flavor.
Nutritional Value
According to identification by the Chinese Tea Research Institute, the tea polyphenol content of Shuigong Tea is more than three times that of ordinary teas. The content of elements such as tannic acid and caffeine in the tea is also significantly higher than that of other teas. However, there is no definitive explanation for the true reason why Shuigong Tea can crush copper.
Product Characteristics
The Shuigong Tea plant is a shrub type, medium-leaf category, with low branching points, sparse and uneven branches. The leaves are long and oval-shaped, with prominent veins and fine and dense serrations on the edges. The leaf color is dark green, and the buds and leaves are relatively plump with strong tenderness retention. The sprouting period is slightly delayed, generally starting in late March to early April and stopping growth in early to mid-September, with a total growth period of less than seven months. Cultivation management is coarse, usually only involving light hoeing before spring tea harvest, without fertilization, pruning, or pesticide application. Due to the sparse planting, coarse management, and short picking period, the yield is very low. However, the green raw tea has obvious down, a strong flavor, is resistant to multiple infusions, and is of high quality. In addition to having the effect of crushing copper, brewing a cup fills the room with fragrance. A sip of the tea is refreshing, leaving a lingering aroma in the mouth and nose.
1. Sensory Characteristics:
The appearance is fine and delicate, with a lustrous green color, neat and clean; the infusion is a tender green color, with a fresh, pure, and refreshing aroma, and a pure chestnut aroma, and a fresh, strong, and mellow taste; the brewed leaves are tender and green, and the tea is resistant to multiple infusions.
2. Physical and Chemical Indicators:
Water-soluble content ≥40%, amino acids ≥4.0%.
History and Folklore
Shao Wu Shuigong Tea was already a tribute tea during the Tang Dynasty, with over 1,000 years of production history. There are written records dating back to the fourth year of Kai Cheng (839).
It is said that once, a child accidentally swallowed a copper coin and was in critical condition. At this moment, Zhang Sanfeng happened to pass by. To save the child, he randomly picked some tea leaves from a roadside tea tree, chewed them up, and then fed them to the child who had swallowed the copper coin. Before long, the copper coin was expelled from the child's body, and the child was saved. From then on, this type of tea acquired the ability to crush copper coins when chewed, and later generations named it “Shuigong Tea.” Monks on Liuxian Peak Mountain and villagers at the foot of the mountain, due to their long-term consumption of this tea, have produced many centenarians.
The Shaowu Prefecture Annals from the Xianfeng era recorded that the oldest monk on the mountain lived to 150 years old, while another lived to 129 years old, with seven people reaching over 90 years of age. The current 86-year-old monk Yinfeng, residing on Liuxian Peak, has practiced there for 25 years, overseeing the tea trees around the temple. Every spring, he picks the tea tips, dries them in the sun, and stir-fries them in a pan using local traditional methods to make raw tea for storage and consumption. Despite his advanced age, he remains robust and spirited, with good hearing and eyesight, and can climb mountains as well as young adults. Master Yinfeng also uses the “Shuigong Tea” he picks and makes himself to entertain guests and give to villagers seeking medical advice and medicine.
In October 2009, the work to apply for the geographical indication product status for Shao Wu Shuigong Tea began. Staff from the Shaowu City Quality Supervision Bureau visited tea companies, collected tea samples, and sent them to authoritative institutions such as Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, the Ministry of Agriculture's Tea Quality Supervision and Inspection Testing Center, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Tea Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and the Nanping Central Inspection Institute for testing. After repeated analysis and comparison, it was established that the water-soluble content, amino acids, caffeine, and other physical and chemical indicators of Shao Wu Shuigong Tea were significantly higher than those of ordinary green teas, and it was rich in vitamins and other substances.
In March 2012, after extensive data collection, argumentation, analysis, and collation, the application materials were submitted to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine of China. After review by an expert panel and a technical review meeting, the administration officially approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for Shao Wu Shuigong Tea, making it a public brand and a high-value city card for Shaowu City.
In 2013, the Shaowu City Quality Supervision Bureau took the lead in formulating the Fujian Provincial Local Standard for Geographical Indication Product: Shao Wu Shuigong Tea, submitting the draft for approval to the provincial quality supervision bureau. At the same time, the Shaowu City government established the Shao Wu Shuigong Tea Geographical Indication Product Protection Management Office and issued and implemented the “Regulations for the Use and Management of the Shao Wu Shuigong Tea Geographical Indication Product Special Mark,” strictly managing all aspects of the application, registration, distribution, and use of the special mark, and dynamically tracking the protection of the geographical indication product.
In 2011, the Shuigong Tea plantation area in Shaowu City reached over 1,300 hectares, with an annual output of nearly 300 tons.
In 2013, the Shuigong Tea plantation area in Shaowu City reached over 20,000 mu (approximately 1,333 hectares), with an annual output of nearly 300 tons and an annual value of over 200 million yuan. There were more than 30 primary and refined processing enterprises for Shuigong Tea, registering over 20 trademarks.
In 2014, Shaowu City had over 2,300 hectares of Shuigong tea gardens. The highest price per catty of Shuigong Tea reached 1,