Basic Introduction to Wuyi Black Tea
Wuyi Black Tea is a specialty of Wuyishan City, Fujian Province, and is a product marked by China's national geographical indication. Wuyi Black Tea is a fully Fermented tea that has a unique flavor, floral and fruity scents, or the aroma of dried Longan. Throughout the year, Tongmu Pass in Wuyi is shrouded in mist and clouds, with abundant rainfall and a warm climate. During spring tea season, it often rains continuously, with very little sunshine, so most of the fresh leaves picked from this area need to be withered using artificial heating. Additionally, there are many pine trees in the area, and pine wood is used for fuel, so the fresh leaves absorb the scent of pine resin while withering. During the drying process, the fermented tea leaves are spread on bamboo trays and placed on racks to air-dry or bake, with pine wood still being used below for baking, allowing the tea leaves to absorb even more of the pine resin scent. The finished Zhengshan Xiaozhong tea has the characteristic appearance of thick, tightly bound, straight strands with a lustrous black color. The tea soup is reddish-brown and has a rich, mellow taste of dried longan.
It is mainly produced around Tongmu Pass in Xingcun Town, Wuyishan City, and is the world's earliest black tea, also known as the “ancestor of black tea,” with a history of over 400 years. As a once-favored black tea of the British royal family, Wuyi Black Tea has received widespread attention internationally.
Tongmu Pass in Wuyi Mountain is the world's oldest place for black tea production. Tongmu Village is located in the core area of a key national nature reserve and a dual world cultural and natural heritage site, earning the reputation as “the window to the world's biodiversity.” The tea mountains, bamboo hills, forests, and various animals and insects form a complete ecological system. The superior natural climate and geographical environment create ideal ecological conditions for Wuyi Black Tea, nurturing its exceptional quality.
Wuyi Mountain has 100,000 mu (about 6,667 hectares) of tea gardens, 22,000 households of tea farmers, and nearly 50,000 people engaged in tea production. It produces 4,900 tons of tea annually, with a total output value of 150 million yuan, including 1,850 tons exported worth over 35.8 million yuan. The tea industry contributes 13.9% to the city's total agricultural output. There are over 700 tea enterprises locally, including two provincial and regional-level leading tea enterprises, and 61 rock tea producers have applied to use the original geographical product mark for Wuyi Rock Tea.
Product Characteristics
Wuyi Black Tea is a fully fermented tea that has a unique flavor, floral and fruity scents, or the aroma of dried longan. It has a mellow, sweet, and refreshing taste. Depending on the variety, its characteristics vary, and the main varieties and their features are as follows:
(1) Xiaozhong Black Tea: Has a dark lustrous color, tightly bound strands, and a relatively robust shape. The dry tea has the scent of dried longan broth. Once brewed, the tea soup is bright Orange-red, clear, and has a mellow, sweet, refreshing taste with a distinct high-altitude flavor and dried longan taste.
(2) Smoked Xiaozhong: Has a dark lustrous color and tightly bound strands. The dry tea has a smoky pine aroma. Once brewed, the tea soup is red, with a relatively mellow taste and a smoky pine flavor.
(3) Qi Hong: Has an intermingling of golden, yellow, brown, and black colors, tightly bound and slightly curled strands. The dry tea has a strong fruity, floral, and honey aroma. Once brewed, the tea soup is golden-yellow, clear and bright, with a mellow, sweet, and refreshing taste.
Historical Folklore
The world's black tea originated in China, with its roots in Fujian, and the originator of black tea is in Wuyi Tongmu.
As one of the oldest types of black tea, Wuyi Black Tea has a history of over 400 years. Wang Guo'an, in his book “Tea and Chinese Culture,” states, “The earliest production of black tea in our country started with the small-variety black tea from Tongmu Pass in Wuyi Mountain.”
Black tea is the most consumed type of tea globally, first created in Chongan (now Wuyishan City), Fujian Province. In the first year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1875), Yu Ganchen, an Anhui native who had resigned from his official position in Fujian, brought the processing technology of black tea back to his hometown and set up a tea shop in Yaodu Street, following the “Fujian Red” method to successfully trial-produce black tea. In the second year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1876), he expanded production in Qimen and subsequently, Jiangxi, Hunan, Taiwan, and other regions also developed black tea production. By the 1880s, Chinese black tea had become a leading export product, dominating the international market. Later, the production of black tea was introduced to countries such as India and Sri Lanka.
Awards and Honors
On June 27, 2011, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine approved geographical indication product protection for “Wuyi Black Tea.”