Basic Introduction to Jingyang Fu Brick Tea
Jingyang Fu Brick Tea is a specialty product of Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province. Its raw materials are selected from dark tea leaves grown in southern Shaanxi, Hunan, and Sichuan. It is processed through more than ten steps: selection of raw materials → sifting → steaming the tea → fermentation → boiling the tea juice → stir-frying the tea → weighing → steaming the tea → packing into molds, etc. The Fu Brick Tea has a compact body with a pure and lasting aroma, clear color, black-brown luster, bright red liquor, abundant golden flowers, a long-lasting fragrance, an aged aroma, a thick, sweet aftertaste, and a smooth mouthfeel. It is known for its ability to “reduce the greasiness of meat and relieve the heat of Barley” and is called the “mysterious tea” and “life-sustaining tea” of the ancient Silk Road.
Jingyang, located north of the Ling Mountains, does not grow tea, but it is situated in the heart of Guanzhong Plain, downstream of the Jing River, and has been a famous district since ancient times. As a result, it has become a crucial hub for the northern transport of tea from the south. Since the Han Dynasty, Jingyang has been a distribution center for “officially authorized tea” to Central China. Officially authorized tea was further processed in Jingyang, made into Fu Brick Tea, and then sold along the Silk Road to various regions in Northwest China and even countries in Central and Western Asia, making it a central hub for processing, production, and transportation. Over time, tea merchants accidentally discovered that their processed tea developed golden flowers (the yellowish star-shaped spots in Fu tea, which they called “golden flowers”). Due to the growth, reproduction, and metabolism of the golden flower fungus during the secondary fermentation of the dark tea leaves, the original quality of the dark tea leaves was significantly improved. Based on this, tea merchants continuously explored, summarized, and perfected the production process, leading to the formation of Jingyang's unique Fu Brick Tea.
The uniqueness of this tea led Jingyang Fu Brick Tea to be approved as a protected geographical indication product by the Chinese National Geographic Mark Protection on September 26, 2013. The protected origin area includes eight towns in Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province: Jinggan Town, Zhongzhang Town, Sanqu Town, Yongle Town, Qiaodi Town, Yunyang Town, Chongwen Town, and Wangqiao Town, as well as 11 administrative villages in Gaocun, Ganzebao Village, Yaojia Village, Majia Village, Xiliuzhuang Village, Dongliuzhuang Village, Zhongshan Village, Ruga Village, Zhuyuan Zhang Village, Wangjia Village, and Xuyan Village in Anwu Town.
Nutritional Value
The “golden flowers” in Fu tea are beneficial fungi, now officially named “Eurotium cristatum” by biologists. This fungus is only found naturally in thousand-year-old lingzhi mushrooms and acts similarly to lactobacillus in cheese. Its digestive and stomach-strengthening properties, ability to eliminate fishy and greasy tastes, reduce fat and weight, lower blood pressure and sugar levels, stimulate saliva production, and protect against cold make it unique among other types of tea. Particularly for people who primarily eat meat and lack vegetables and fruits, drinking Fu tea can supplement the vitamins and minerals needed by the human body while aiding digestion, harmonizing the stomach, soothing the intestines, promoting urination, regulating human metabolism, and playing a certain role in health care and disease prevention. Despite its warming nature, Fu tea effectively aids digestion and promotes water Excretion.
Product Characteristics
1. Sensory Characteristics: The appearance is neat and uniform in shape, with a brown-yellow color, visible golden flowers, plump colonies, evenly distributed; the aroma is pure and long-lasting, with an aged aroma; the liquor is clear, bright red; the taste is full-bodied and sweet, slightly smooth; the infused leaves are dark brown and relatively uniform.
2. Physical and Chemical Indicators:
Top-grade Fu Brick Tea:
Moisture content (mass fraction), % ≤14.0 (weight calculated at 12% moisture)
Total ash (mass fraction), % ≤ 8.0
Tea stalks (mass fraction), % ≤ 15.0
Non-tea foreign matter (mass fraction), % ≤ 0.8
Eurotium cristatum (number per gram of dry tea) ≥ 30×104
First-grade Fu Brick Tea:
Moisture content (mass fraction), % ≤14.0 (weight calculated at 12% moisture)
Total ash (mass fraction), % ≤ 8.0
Tea stalks (mass fraction), % ≤ 18.0
Non-tea foreign matter (mass fraction), % ≤ 0.8
Eurotium cristatum (number per gram of dry tea) ≥ 30×104
Historical Folklore
“Since ancient times, no tea has been planted north of the Ling Mountains, except for brick tea produced in Jingyang.” Among the goods traded along the Silk Road, silk, Porcelain, and tea were the main exports. Jingyang was a necessary stop for the northward transport of tea from the south, and historically, Jingyang Fu Brick Tea was sold to over forty countries in Central Asia and Western Asia, earning it the titles of “mysterious tea” and “black gold” of the Silk Road.
According to historical records, Fu tea (loose tea) appeared in Jingyang around the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty (1068-1077); Fu Brick Tea took its current form around the founding of the Ming Dynasty (1368), about 643 years ago.
The “Jingyang County Annals” states that during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, Jingyang was a bustling commercial center. There were 131 businesses operating within the county, with 86 of them specializing in the sale of Fu Brick Tea, each producing approximately 300-500 tons annually. At that time, Jingyang Fu Brick Tea was not only sold throughout the western regions but also exported to Russia, Tibet, Persia, and over forty other countries.
Throughout history, Jingyang Fu Brick Tea has received many accolades. Due to its unique natural resources and local tea-making techniques, there is a saying that “Jingyang Fu Brick Tea cannot be made without Jingyang's water, climate, and the skills of its people.” However, in 1958, due to the fact that Jingyang did not grow tea locally, and following the national policy of “more, faster, better, and more economical” construction, the central government decided to relocate the processing and production to tea-growing areas. Processing dark tea from Hunan in Jingyang was more expensive than in Anhua, leading to a gradual reduction in local production, which ceased entirely after 1958.
In 2007, the production process for Jingyang Fu Brick Tea was successfully restored, and production resumed. On January 11, 2018, the unveiling ceremony for the Jingyang Fu Tea Research and Development Center of Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University was held in Qiaodi Town, Jingyang County.
In 2013, there were more than 30 Jingyang Fu Brick Tea enterprises in the county, processing and producing over 3,200 tons of Fu Brick Tea, with a total output value of 380 million RMB.
In 2016, there were 51 Fu tea production enterprises in Jingyang County, employing over 10,000 people. The county's total production of Fu tea reached 20,000 tons, with an output value of 2.4 billion RMB.
As of 2017, there were 52 Fu tea production enterprises in Jingyang County, producing 3,410 tons of Fu tea, with an output value of 409 million RMB.