Fuding White Tea

Fuding White Tea

Fuding White Tea is a protected geographical indication product.

Fuding White Tea is a certified geographical indication trademark.

Fuding White Tea is an agricultural geographical indication product.

　　Region

　　 Fuding White Tea originates from Taimu Mountain in Fuding. According to legend, Taimu Mountain was anciently called Cai Mountain. During the reign of Emperor Yao (2358–2257 BC), there was a woman who lived here, making a living by cultivating orchids. She was known for her kindness and generosity, winning the hearts of the people. She once used the green-snow-sprout tea she grew as a miraculous cure for measles, saving many children. Out of gratitude, the people revered her as a deity and called her Tai Mu. The mountain was thus named Tai Mu Mountain.

　　Distinctive Qualities

　　Fuding White Tea is unique in origin, natural in processing, and distinctive in efficacy. It is one of the most primitive, natural, and healthy types of premium tea. Traditional Chinese medicine theory confirms that white tea has a cooling nature, clears heat, reduces internal fire, relieves summer heat, detoxifies, and has therapeutic effects.

　　Cultural Stories

　　According to Lu Yu’s Classic of Tea, “Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs and encountered seventy poisons a day, but was cured by tea,” leading to the conclusion that “tea as a beverage originated with Shennong.” This tells us that tea has ancient origins. Similarly, a comparable myth is passed down in the Taimu Mountain area of Fujian: during the time of Emperor Yao, a woman lived on Cai Mountain (now Taimu Mountain) cultivating indigo. Seeing a measles epidemic spreading in the valley below, she taught people to use tea to treat and save lives. Moved by her compassion, the heavens transformed her into an immortal. Later generations revered her as “Tai Mu Niang Niang” (Goddess Taimu) and learned tea cultivation from her. Peeling away the mythological layers and seeking real-world evidence that aligns with the legend, it is not difficult to verify its authenticity—gaining true insights into the production and daily life of the ancient people of Taimu Mountain carried within the legend. Archaeological discoveries at Malan Mountain in Dianxia and Bailin indicate that the Taimu Mountain region had ancient human activity as early as the Neolithic Age. Later research also confirmed that Tai Mu Niang Niang was, in fact, a mythologized leader of a tribal alliance or a representative figure of an ancient human group during the matriarchal clan period in the Minyue region. In 1957, during a survey of fine tea tree varieties in Fujian, wild ancient tea tree communities were found in the Taimu Mountain area. Moreover, the place where Tai Mu Niang Niang—according to legend—attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven is home to ancient green-snow-sprout tea trees. Fuding Da Bai tea and Da Hao tea were also transplanted from Taimu Mountain. All this shows that the ancient people of Taimu Mountain certainly had the opportunity to discover tea in the Taimu Mountain region. Folk traditions in the Taimu Mountain area have long included preserving dried tea buds (known as “needle tea”) for treating measles, further indicating that tea was initially used for medicinal purposes. From this, we can conclude that, in ancient times, the people of Taimu Mountain, represented by Tai Mu Niang Niang, just like the ancient humans of the Central Plains represented by Emperor Yan (Shennong), discovered tea and used it for healing.

　　The protected geographical indication area for Fuding White Tea covers the entire administrative region of Fuding City, Fujian Province.