Jiuhong Gongfu Black Tea

Jiuhong Gongfu Black Tea

　　   Jiuhong Gongfu Black Tea is a specialty of Pingnan County, Ningde City, Fujian Province. Pingnan black tea is a type of small-leaf black tea, collectively referred to as "Jiuhong Gongfu" black tea. It features a tightly rolled and solid appearance, a glossy dark color, a bright red liquor, and a rich aroma—sometimes with hints of osmanthus, other times with a cypress-like fragrance. It has a refreshing taste with a lingering sweet aftertaste, making it a premium variety among small-leaf black teas.

　　   Pingnan is situated in the northeastern part of Fujian Province, at the foot of Jiufeng Mountain. The county is rich in natural resources and diverse in produce. Its landscape is characterized by undulating mountains, high elevations, lush forests, abundant rainfall, fertile soil, and significant diurnal temperature variations. In spring and summer, mists gather in deep valleys and clouds shroud the high ridges, giving it distinct high-mountain climate traits that contribute to the superior natural quality of Pingnan’s tea.

　　   As early as the Tang and Song dynasties, tea production was active in the Pingnan region. The production of "Jiuhong Gongfu" black tea began in the early Qing Dynasty, and by the late Qing and early Republican period, its production, manufacturing, and sales reached their peak, making it the most significant economic product of Pingnan County.

　　   In the early Qing Dynasty, the black tea produced in Pingnan was called "Outer Mountain Souchong." Among the many tea shop seals discovered from the Shuangxi Zhou family's "Liuhéchūn" during the late Qing and early Republican period, artifacts labeled as "New Mountain Souchong" and other types of small-leaf black tea were found. Pingnan black tea mainly uses local small-leaf tea varietals as raw materials. Therefore, Pingnan black tea is classified as a small-leaf black tea, collectively referred to as "Jiuhong Gongfu" black tea.

　　   Jiuhong Gongfu Black Tea is made from the buds, leaves, and tender stems of high-mountain mist tea trees in Pingnan. After undergoing processes such as withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying to produce the initial tea, it is further refined through three stages and six procedures to create a graded product. It is characterized by tightly twisted, uniform, and straight strips, a glossy dark color, and a distinctive high-mountain flavor—serving as the fundamental basis for Jiuhong Gongfu Black Tea. The grading of Jiuhong Gongfu Black Tea is based on the picking season, categorized as: Imperial Tea, Premium Tea, Gift Tea, First Grade, Second Grade, and Third Grade. The distinctions are made based on characteristics such as "season," "appearance," "aroma and taste," "liquor color," and "leaf base."

　　   "Jiuhong Gongfu" Black Tea has a tightly rolled and solid appearance, a glossy dark color, a bright red liquor, and a rich aroma—sometimes with hints of osmanthus, other times with a cypress-like fragrance. It has a refreshing taste with a lingering sweet aftertaste, making it a premium variety among small-leaf black teas, as well as a strip-style black tea with the characteristics of high-mountain tea.