Old Shaanxi Green Brick Tea

Old Shaanxi Green Brick Tea

　　“After the Qin people conquered Shu, tea drinking began.” When Sichuan tea was introduced to Shaanxi, Qiangzhou (present-day Ningqiang County) was the first stop. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Lu Yu, the Sage of Tea, recorded in his *Classic of Tea*: “Tea trees grow in the valleys of Baocheng and Jinniu (present-day Ningqiang), both counties of Liangzhou (now Hanzhong).” This shows that Ningqiang County had a tea-growing tradition during the Tang Dynasty. A thousand years later, Mr. Liu Donglin from Hanshui Chun Tea Company has, through repeated experimentation, successfully developed the first green brick tea in the province, significantly improving the utilization rate of local tea resources and ushering in a new era of mass-market tea production.

　　“Old Shaanxi Green Brick Tea” is a type of reprocessed compressed tea. This kind of tea has been popular in China for over a thousand years and has established a complete set of traditional production techniques. In the 8th century, Lu Yu described the production method in *The Classic of Tea · Tea Processing*: “On sunny days, pick the leaves, steam them, pound them, press them, bake them, string them, seal them—the tea is then dried!” Brick tea is also an essential part of Mongolian life. It is said that during the Yuan Dynasty, when Genghis Khan led the Mongol cavalry on expeditions, he treated brick tea as vital as provisions. Drinking milk tea helped people endure hunger and cold, while horses fed with fodder mixed with tea dregs gained extra strength. In the Ordos and Horqin grasslands, Mongolian youths often present brick tea as a auspicious gift at weddings; at the Naadam Festival, it is even awarded as a prize to top athletes.

　　Old Shaanxi Green Brick Tea is made from sun-dried and pan-fired green rough tea produced in the Ningqiang tea region. After undergoing debitterization and deastringency treatments, it is refined using traditional techniques. The tea has a tightly compressed, flat appearance with a greenish-brown hue. Its inner quality boasts a pure aroma, mellow taste, and light yellow, bright liquor. It is highly resistant to brewing and contains abundant polyphenols, caffeine, amino acids, vitamins, proteins, and other health-promoting substances. It helps clear the head, aid digestion, eliminate greasiness, promote metabolism, prevent cancer, soften blood vessels, and lower blood lipids. Not only does it retain the inherent benefits and nutritional value of green tea, but it also shares the durability of Pu’er tea. It is the ideal beverage for those living in high-altitude, high-fat diets and for individuals seeking weight loss and wellness.