Jingyang Fu Brick Tea

Jingyang Fu Brick Tea

Jingyang Fu Brick Tea is a protected geographical indication product.

　　“Jingyang Fu Brick Tea” has a tightly compressed body, dark brown and glossy appearance, with abundant golden flowers that emit a rich fungal aroma. The tea soup is bright orange-red, and the taste is mellow and long-lasting. Jingyang Fu Brick Tea is a protected geographical indication product.

　　“Since ancient times, no tea was grown north of the mountains, except for brick tea produced in Jingyang, Xianyang.” Jingyang Fu Brick Tea has a history of nearly a thousand years. It flourished in the Song Dynasty and reached its peak during the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods. For centuries, together with grains, milk, and meat, it has been an essential part of life for ethnic minorities in northwestern China.

　　Jingyang Fu Brick Tea belongs to the category of dark tea. Among subcategories of reprocessed tea such as scented tea, compressed tea, and extracted tea, Jingyang Fu Brick Tea falls under compressed tea. Among over a thousand types of tea in China, only Jingyang Fu Brick Tea cultivates a beneficial mold known as the “golden flower fungus,” scientifically named “Eurotium cristatum” by biologists. This unique feature gives Jingyang Fu Brick Tea its distinctive character and flavor.

　　“Jingyang Fu Brick Tea” has a tightly compressed body, dark brown and glossy appearance, with abundant golden flowers that emit a rich fungal aroma. The tea soup is bright orange-red, and the taste is mellow and long-lasting. It is suitable for people living in high-altitude, cold regions and areas with high-fat diets. Particularly for nomadic ethnic groups residing in desolate regions such as deserts, Gobi, and plateaus, where their staple foods are beef, mutton, and cheese, and vegetables and fruits are scarce, there is a saying in northwestern China: “A day without tea leads to indigestion, three days without tea brings pain” and “Better go a day without food than a day without tea.”

　　 The administrative region currently under the jurisdiction of eight towns in Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province — including Jinggan Town, Zhongzhang Town, Sanqu Town, Yongle Town, Qiaodi Town, Yunyang Town, Chongwen Town, and Wangqiao Town — as well as 11 administrative villages including Gaocun Village, Ganzhaibao Village, Yaojia Village, Majia Village, Xilizhuang Village, Donglizhuang Village, Zhongshan Village, Rujia Village, Zhuyuanzhang Village, Wangjia Village, and Xuyan Village in Anwu Town

　　 Letter from the People’s Government of Jingyang County on Defining the Protection Scope of the Geographical Indication Product “Jingyang Fu Brick Tea,” Jingzheng Han [2012] No. 28

　　 Corporate Standard of Shaanxi Gaoxiang Tea Co., Ltd.:

　　Q/GXCY0001S-2012 “Jingyang Fu Brick Tea”

　　Quality and Technical Requirements for Jingyang Fu Brick Tea

　　I. Raw Materials

　　1. Rough Tea: Selected from dark rough tea produced in southern Shaanxi, Hunan, Sichuan, and other regions.

　　2. Production Water: Groundwater within the production area, meeting national drinking water standards.

　　II. Processing Technology

　　Raw material selection → screening → steaming → pile fermentation → boiling tea juice → frying tea → weighing → steaming → molding → compressing and shaping → airing → demolding → pre-packaging → loading into drying racks → flowering → drying → passing inspection → packaging → finished product warehousing.

　　III. Key Processing Points

　　1. Pile Fermentation: The steamed rough tea (steamed for 5 to 7 minutes) is poured into wooden fermentation bins, spread to a height of about 1 meter, and fermented for 12 hours at a temperature of 40°C to 60°C, stirred in a timely manner according to conditions.

　　2. Flowering: Divided into 3 stages, each lasting 4 days. In the first stage, the temperature in the flowering room is 24°C to 26°C, and humidity is 65% to 75%. White mycelium appears inside the brick tea. In the second stage, the temperature rises to 27.5°C to 28.5°C, and humidity increases to 75% to 85%, with abundant Eurotium cristatum growing on the brick tea. In the third stage, the flowering room temperature is maintained at 27.5°C to 28.5°C, with humidity at 55% to 65%, until flowering is complete.

　　3. Drying: After flowering is completed, the temperature is increased by 3°C per day until reaching 50°C, maintained for 2 days, then reduced by 2°C per day to 35°C, and subsequently increased by 1°C per day to 40°C, until drying is complete.

　　IV. Quality Characteristics

　　1. Sensory Characteristics: Neat and uniform shape and size, brownish-yellow color, visible golden flowers, plump fungal colonies, evenly distributed; pure and lasting aroma with aged fragrance; clear and bright reddish-brown tea soup; mellow and sweet taste, slightly smooth; dark brown and relatively uniform leaf base.

　　2. Physical and Chemical Indicators:

　　Item

　　 Index

　　Premium Grade

　　 First Grade

　　Moisture (mass fraction), % ≤

　　 14.0 (calculated as 1 point equals 12%)

　　Total ash (mass fraction), %                 ≤

　　 8.0

　　Tea stalks (mass fraction), %                 ≤

　　 15.0

　　 18.0

　　Non-tea extraneous matter (mass fraction), %       ≤

　　 0.8

　　Eurotium cristatum (colony-forming units per gram of dry tea)       ≥

　　 30×104

　　Note: The net content of compressed tea bricks is calculated based on 1 point equaling 12%.

　　3. Safety and other quality technical requirements: The product’s safety and other quality technical requirements must comply with relevant national regulations.