1 Min Red Gongfu Tea - Shouning has its own distinction

Min Red Gongfu Tea is the collective name for Zhenghe Gongfu, Tanyang Gongfu and Bailin Gongfu, all of which are specialties of Fujian. The three types of Gongfu tea have different origins, varieties, and quality styles, but each has its own consumer enthusiasts and has been flourishing for hundreds of years.

(1) Zhenghe Gongfu

Zhenghe Gongfu is produced in northern Fujian, mainly in Zhenghe County. The red tea produced in Songxi and Qingyuan areas of Zhejiang is also concentrated in Zhenghe. Zhenghe County has overlapping mountains and undulating hills, a mild climate, and abundant rainfall. The annual average temperature is 18.5°C, and the annual rainfall is more than 1,600 mm. Tea gardens are mostly opened in forest traces on gentle slopes, and the soil is deep and slightly acidic. The tea trees grow luxuriantly.

Zhenghe Gongfu is divided into two types: big tea and small tea. Dacha series is made from Zhenghe Dabai tea, which is the top grade of the three major Fujian red Gongfu teas. The appearance is tight and fat, the color is dark and lustrous, the inner substance is red and thick, the aroma is high and sweet, the taste is rich, and the bottom of the leaf is Fat, strong and red. Small tea is made from small-leaf seeds. It has thin and tight strings and a fragrance like Qihong, but it is not as long-lasting. The soup is slightly lighter, the taste is mellow, and the bottom of the leaves is evenly red. Zhenghe Gongfu uses large tea as the main body, taking advantage of its advantages of rich flavor and strong flavor, and appropriately combines it with small teas with high fragrance. Therefore, the high-grade Zhenghe Gongfu has a particularly well-proportioned body, the center of the tea is exposed, and the fragrance is good. The century-old Zhenghe Gongfu enjoyed great fame as soon as it came out. In the mid-19th century, the output reached more than 10,000 tons. Later, due to the devastation of the war, the tea garden was deserted. By 1949, the annual output was only more than 900 dan. Afterwards, efforts were made to restore the traditional quality style, and both output and quality improved. After the 1960s, due to the restructuring of green tea, only a small amount of production was maintained, with an annual output of about 800 tons.

(2) Tanyang Gongfu

Tanyang Gongfu is widely distributed and is mainly produced in Fu'an, Tuorong, Shouning, Zhouning, Xiapu and northern Pingnan. Tanyang Gongfu originated from Tanyang Village at the foot of Baiyun Mountain in Fu'an. According to legend, during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years of the Qing Dynasty (1851-1874 AD), Hu Fusi (also known as Hu Jinsi) in Tanyang Village successfully trial-produced black tea and passed through Guangzhou. It was shipped to Western Europe and was very popular. After that, tea merchants came to the mountains one after another to seek market, and they set up foreign companies one after another. Teas from surrounding counties gradually gathered in Tanyang, and the reputation of Tanyang Gongfu spread like wildfire. From the sixth year of Guangxu to the second year of the Republic of China, Tanyang Gongfu became famous. For more than 50 years in the fifteen years (AD 1881-1936), Tanyang Gongfu exported tens of thousands of tons every year, of which more than 30,000 tons were exported in 1898. Tanyang Street is one kilometer long and houses 36 tea shops, employing more than 3,000 workers and producing more than 20,000 tons of tea. The tea harvesting area extends from Xincun in Zhenghe County to Chiling in Xiapu County, with a radius of hundreds of miles and spanning seven or eight counties, making it the main black tea production area in Fu'an. It is shipped and sold to more than 20 countries and regions including the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Southeast Asia, and receives more than one million yuan in foreign exchange tea silver every year. At that time, the folk proverb goes: "When the country is prosperous, tea is exchanged for gold, ships are anchored at Longfeng Bridge, and silver is measured in measures." Later, due to the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, sales were blocked and production was severely damaged. The output of Tanyang Gongfu dropped sharply. In the mid-1950s, in order to restore and improve the output and quality of Tanyang Gongfu black tea, the state-owned Tanyang and Shuimen black tea primary factories and Fu'an tea factories were established successively to implement mechanized tea production, and introduced and multiplied Fuding Dabai tea and Fu'an Dabai tea. , Fuyun and other fine tea varieties, the output increased to 50,000 dan in 1960, a record high. Later, due to changes in the structure of tea, from "red" to "green", there was not much Tanyang Kungfu left. In recent years, thanks to the efforts of relevant departments, Tanyang Gongfu has been restored and developed. In 1988, the annual output reached more than 8,000 tons.

The appearance of Tanyang Gongfu is slender and even, with pekoe, the color is black and shiny, the internal content is fresh and sweet, the soup is bright and golden yellow, and the bottom of the leaves is red and smooth. Among them, the Gongfu tea produced in the Tanyang, Shouning and Zhouning mountainous areas has a mellow aroma and thicker strips. The Gongfu tea produced in the Xiapu area near the sea in the southeast is bright in color and beautiful in shape.

(3) Bailin Gongfu

Bailin Gongfu is produced in Bailin and Hulin areas of Taimu Mountain in Fuding County. Taimu Mountain is located in the north-eastern part of Fujian, adjacent to Zhejiang Province. It has a high terrain, with green mountains and strange rocks and ravines. Tea trees are often planted among the cliff forests. The tea tree has deep roots and luxuriant leaves, and its buds are white and crystal clear. In the 1850s, Fujian and Guangzhou tea merchants were engaged in processing Gongfu tea in Fuding. They widely harvested red strip tea from Bailin, Cuijiao, Qianxi, Huanggang, Hulin, Pingyang, Taishun and other places in Zhejiang, and concentrated on Bailin. Processing, Bailin Kung Fu was born from this. At the beginning of the 20th century, Fuding's "Hemaozhi" tea brand gave full play to the characteristics of Fuding's white tea, selected tender buds and leaves, and made Gongfu tea. It has a pleasant fragrance, soup color, and bright red leaves. It is named "Juhong", which means orange-red color. It has a unique style and is very popular in the international market.

Bailin Gongfu tea is a small-leaf black tea. The locally grown small-leaf group species have the characteristics of many hairs, early germination, and high yield. The general Bailin Gongfu has a slender and curved shape with many hairs. It is in the shape of granular velvet balls, yellow and black in color, light and bright in color in the soup, pure and fragrant in aroma, fresh and sweet in taste, and the bottom of the leaves is bright red with yellow.