How to Choose and Brew Fu Brick Tea? 4 Selection Tips and 5 Brewing Methods

Fu brick tea, or Fuzhuan tea, is a post-fermented dark tea among China's six major tea categories.

Dark tea's raw materials are highly ripe, and the original leaves are coarse and old. Coupled with its unique piling process, substances with irritating properties, such as flavonoids and polyphenols, in the tea undergo in-depth oxidation, polymerization, hydrolysis, and other reactions. These reactions change these substances' chemical structure and properties, reducing irritation.

Specifically, the following changes may occur:

• Oxidation reaction: The oxygen during the piling process will promote the oxidation of substances such as flavonoids and polyphenols, forming some oxidized products. These oxidized products may have lower irritation and astringency.

• Polymerization reaction: Some irritating substances may undergo polymerization reactions to form larger molecules, reducing their solubility and irritation in the tea soup.

• Hydrolysis reaction: Substances such as alkaloids may undergo hydrolysis during the piling process, generating some water-soluble lower or less irritating products.

These profound changes make dark tea taste mellow without astringency, and the leaves are coarse and old but soft. In addition, dark tea may undergo further aging and transformation with time, making its taste and quality superior. Therefore, dark tea is an antique type of dark tea. Fu brick tea is an ex among the many kinds of dark, extraordinary existence. Because it needs to be made on dog days (the hottest days of the summer), a flower named "Eurotium cristatum 冠突散囊菌" will be generated after the tea is formed. Eurotium cristatum is a microorganism that has an essential impact on the quality of dark tea. It is an aerobic fungus that naturally grows and reproduces during dark tea's piling and fermentation process. Eurotium cristatum can secrete enzymes such as amylase and oxidase, which can catalyze the transformation of substances such as starch and protein in the tea and further improve the flavor and taste of dark tea. At the same time, it has certain health benefits, such as antioxidants, regulating intestinal flora, etc.

Therefore, Fu Brick Tea has excellent effects on losing weight, reducing fat, lowering cholesterol, containing antioxidants, and treating diarrhea.

Let's introduce how to drink a cup of golden flower Fu brick tea with such rich nutrition in an all-around way!

To identify the quality of Fu brick tea, sensory differences such as appearance, color, raw materials, impurities, golden flowers, and inner soup can be distinguished.

After a unique flowering process, Fu brick tea generates "Eurotium cristatum," known as the "golden flower." Generally speaking, the more golden flowers in the Fu brick tea, the better the quality of the tea, which is well-founded.

• First of all, the denser the golden flowers and the higher the content, the more thoroughly the fermentation process of this Fu brick tea is, and the more stable the tea quality is; at the same time, it also shows the superb craftsmanship level of the tea factory.

• Secondly, golden flowers play a positive role in transforming various substances in the tea. They can make the Fu brick tea show a unique bacterial flower fragrance and a more mellow taste, and the more golden flowers there are, the more noticeable this flavor enhancement is. The number of golden flowers is closely related to the quality of the Fu brick tea.

Fuzhuan tea must be fermented to produce "golden flowers" because the "Eurotium cristatum" needs air for fermentation. Therefore, when pressing the Fu Brick tea, the pressure must be moderate, and the degree of tightness should also be appropriate, leaving breathing space for the golden flowers. If the Fu brick tea is pressed too tightly, the number of golden flowers will be relatively small, and accordingly, the quality will also be poor.

The appropriate pressing force allows the tea to be fully in contact with the air, which is conducive to the growth and reproduction of the "Eurotium cristatum" so that the Fu brick tea has more golden flowers and shows better quality. The tightly pressed tea brick will limit the activity space of the "Eurotium cristatum," resulting in restricted growth of the golden flowers and a decrease in the number of golden flowers, thus affecting the overall quality of the Fu brick tea. Therefore, the degree of compression has a crucial impact on the flowering and quality of the Fu brick tea.

High-quality Fu brick tea presents the characteristics of a dry tea brick surface: flat and smooth, with distinct edges and corners. Its brown, moist color and slightly loose brick body evoke a unique "bacterial flower" aroma.

The taste is mellow, with a prominent "bacterial flower" flavor; the watercolor shows a bright red and yellow state; the leaves at the bottom are dark brown, and the tea has good resistance to brewing.

These characteristics are essential criteria for measuring the quality of Fu brick tea, fully demonstrating the unique charm of high-quality Fu brick tea.

The naturally flowering Fu brick tea usually does not show conspicuous "golden flowers" on the surface because most of the "golden flowers" grow in the center of the tea brick. Only when we pry open the tea brick can we discover the hidden "golden flowers."

Moreover, the genuinely high-quality "golden flowers" are presented in a well-distributed and layered state inside the tea brick and will not appear disorderly and clustered. This uniform distribution of "golden flowers" reflects the high quality of the Fu brick tea and the exquisite craftsmanship of its production.

Use a gaiwan or purple clay teapot for brewing, with a tea-to-water ratio of 1:20 (referring to 1 gram of tea and 20 grams of water. Only a suggested value, which can be adjusted according to personal preference), and use boiling water at 100°C/212℉ for brewing.

When brewing, wash the tea, inject water, and soak for about 10 seconds before pouring out the soup. Then brew normally. The soaking time of each infusion can be extended by 5 seconds to feel the layering of the taste of the Fu Brick tea.

If you use a steeping pot or a thermos pot, first wash it with boiling water to increase the temperature inside, ensuring the leaching of the tea's color, aroma, and taste.

Then, according to the tea-to-water ratio of 1:150, put the Fu brick tea into it, and after 1 hour of soaking, you can taste it to feel the pure and mellow taste of the Fu brick tea.

This method requires a boiling teapot that can be heated for cooking. First, wash the pot body with boiling water, and then, according to the tea-to-water ratio of 1:150, put the Fu Brick tea into it. When the tea boils, you can taste it.

First, put the Fu Brick tea into boiling water, and the tea-to-water ratio is generally 1:60-1:80.

After boiling for 10 minutes, boil fresh milk (pure milk) equivalent to 1/5-1/4 of the tea soup.

Then, filter it with a tea strainer to make it.

You can also add salt or sugar to make salty or sweet milk tea with a strong tea flavor and full aroma.

Put the Fu brick tea into the pot at a tea-to-water ratio 1:150.

After boiling for 10 minutes, filter out the tea soup and add an appropriate amount of chrysanthemum to make a thirst-quenching and refreshing chrysanthemum Fu brick tea.

If it is in the hot season, it can be cooled and slightly iced before drinking, which is a highly refreshing and sweet drink in the hot season and the best drink to quench thirst and relieve summer heat.

The Fu Brick teas we sell are all produced in Jingyang County 泾阳县, Xianyang City 咸阳市, Shaanxi Province 陕西省, China. This is where Fu Brick Tea was born, and the natural environment and climate conditions are very suitable for production.