The Little Brick - 2018 Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea (100g)

This is a collaboration between OrientaLeaf and Genshe Fu Tea — a 100g brick cut from Master Jia Genshe's 2018 production, aged over eight years. Genshe's version is aged a minimum of four years at the factory before release — this brick has had more than twice that. Woody, smooth, and deeply mellow.

Genshe fu bricks are sold whole — typically 350g to 1,000g per brick. For someone new to fu tea, or someone who wants to try aged fu before buying a full brick, that's a meaningful ask.

The Little Brick solves that. We worked with Genshe to cut their 2018 production into 100g portions, wrap them individually, and offer them at a price that removes the barrier.

About Genshe Fu Tea

Jia Genshe has been making fu brick tea in Jingyang, Shaanxi since 1980, using traditional hand-built methods that trace back over 600 years to when Jingyang was the center of fu brick tea production in China. His craft has been recognized as part of the Jingyang Fu Brick Tea Making Technique, listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China — the highest level of craft designation in the country.

Genshe's production follows a strict internal standard: every brick is aged in-factory for a minimum of four years before it leaves. Genshe's position is that four years is the minimum required for the flavor to properly develop — and the teas reflect that patience.

You can explore the full Genshe range here.

What Fu Brick Tea Is

Fu brick tea is a compressed dark tea ( heicha ) made in Jingyang, Shaanxi. Its defining feature is the Golden Flower — colonies of Eurotium cristatum , a naturally occurring beneficial mold that develops inside the brick during a controlled fermentation process called fahua (发花, literally "flowering").

No external inoculants are used at any point in this brick's production — no flour, no grains, no starter cultures of any kind. Only tea leaves and water.

This isn't a defect or spoilage. The fahua fermentation process that produces them is climate-dependent and was historically only achievable in Jingyang's specific continental climate, which is why this tea's origin matters.

Eight Years of Aging

This brick was produced in August 2018. It spent its first four years aging in Genshe's factory in Jingyang — the standard minimum the brand holds to before releasing any tea. By the time it left the factory, the initial roughness of young fu brick had already settled considerably.

It has now been aging for over eight years in total. What that time has produced:

Dry brick: Dark brown, dense, with visible golden-yellow spore colonies distributed through the brick. Clean — no off-smell, no mustiness.

Soup: Deep amber to reddish-brown, clear and bright.

Durability: Multiple steepings. Fu brick is notably durable — the flavor holds across a long session, shifting gradually from woody complexity toward a quieter, sweeter finish.

Format

One 100g brick, individually wrapped in kraft paper with the OrientaLeaf × Genshe co-branded label. Cut from a full Genshe 2018 production brick.

Produced in compliance with Chinese national food safety standards (GB standard).

Jingyang Fu Brick Tea Making Technique recognized as National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China.

Explore Genshe Vintage Fu Brick Tea — Aged Jingyang Fuzhuan by Master Jia Genshe →
All Fu Brick Tea →

Scan the QR code on the label for tea details and brewing instructions.

Session estimates use a fresh portion of dry tea each time. Each portion can be infused repeatedly.