Hunan & Hubei
The core of Chinese dark tea production. Hunan's Anhua county produces the most celebrated range: Fu Zhuan brick is the signature, distinguished by its golden-flower mold (Eurotium cristatum) that develops during pressing and contributes a distinctive mushroom and honey note; Hei Zhuan, Hua Zhuan, and the loose-leaf Tian Jian round out the range. Hubei's Qing Zhuan comes from Chibi. Shaanxi's Jing Wei Fu Cha is a related golden-flower tradition with its own factory lineage, distinct from Anhua's. These are the teas that built the old border-trade routes to Tibet and Mongolia.
Styles in this family
Fu Zhuan
Fu zhuan is the 'fu brick' of Hunan dark tea, famous for its deliberately cultivated golden flowers (jin hua), the beneficial fungus Eurotium cristatum that…
Hei Zhuan (Black Brick)
Hei zhuan, the 'black brick,' is a pressed Anhua dark tea from Hunan made from coarser, more mature leaf and stem than fu zhuan and packed into a dense, dark…
Hua Zhuan (Flower Brick)
Hua zhuan, the 'flower brick,' is a pressed Anhua dark tea from Hunan whose name comes from the decorative pattern stamped around the brick's border, not from…
Tian Jian
Tian jian, the 'heaven tip,' is the top grade of the Anhua 'three tips' (san jian), the loose-leaf side of Hunan dark tea, sitting above gong jian and sheng…
Anhua Dark Tea
Anhua dark tea (Anhua hei cha) is the umbrella category for the post-fermented teas of Anhua County in Hunan, the historical heartland of Chinese hei cha. It…
Qing Zhuan
Qing zhuan, the 'green brick,' is a dense dark-tea brick most associated with Hubei, around the Yangloudong tea district near Chibi and Xianning, historically…
Shaanxi Fu Cha (Jing Wei)
Shaanxi fu cha is fu brick tea made in Jingyang, Shaanxi, the historical birthplace of the golden-flower brick, now revived under labels such as Jing Wei fu…