Tea in the ancient world: Lincang and Fenqing Fu cake hei cha

Lincang origin version

Fengqing origin version

Fengqing version exterior; it's slightly darker than the other version

Lincang left, Fengqing right, in all photos

I'm reviewing two more Fu brick (cake) teas from Oriental Leaf; many thanks for them sending them for review. Again these include plenty of golden flowers, Eurotium Cristatum, the fungus said to add positive character, complexity, and maybe even health benefits to this type of hei cha. I'll start with their description:

On Taoism - Jingyang Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea - 190g Cake ($38.50 for 190 gram cake)

This 190-gram round Golden Flower Fu tea cake is the miniature packaging version of another of our best-selling 350g cakes. Although it is small in size and a bit lighter in weight, the quality of the tea is the same as that of the popular product.

The classic Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea from On Taoism Tea Factory is a signature product of our tea house.

We offer two options:

One is black-wrapped, made from grade one dark tea from Lincang, Yunnan, with a more intense tea aroma.

The other is yellow-wrapped and made from a particular grade one dark tea from Fengqing, Yunnan, with a deeper tea aroma.

Both types of tea undergo post-fermentation and flowering processes in Jingyang. The buds in the red packaging are more tender, while those in the black packaging are more durable for brewing.

These high-quality compressed tea cakes were produced in 2020. They stand out for their ability to be stored long-term and transform, resulting in a more mellow taste.

The most distinctive feature is the high density of golden flowers in the compressed tea cake. These golden flowers, a beneficial microorganism, signify high-quality Fu Brick Tea. To emphasize this feature, workers split the tea cake in half before it left the factory, allowing you to see the dense golden flowers upon receiving the tea. As mentioned in a previous blog, the number of golden flowers is a crucial quality indicator of Fu Brick Tea; the more golden flowers, the better the quality.

This Fu Brick Tea, with its unique round cake shape, supports the traditional and natural growth of the golden flower fungus. Unlike the brick shape of traditional pressed tea, this tea undergoes a unique post-fermentation process using Jingyang water in Jingyang. This process, involving controlled exposure to moisture and air, enhances the tea's flavor and aroma. Thanks to the cotton paper packaging, the rich, high aroma can be appreciated even before brewing.

The Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea offers a unique taste and brewing experience. The tea leaves, known for their durability, can be brewed over 15 times. The taste combines fresh, sweet notes and a returning sweetness with a clear and bright soup base. The On Taoism Tea Factory maintains a clean workshop, ensuring the tea's high quality without washing.

I checked and that larger version (On Taoism - Jingyang Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea - 350g Cake, also from 2020) costs $65.50 for a 350 gram cake (19 cents a gram), which is relatively close in price.

It's a little confusing separating out what I've experienced of the two cakes in relation to this limited description, since I always add the product background after the tasting part. The black labeled version, the Lincang (on the left in all these photos), is said to have more intense aroma, and the other tan labeled version, from Fengqing, is said to have deeper aroma. If by deeper they mean warmer in tones that's how I placed it, and it might be slightly more complex.

The color difference is interesting (the Fengqing being darker in appearance); there has to be more to the story about fermentation processing differences. I suppose in the end it's more about the experience than the story. Both were good. I think I liked the Fengqing version more, but that might change, if I brewed both a number of times, in different ways. I might use a Gongfu / gaiwan brewing approach and relate how that goes in a different post.

As far as value, is $38.50 per 190 grams a good value? That's 20 cents a gram, equivalent to a 357 gram sheng cake costing about $70. It's hard to say. I don't doubt that this is a unique character and quality level offering for hei cha, that if you kept trying lower cost versions, which would be out there, they mostly probably wouldn't match it for quality and distinctiveness, over and over. There could be exceptions, but you might own kilograms of lower quality teas before you found one, unless sampling first worked out.

The other Fu brick tea I reviewed from them (YXT Jingyang Fu Tea Classic Yellow Can 300g, reviewed here, described in a vendor page here) sold for $50 for a 300 gram tin, so for 17 cents a gram. It wasn't that far off this range, but as far as I remember these are a bit more distinctive. I'd have to try all three to really confirm that; I last tried that within the last week or so, but it can be hard placing the finest level aspects.

One difference is whether or not these can be bought as samples; these small cakes cannot. If someone knows that they like this general range of tea I don't think buying one for $38.50 poses much risk; they're quite nice, and type-typical, if anything just better than average. Determining which one of the two they might like better is a different story. To the extent I describe one as more positive than the other that may relate mostly to my own preference.

For background context I'm on day 3 of a 5 day fast, not eating for that time period. That changes my palate a little but not too much. Sweetness seems to come across slightly differently. I'm not concerned about these affecting my stomach, as most tea types would, since I checked on that effect yesterday, trying another Fu version they sent. It's like drinking shu pu'er; not a problem.

Review:

brewed Western style; this should be as favorable as using a Gongfu approach

#1, Lincang: pretty good; brewed a little light. I'm not familiar with Western brewing this type of tea, and also not familiar with how much weight the flakes off this cake amount to. Eyeing out sheng pu'er to brew in a gaiwan is familiar; it always just works out. Even for Western brewing sheng I might not get it completely right; I just know how that tea looks in a gaiwan, even if varying compression changes the appearance and form.

Flavor is nice. Of course it's in that odd range, including a dark bread tone, with a bit of yeast input, warm mineral, and decent sweetness. A bit of what comes across as non-distinct spice adds complexity. It might be towards fennel seed, matching the dark bread flavor range. I'm not noticing much of a dried fruit input; a very limited amount of that range could turn up in similar teas.

Feel is pretty good; on the full side. Those aspects trail as aftertaste, adding more impression of intensity and complexity. There are no noticeable flaws.

All that is positive, but how good is this, compared to the other versions, or in general? It being being brewed differently than I've most often been brewing these and my palate being a little off related to fasting make it hard to judge that. It might be slightly more complex than the YXT Jinyang version, or slightly more distinctive, but it might not be; I might be remembering that wrong.

Fengqing: warmer in tone, of course with some overlap. The dark bread tone is darker, more a pumpernickle instead of a dark rye. The mineral is darker (warmer, or even heavier, however one chooses to frame that).

There is still a light aspect range in between yeast and fruit in this, which is comparable in the other version, which I only summarized as yeast-like there, stopping short of describing that as fruit. It's like a citrus peel sort of edge. In going back and tasting the first a hint of fruit tone is there too, but more pronounced in this one, easier to pick up. That might relate to this being brewed slightly stronger; proportion seems a bit higher for it, but only a little.

Again it's hard to judge the amount in the flakes, the way the tea separates. It wouldn't be with just a little more exposure, but this tea type is still a little new to me, in the sense of brewing it regularly. I first explored Fu brick teas ages ago, maybe 7 years back, but of course that doesn't help with judging an infusion's worth by appearance.

Those darker tones and the fruit make this come across as closer to chen pi shu pu'er. It's not like that, instead much earthier in tone, maybe with a little more depth, and way less citrus. In this it's a faint hint, not as strong as the yeast-like aspect, which might come across more like an aromatic spice.

This is complex enough that someone with a good imagination could see all sorts of flavors in it. I suppose brewing both Gongfu style would really lend itself to that; the compounds and flavors that are extracted shifts some round to round. One of the strengths of this tea type is that you can brew it quite strong and appreciate an intense and complex character. I didn't this time; these were brewed for about 4 minutes, or maybe 3 1/2. I'll give them a longer soak next round to see how that goes, but of course some of the input of the "golden flowers" fungus has already extracted, so the flavor profile was going to shift either way.

Someone suggested simmering this type of teas in an online comment. That could be interesting. I wouldn't expect it to be so different than using a long soak, a 7 or 8 minute Western infusion, but maybe it would be. Eventually I'll probably get to that.

Lincang version leaves, left, are definitely a little lighter

Lincang, second infusion: this is pretty strong; I let this soak for over 15 minutes, essentially fully brewing out. The infusion strength is different, and flavors come across differently. Earthy tones are all the more dominant, a strong version of autumn leaf. That still includes some bread tones, like a dark rye, again including some spice range, along the line of fennel seed.

One light tone I associate with the golden flowers (fungus) relates to a yeasty aspect, not completely separated from a brighter fruit tone, but again not exactly like fruit. If you think of a warm citrus input, like a chen pi / dried tangerine peel, then it seems like that.

Is it better brewed stronger? I think so. Body is nice and stout, the feel. I suppose it even resembles one part of a brown ale or stout beer character, that dark bread-like range. As with any tea type not everyone would love this, but people on this page for aspect preference would. It might be a little better than the better of the other two Fu hei cha versions from Oriental Leaf, or maybe just different.

It would help to try all three together, ideally with brewing dialed in, and probably not while fasting. My palate is fine, I can taste it in a similar way, it's not like at the end of being sick, when things are muted. There's just some slight variation.

Fengquing: this is even more different. The fruit tone in this shifted; it's not mostly a warm citrus range now. It's hard to place though, because it's a bit complex. One part might be like dried apricot, but that's hard to separate out from the warmer tones that are stronger. Warm earthy range is still a bit like pumpernickel bread, one part of it, and there's warm mineral range, but it's complex, not limited to that list. Maybe it's just related to this being brewed from a slightly higher proportion but I seem to like it better.

Overall tone is warmer, and there might be a touch more fruit, setting up a different kind of balance or different inputs. It comes across as more complex and intense. The wet leaves are much darker; there is more of a story there too. Looking at the wet leaves the difference in leaf amount is quite limited; this might be brewing to a slightly higher intensity level without that being a main factor.

One nice part of this tea experience is what isn't there; there is no pronounced astringency, no rough feel, no off earthy flavors, and of course no bitterness, or objectionable mineral tones. You could brew this as strong as you like and there's nothing to avoid or work around. Or it would work lighter, as in the first infusion. To me why not go inky strong; it's suited for that. These would work well thermos brewed, or "grandpa style."

And it's easy on your stomach. If you try drinking most kinds of teas, especially this much of them, after 2 1/2 days off eating you're going to be in trouble. Shu pu'er is pretty forgiving for that, and aged white you can get away with, just not at this dosage, drinking four large cups. I always feel a deep emptiness two or more days into fasting, and that doesn't drop out, but there is no discomfort from drinking these, even plenty of them.

I'll skip taking notes on a third round; I'll need to keep this moderate, and two giant mugs of tea over an hour + is plenty. It would be nice to conclude if these really were better than the YXT version, but I can't confirm that from memory. They seemed a little more complex and interesting, but it's a stretch to conclusively say that. I'll try these brewed Gongfu style later, and see if it works out better, or not as well.

I wanted to also share photos related to making a holy basil / tulsi tisane during this fast, a chance to use herbs from our garden. It was quite pleasant, and the first time I've used that herb as a tisane in a long time.