Fu Cha (Jin Hua) (茯茶)
archetype: Yellow flower of winter
A golden mould-flower winters in a dense brick: a warm woody sweetness, a mushroom depth, a caravan strength.
History
Fu Cha (Jin Hua) — 'tea with the golden flower' — is a pressed brick inoculated with the fungus Eurotium cristatum. Made in Shaanxi (Xianyang) since the Ming era, originally as a 'caravan tea' for the trade routes with the nomads of the north-west. The fungus forms golden specks within the brick (hence 'jin hua', 'golden flower') and during ageing gives the tea a characteristic mushroomy sweetness and a warming profile. The denser the 'golden flower' in the brick, the higher the quality.
Terroir
The standard is Jing Wei Fu Cha from Xianyang. The 'golden flower' develops in the third to fifth month of ageing and stabilises after one to two years.
Leaf
warm wood, sweet mushroom, honey, a long warming note very long, warming; the aftertaste — a 'golden trail' in the chest
Properties
rich in helpful strains of Eurotium cristatum and natural sugars; traditionally — against obesity, for cold tolerance, for immunity dense, warm, warming; felt as 'a winter stove in the chest' low to moderate (20–35 mg)
Brewing ritual
a 150 ml clay kettle; 100 °C; 6 g / 150 ml. 10s — the first warm note: wood, mushroom; 12s — the peak: sweet mushroom, honey, the caravan; 16s — a long warming depth; 25s — a late note: warm earth, incense; 40s — the finale — a golden trail; 70s — a very late warming tail.
When to drink
day and evening. winter and late autumn. when there is cold in the bones, for warming up, after a heavy meat meal