Fu Zhuan "Hei Cha"

[jayinhk]

In my case it's the microbes that make me hungry--EC is used in animal feed to help animals bulk up! The tea, otherwise, is very mild. I think my oolongs are stronger actually!

[miig]

Oh thats funny... I only get insanely hungry especially on mid-aged sheng.. its terrible
Which one have you tried?

[jayinhk]

I bought three kinds from a guy in Fu Zhuan on Taobao. He was so happy that a foreign guy in Hong Kong wanted to try his tea that he threw in a bunch of different Hunan teas for me to try. I bought a large Taetea (?) brick and paid for a sample of the best Fu Zhuan sold at the time. The higher grade stuff tasted much smoother, as would be expected. The brick is good drinking too though, and for much less money! It exploded with flowers when it hit HK humidity.

[miig]

Oh I totally, to-tal-ly believe that the tea must develop greatly over there - I separated some of the 2011 Shaanxi and aired it out in a gaiwan for a couple of weeks, and it improved a lot - the sweetness was reduced a bit, but much complexity was added. And here its dry-cold climate, really not favorable for tea maturation.

I like to drink them when I otherwise would like to drink Oolong (medium roasted, like Dan Cong or traditional TGY - not nuclear green stuff ) - when Pu'er would be too strong or Green Tea would be to green ("cold"). Still, its got a lot of stamina and a very nice mildly soothing effect which I appreciate a lot.

Still it is a bit of a problem for me too that Hei Cha stimulate the appetite so much - I eat mostly light, vegan dishes and these teas make me crave for heavy, heavy stuff

Generally I'd say that the other kinds of Hei Cha apart from Pu'Er would deserve more attention around the globe (this is somewhat OT but there's so nice Liubaos as well.) But especially with the better Fu Cha - the Jin Hua will probably scare away lots people. It looks like evil mold colonies while it actually is georgeous Golden Flowers

[jayinhk]

I drink liu bao, liu an and fu zhuan, so I definitely like the hei cha family! I actually like liu bao and liu an more than most pu erh; go figure!

[braille]

Oooh, and cheap! Thank you! The liquor pictured in Mr. T's review is quite beautiful too.
The microbiology of these teas is so fascinating. I don't know whether I'd be intrigued or scared if someone were to make kombucha out of fu zhuan...

Hi braille,

This one is very good, it reminds me of medium-roasted Oolongs, very pleasant:
2011 CNNP Hunan Shouzhu (they do offer samples)

This one is my favorite, even though its a bit less acessible: Its lighter fermented, more complex taste, more special character. Less than Oolong, even more than something totally unique. But since the taste and mouth-feel are more special, it might take some more getting used to:
2011 Shaanxi Shouzhu

[MEversbergII]

So. The inevitable...how do you all prepare your Fu?

M.

[jayinhk]

Gong fu'd in a porcelain teapot. Hottest water temps, like I use for pu erh. I rinse once too.

[miig]

exactly

[puerhking]

drinking some 2010 CNNP Sheng Huo Fu Zhuan today. Quite tasty...my personal fav so far.

[miig]

Nice ! Just wait till you try the "Shouzhu" (handmade) quality

[puerhking]

Actually...I've tried that one also. For some reason it just didn't to it for me.

[miig]

Oh I see - I'd be very interested in some more details - how would you describe the two teas, what did you like in them and what not?

[puerhking]

It was a couple of years ago or so....so I really can't remember what I didn't like about it. It was a sample and perhaps I didn't give it enough of a chance. What I like about the one I have is the woody, dried orange peel, herb and spice notes with the jinhua that give it almost an acidic note. And it has a nice mouthfeel.

[kyarazen]

taking a picture of the back for keepsake before one of them makes its way to a friend tonight.. 3kg each. the front is red-mark ren min tuan jie brand



CR period fu-zhuan.. as what people describe in chinese... a beggar in the 60-70s, now a king in its own right.