春茶茶坯采制
Mar 10 – Apr 20
福州
Fuzhou
Capital of Fujian in the lower Min River basin; historic birthplace, GIAHS heritage site and geographical-indication origin of Fuzhou Jasmine Tea.
- Level
- Prefectureprefecture-level city (地级市)
- Within
- Fujian
At a glance#
Location
- Garden elevation
- Jasmine fields occupy alluvial sandy plains along the Minjiang and Wulongjiang rivers (15–80 m), while base green-tea gardens sit on surrounding Gushan and Beifeng mountains (400–900 m).
Where it lies#
Tea places nearby, plotted by their coordinates. Only physical positions are shown, no boundaries.
3015 places shown Across the view · 1,760 km
117 places shown Across the view · 498 km
Altitude#
Garden elevations here and in neighbouring places, as sourced.
- Nanping150–2,158 m
- Xingcun180–1,800 m
- Quanzhou50–1,600 m
- Jianyang150–1,500 m
- Zhangping450–1,150 m
- Zhenghe County400–1,150 m
- Anxi County400–1,100 m
- Xiping400–1,050 m
- Ningde200–1,000 m
- Fuding300–900 m
- Fuzhou15–900 m
- Sanyang Peak450–718 m
- Miaoli County100–650 m
- Hsinchu County150–600 m
- Gande500 m
- Wuyishan200–500 m
- Matouyan234–360 m
- Tianxin Yan234–360 m
- Wuyi Mountain Scenic Area234–360 m
- Niulankeng234–360 m
- Jiulongke234–360 m
- Shuiliandong234–360 m
- Liuxiangjian234–360 m
- Huiyuankeng234–360 m
- Toufen100–320 m
Picking calendar#
三伏天茉莉花窨制
Jun 20 – Sep 10
Mid-summer "Sanfu" jasmine blooming peak when night scenting (伺花、拼和、通花、起花) takes place.
Terroir#
- Rock
- Granite mountains encircling the Fuzhou estuarine basin, with deep alluvial river-shoal deposits in the valley floor.
- Soil
- Mountain red-yellow soils (山地红黄壤) for tea bushes and permeable alluvial sandy loam (冲积砂壤土) for single-petal Fuzhou jasmine.
- Slope and light
- The basin's "mountain Tea, river-bank Jasmine" (山丘栽茶、沿江种花) vertical coupling pairs cool mountain spring tea with sultry summer nights (> 28 °C) when jasmine blossoms open and release peak volatiles.
Cultivation#
- Cultivars grown
- Fuding DabaiFuyun 6Fuding Dahao
- Landraces
- Fuzhou Gushan/Beifeng landraces alongside single-petal Fuzhou jasmine (单瓣福州茉莉) and double-petal jasmine.
- Practice
- Spring green-tea dhool (烘青茶坯) is stored until summer and scented through 4 to 9 nighttimecycles (四窨一提至九窨一提) with freshly opened jasmine flowers.
Local words#
| Local words | Dialect | |
|---|---|---|
| 茉莉花茶 Bàng-uâ-cê: muăk-lê-huă-dà | Mindong (Fuzhou) | Fuzhou Mindong vernacular term for jasmine-scented tea, historically called xiangpian in export trade from the Min River treaty port. |
People#
- Min River basin flower farmers and jasmine-scenting masters 福州闽江流域花农与茉莉花茶窨制师
- Wetland jasmine growers and night-shift tea-factory scenting masters in Fuzhou coordinated summer flower harvests with multi-round heat-controlled tea scenting.
Market#
- Primary trade channel
- Fuzhou scenting factories combine spring mountain base tea with summer Minjiang jasmine blossoms and distribute finished Jasmine Tea to northern Chinese urban markets and export channels.
- Trading towns
- Fuzhou (Cangshan / Jin'an) · Changle · Minhou
- Output
- Fuzhou integrates spring baked-green (hongqing) base-tea production in its northern mountain counties with summer night-blooming jasmine cultivation along the Minjiang alluvial riverbanks.
- Prices of teas claiming this origin
- Pricing scales directly with the number of traditional scenting passes (from four or five passes up to eight or nine passes for top needle and silver-tip grades) and fresh river-flat jasmine flower ratios.
History#
- 960Aromatics and flower-scented teas recorded in Fuzhou during the Song dynasty.
- 1853Fuzhou opens as a major tea port, exporting large volumes of scented jasmine tea internationally.
- 2014Fuzhou Jasmine and Tea Culture System designated a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) by the FAO.
Notes#
Identity and history#
Situated in the estuarine basin of the lower Min River ringed by Gushan and the northern hills, Fuzhou pairs warm alluvial wetlands for single- and double-petal jasmine cultivation with surrounding mountain slopes for green-tea base production. Recognized as a globally important agricultural heritage system and protected geographical indication, Fuzhou Jasmine Tea relies on nocturnal blossom opening and repeated layering of fresh jasmine flowers with baked green-tea dhool across five to nine scenting cycles. This labor-intensive craft locks volatile floral esters into the tea leaf without leaving spent petals in the finished grade.
Teas associated with this place#
福州茉莉花茶
Fuzhou jasmine tea Fúzhōu Mòlì Huāchá
A Fuzhou scented-tea tradition in which prepared tea absorbs the fragrance of fresh jasmine flowers.
reviewed
茉莉花茶
Jasmine tea Mòlì huāchá
Tea scented with fresh jasmine flowers, usually on a prepared green-tea base. Fuzhou and Hengzhou are distinct geographical traditions within this broader family.
reviewed
Sources#
- 王镇恒、王广智主编. 中国名茶志. 中国农业出版社, 2000年12月第1版. ISBN 7-109-06510-3 / 9787109065109.
- 中国茶树品种志 (2001)