Brick tea is also called steamed tea. As the name suggests, it is a tea leaf that looks like a brick. It is also a more representative type of pressed tea. It is made of tea leaves, tea stems, and sometimes tea powder. Pressed block tea.

Based on different raw materials and production techniques, brick tea can be divided into green brick tea, rice brick tea, black brick tea, flower brick tea, Fu brick tea, and Kang brick tea. All brick teas are steam-pressed, but the molding methods are different. For example, green brick tea, rice brick tea, black brick tea, flower brick tea, and Fuzhuan tea are formed by mechanical pressing, while Kangzhuan tea is formed by hammering.

Classification

Qingzhuan Tea, also known as "Old Green Tea", is pressed from Hubei Old Green Tea. The shape of the finished tea is straight and smooth, the thickness is uniform, and the brick surface is green and brown in color. The soup is bright red and yellow in color and has the special aroma of green brick tea. There is no astringent feeling when drinking, and the bottom of the leaves is thick and dark brown. When drinking green brick tea, you need to break the tea bricks, put them into a special kettle and add water to boil. The tea juice is fragrant and delicious. It has the functions of refreshing the mind and refreshing the mind, producing body fluids and quenching thirst, warming people against cold, resolving stagnation and benefiting the stomach, sterilizing and astringent, tonifying the kidneys, treating diarrhea, etc. With multiple effects, Chenzhuan tea has better effects.

Using old green tea as raw material and pressing it to become green brick tea, it is mainly produced in Zhaoliqiao Town, Chibi City (formerly Puqi City), Hubei Province. In the Qing Dynasty, it was produced in Yangloudong, an ancient town in Puqi (now Chibi City), so it is also known as "Dong Brick" and "Dong Tea". The brick surface of green brick tea is printed with "Dongzhuang", lotus pattern or "Sichuan" trademark. It is mainly sold to Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet and the former Soviet Union and other Far East regions, so it is also called "border sales tea". In modern times, green brick tea was moved to Zhaoliqiao Brick Tea Industrial Park in Chibi City (formerly Puqi) for centralized processing and suppression.

Old green tea is mainly produced in Chibi, Xianning, Tongshan, Chongyang, Tongcheng and other counties in the Xianning region of Hubei Province, with a history of more than 100 years. Around 1890, the production of fried basket tea began in Yangloudong, Chibi. The tea leaves were dried, broken into pieces, packed in bamboo baskets (2.5 kg per basket), and shipped to the north. It was called fried basket tea. About 10 AD, Shanxi tea merchants set up a village in Yangloudong to trial the production of brick tea. Later, Russian merchants also set up a village in Hankou to suppress it. The pressing tools were wooden clamps at first, then cowhide clamps, and then machines were used to press the tea into brick shapes. The tea was named after the number of bricks per box, divided into "Twenty-seven" and "Three-Nine" (each piece weighs 2 kilograms). , "24" (3.25kg each piece), "36" (1.5kg each piece) four different specifications. "Two Seven" and "Three Nine" green brick teas are sold to all parts of the northwest, with Baotou City as the distribution center, collectively known as "Xikou Tea"; "Two Four" and "Three Six" green brick teas are sold to Inner Mongolia and exported to Mongolia, the Soviet Union and other places , with Zhangjiakou as the distribution center, known as "Dongkou Tea". In the past 40 years, in order to unify product specifications, only "Erqi" green brick tea has been produced.

The period from 1910 to 1915 was the heyday in the history of green brick tea. Including brick tea made from part of the raw materials flowing in from Hunan and Jiangxi, the maximum annual output reached 480,000 boxes (54 kg per box). Later, due to War disasters occurred one after another, sales were blocked, and output dropped sharply. It was not until the 1950s that the state vigorously supported the production of tea for border sales, which revived the production of old green tea. In 1977, the output reached more than 8,000 tons. From 1978 to 1982, due to changes in market demand for border sales, the annual output dropped to less than 5,000 tons in 1983. The annual output has returned to 7,000 tons.

The pressing of green brick tea is divided into three parts: noodles, two noodles and inner tea. The layer on the top of the green brick tea is called Sa noodles, which is of the best quality; the layer on the bottom is called Ermian, which is of second highest quality; the layer sandwiched between the Sa noodles and the two noodles is called Baoxin tea, also called Li tea, which is of poorer quality. . The quality of green brick tea depends on the quality of the fresh leaves and the tea-making technology.

After the fresh leaves are harvested, they are first processed into raw tea. The noodle tea is divided into seven processes, including greening, initial kneading, initial sun-drying, re-frying, re-kneading, stacking and sun-drying.

Maocha is made into four processes: green tea, rolling, piling, and sun-drying. The raw tea is then screened, pressed, dried, and packaged to make green brick finished tea. Green Brick Tea has a rectangular brick shape, green-brown color, pure aroma, strong taste without greenness, bright red-yellow water color, and dark, thick old leaves at the bottom. Each piece of green brick weighs 2 kilograms (0.125 kilograms of noodles and two sides, and 1.75 kilograms of tea), and the size is 34 x 17 x 4 centimeters.

Efficacy: It has the functions of quenching thirst, anti-radiation, anti-cancer, preventing cancer, helping to sober up, promoting digestion, losing weight, delaying aging, lowering cholesterol, etc. It can enhance the sensitivity of central nervous activity in the brain, improve thinking ability, lower blood pressure, inhibit arteriosclerosis, etc. Since the taste of green brick tea becomes mellower as it ages, it is suitable to store green brick tea in a ventilated, light-proof, dry and odor-free place.

Rice brick tea

Rice brick tea is produced in Hubei. It is a kind of red brick tea that is steamed and pressed from black tea powder. Because all the raw materials used are tea powder, So it is called "rice brick tea". The appearance of the finished rice brick tea is very beautiful, with sharp edges and corners, clear and beautiful grain patterns, bright black color on the brick surface, thick red soup after brewing, pure aroma, and very mellow taste.

Black brick tea

Black brick tea, also known as "Bazi", is made from Hunan black tea as raw material. The shape is rectangular brick shape, and the size is 35*18*3.5 cm. The brick surface is flat and straight, with clear corners, consistent thickness, clear patterns, and dark brown color; the internal aroma is pure, with a slight scent of pine smoke, the soup is red and yellow and slightly dark, the bottom of the leaves is old and tender, and the taste is rich and slightly tinged. Astringent. Each brick is 2kg net.

Huazhuan Tea

Huazhuan Tea is produced in Hunan Province and is made from the historical "Qianliang Tea" - Huajuan Chahu. Fu Brick Tea is rectangular in shape and 35*18.5*5 cm in size. The brick surface is flat, with sharp edges and corners, clear patterns, and a dark and moist color; the inner aroma is pure, with a slight pine wood smoke aroma, the soup is red in color, the bottom of the leaves is old and tender, and the taste is rich and slightly astringent. The manufacturing process is basically the same as that of black bricks. The processing method of flower brick tea is to use high-quality black tea from Gaojiaxi and Ma'anxi in Anhua, Hunan as raw materials.

The origin of the name "huazhuan" is that it changed from a roll shape to a brick shape, and secondly, there are patterns on the four sides of the brick surface to show the difference from other brick teas, hence the name "huazhuan". "Huazhuan" was called "Huajuan" in history. Because one roll of tea weighed 1,000 taels on the old scale, it was also called "Qianliang tea".

The flower brick tea has patterns on the front and sides, the color of the brick is dark brown, the internal aroma is pure, the taste is pure, the taste is rich and slightly astringent, the soup is red and yellow, the bottom of the leaves is old and tender, and the bottom of the leaf is old and well-proportioned. The net weight of each flower brick is 2 kilograms. It is built into a long tube basket with a hammer and is made into a cylindrical shape with a height of 147 cm and a diameter of 20 cm. The workmanship is fine and the quality is excellent. At its peak in history, the annual output reached more than 30,000 pieces (i.e. rolls).

Fu tea

Fu brick tea is also a square brick-shaped tea made from black tea as raw material and pressed. Because there is a special process in the processing of Fu brick tea - making Flowers, the lush golden colonies that make the Fuzhuan tea quality, are commonly known as "golden flowers". The more golden flowers grow, the better the quality of the Fuzhuan tea. The surface of the specially made Fuzhuan tea bricks is dark brown in color, the internal aroma is pure and has the fragrance of yellow flowers, the soup is bright red and yellow, the bottom of the leaves is evenly dark brown, and the taste is mellow and gentle. Ordinary Fu Zhuan tea has a yellowish-brown color on the surface, pure internal aroma, bright red-yellow soup, dark brown and thick leaves at the bottom, and a mellow and strong taste.

The main difference between them lies in the different blends of raw materials.

Fu brick tea pressing needs to go through raw material processing, steam retting, pressing and shaping, flowering and drying, finished product packaging and other processes. The pressing process is basically the same as that of black and flower bricks. The difference lies in the thickness of the brick shape.

Because of the unique "flowering" process of Fu bricks, in addition to requiring many conditions, an important condition is that the bricks must be moderately tight to facilitate the reproduction of microorganisms. The drying speed does not require fast drying. The entire drying period is more than twice as long as that of black and flower bricks in order to slow "flowering". Mechanized Fu bricks are easier to store, ferment naturally, and generally do not become moldy. Compared with loose black tea and hand-made Fuzhuan tea, the degree of aging is better

The surface of the special Fuzhuan tea is dark brown, the inner aroma is pure, the taste is mellow, the soup is red and yellow and bright, and the bottom of the leaves is dark brown Shang Yun. Ordinary Fu Zhuan has a yellowish-brown surface, pure inner aroma, mellow and rich taste, bright red-yellow soup, and dark brown and thick old leaves at the bottom.

When brewing Fuzhuan tea, it is required that the soup should be red but not turbid, the fragrance should be clear but not coarse, the taste should be thick but not astringent, the taste should be strong and it should be able to withstand brewing. It is particularly required that the golden yellow bacterial cells (commonly known as "golden flowers") in the bricks have large particles and have the fragrance of yellow flowers when smelled dry.

The Uighur people in Xinjiang love Fuzhuan tea the most. They regard the number of "golden flowers" as a sign of the quality of Fuzhuan tea. Tibetan compatriots in Qinghai and Tibet and brother ethnic groups in Gansu, Ningxia and other provinces all need it. Lanzhou is used as the distribution center and supplies are transported from Yiyang, the main producing area.

Tibetan tea

Tibetan tea is produced in Ya'an, Yibin, Jiangjin, Wanxian and other places in Sichuan Province. It is made from the southern roadside tea-flavored raw materials of Sichuan Biancha. The color of the brick surface is tan, the internal aroma is pure, the soup is yellow-red, the bottom of the leaves is thicker, dark brown and darker, and the taste is mellow and rich.

The products with larger output include Laoqing bricks from Hubei, Fu bricks, black bricks, flower tiles and Xiangjian bricks from Hunan. Kangzhuan, Jinjian, Fangbao from Sichuan, Jincha from Yunnan, and Liubao tea from Guangxi.

The incidence of osteoporosis among the Mongolian people who drink brick tea is 17% higher than that among the Han people. It can be seen that herdsmen's long-term drinking of strong tea and milk tea is the main cause of dental fluorosis, osteoporosis, waist and leg pain, etc.

In 1995, experts conducted a survey on the fluorosis situation among Tibetan and Han people in Daofu County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Investigations confirmed that the local water source contained low fluoride. However, Tibetan herdsmen and monks have been drinking large amounts of brick tea for a long time. The daily fluoride intake for adults is 12.46 mg, and for teenagers, it is 6.56 mg.

Experts have calculated that each Tibetan drinks an average of 10.77 kilograms of brick tea a year and 29.3 grams a day. Calculated based on the fluoride content of brick tea being 426 mg/kg, Tibetans can absorb 12.5 mg of fluorine by drinking brick tea every day, which is more than three times the safe dose.

Stamp Tea

Stamp Brick Tea is a tea brick shaped like a stamp produced by China Philatelic Corporation. The twelve zodiac stamp tea bricks were approved by China Post Group Corporation, tested by the Tea Quality Supervision, Inspection and Testing Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, and recommended by the Yunnan Provincial Pu'er Tea Association. For the first time, they are based on the first round of China Post's twelve zodiac stamps, and are selected from the finest ancient Yunnan products. Pu'er, a large-leaf tree, is used as raw material and is produced and pressed using the industry's original patented technology.

Selected tea from original ecological trees at 1700-1800 meters from the six ancient tea mountains in Yunnan is used as raw material. The tea bricks are moderately tight, the ropes are plump and thick, the soup is golden and translucent, the entrance is smooth and smooth, and the fragrance is overflowing. , the throat rhyme is lingering, long-lasting brewing, the bottom of the leaves embodies the active nature of traditional classical methods, returns to nature, and fully interprets the true meaning of "Chen, Yi, Zhen" of Pu'er tea;

Twelve Zodiac Stamps Tea bricks are made from Pu'er tea extracts and pressed, which are the concentration of Pu'er tea essence and have more targeted health care functions than Pu'er tea.