In the southeast of China, across from the Strait of Taiwan, lies Fujian province, a land of tea mountains and coastal cities.
Fujian teas—The region's coastal climes and fertile soils offer the perfect conditions for producing a wide variety of teas, from mountain oolongs to rich black teas and light, delicate white teas. So, if you're like us and love exploring the huge range of tea flavours, then Fujian is somewhere that's worth getting to know.
Fujian is considered one of China's most innovative and diverse tea-producing regions.
What Is Fujian Like?
Fujian is considered one of China's most innovative and diverse tea-producing regions, with expertise rooted in the tea gardens that cover the dense mountain ranges of the province. Not only is it the birthplace of jasmine tea, flowering tea, black tea and oolong tea, but it's also where you'll discover some of the most prized white teas, like Silver Needle and White Peony. This know-how has also led Fujian to become the most extensive province for tea cultivation in China, so it's the perfect place to look for new and varied tastes from producers and communities that still hold the knowledge of centuries of tea making.
Fujian has a subtropical climate, with seasonal summer rains and dry winters making for ideal tea farming conditions.
Fujian has a subtropical climate, with seasonal summer rains and dry winters making for ideal tea farming conditions. There's plenty of hydration and cool weather for slow-growing, nutrient-rich, and flavourful tea bushes. Fujian is also mountainous, with elevations of up to 2,000m in the north of the region. As the traditional saying goes, Fujian is 'eight parts mountain, one part water, and one part farmland' (八山一水一分田).
A map of the main tea regions in Fujian.
Besides tea, food also plays a big part in Fujianese culture, especially during festivals like Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival, when families usually gather and share a big banquet. There are typically lots of seafood and woodland delicacies cooked up to create flavourful dishes, often in the famous 'drunken' wine-braised style or in rich soupy broths called 'geng'. Ingredients are sourced directly from the coastal and mountainous regions, from local fish, shrimp, oysters, and crab to indigenous varieties of mushrooms, cabbages, and bamboo shoots. Here's a place with a deep-rooted respect for flavour and nature.
Mooncakes - a traditional delicacy enjoyed over Mid-Autumn Festival.
What Are The Tea Regions Of Fujian?
Although Fujian is covered in mountainous tea gardens, several regions produce their own distinct styles of tea, and you'll only find authentic versions from these very places. They truly encapsulate their 'taste of place'. In these regions, the method and craft of tea production are usually tightly held by the local tea makers who will have learnt to produce the local style of tea by heart through experience.
The capital of Fujian is Fuzhou, a major centre of tea culture and home to Fuzhou Jasmine tea, a green tea scented with real jasmine flowers for up to 8 days using a traditional process that remains unchanged since the Song dynasty.
However, the largest areas for tea production lie elsewhere in the province. To the north is the stunning Wuyi Mountains nature reserve, an area of towering red rocky cliffs, a snaking nine-bend river and, of course, ancient tea gardens famous for crafting dark, roasted oolong teas. These Wuyi oolongs are often imparted with a mineral taste due to the rocky terroir in which the bushes are grown, giving them the nickname 'Yan Cha' or Rock Tea. Wuyi is also home to Tong Mu village near the northern Fujian border, where the first ever black tea, Zhengshan Xiaozhong (lapsang souchong), was innovated in the 1600s.
The Wuyi Mountains are a biodiverse mountain range characterised by dense sandstone forests, high mountain peaks and dome-shaped cliffs.
East of Wuyi, you will find Fuding county, the home of white tea in China, where delicate and refreshing teas like Silver Needle and White Peony are crafted in the coastal mountains around Fuding city. During the 2000s, the region became plagued by pesticide use and land clearing to meet the growing demand for tea production. However, to protect the reputation and quality of Fuding white tea, the local government has since put strict rules against these activities, thereby returning the area to an eco-friendly environment where some of the highest quality white teas are produced.
Further south in Anxi County is where you'll find ball-rolled oolongs like our Iron Buddha.
As you head further south in Fujian, the focus is on floral and fragrant, ball-rolled oolongs from Anxi County, like Iron Buddha. Up in the rolling mountains of this small area, you'll find many of the hillsides covered with tea gardens and forests. Even from the roadsides, you're likely to spot many local people picking and producing this lightly oxidised style of oolong tea from their own tea bushes, some making just enough to drink for themselves. Beyond these famous terroirs, though, tea production in Fujian is still incredibly varied, with green, white, oolong, jasmine and black tea being produced in many places, perhaps some still waiting to be discovered outside of China.
Dazhai Garden, Fujian, China, where our Iron Buddha is from.
Did You Know?
Fujian province produces more tea than any other region in China and in a smaller space, too. The tea farmers of Fujian create nearly 380,000 tons of tea each year, enough for around 86 billion cups of tea.
Which Teas From Fujian Should I Try?
There's a fantastic variety of teas to discover from Fujian, with tastes ranging from fruity to spiced, fragrant to rocky and many intriguing flavours in between. So, here are four teas from Fujian that we think are well worth exploring and a bit about who might enjoy them best:
Organic Wuyi Oolong
Try this if you're after a tea with a darker and more complex taste. Look for layered flavours of baked fruit and dark chocolate.
Produced in Jiangshi Garden, Nanping, Fujian, China by tea maker Ms Xie Tian and hailing from the prized terroir of the Wuyi Mountains, this is the original style of oolong. It is picked in the spring and then carefully oxidised to illicit complex fruit and floral notes. Multiple roasting of the leaves brings out the depth and texture of this tea to add to the iconic Wuyi character, with a layer of caramel sweetness and a hint of rock-like minerality in the finish.
Iron Buddha
This one is for fans of Taiwanese oolongs like Ali Shan or Li Shan. If you love a bright, floral and slightly creamy taste that will leave you fully refreshed then this classic oolong is a must try.
Produced in Dazhai Garden by tea maker Wang Rongfeng, this is an icon of Fujianese teas with a mythical origin story. Supposedly gifted to a lowly farmer by the bodhisattva Guan Yin, this tea, known locally as Tie Guan Yin (Iron Buddha), is now a world-renowned oolong tea that is loved for its easy-drinking character and refreshing flavour. Being only lightly oxidised, the leaves retain their green hue and are tightly ball-rolled to unravel in your teapot and impart their sweetly floral flavour and creamy texture.
What's The Best Way to Enjoy Fujian Teas?
Our glass Tea-ieresTM works for all these teas, making it super easy to get great taste, and our simple recipes will ensure the perfect cup every time. In Fujian, the locals often enjoy their tea in the 'gong fu' style, a common method for infusing tea throughout China. This technique calls for a higher proportion of leaves and less water to prepare multiple, short infusions. Because of the lower volume of water, you'll often see a small teapot or a gaiwan (lidded bowl) being used, though we like to use our Tea Master to make it even easier. Making tea in this way delivers a concentrated view of the flavours and aromas, which you can follow as they evolve throughout the infusions. If you want to try this at home, then here's a basic guide, which is a great place to start for any of our teas:
Start by preheating your teapot with some boiling water for 30 seconds. Discard this water and immediately add 4g of tea leaves. Allow these to sit for a few seconds in the hot teapot to release the aroma – this is my favourite bit, as the fragrance of tea can be so enjoyable! Then add 125ml of hot water and allow it to infuse for 30-40 seconds. Pour out the whole infusion and enjoy. You can re-infuse your tea multiple times, adding a few more seconds each time. You can think about how the intensity of the taste evolves and what notes you're finding or sit and be mindful about the process by spending some time enjoying a relaxing tea session. - Rowan Make into a graphic
Our Tea-ieres TM are super easy to make loose leaf in and get great taste every time.
- Teaiere
- Tea Master
- Organic Wuyi Oolong
- Iron Buddha