Subscriptions Round Two: Bai Lin Gong Fu

This box is pretty straight forward and simple. Take one tea and really understand it.

Bai Lin Gong Fu is a black tea from Bai Lin Town in Fu Ding. It was created around 1850 to meet the demands of the export market, as many famous black teas were. Learning from Tong Mu Guan, Bai Lin tea makers created a black tea that was quickly popular amongst tea drinkers overseas. In fact, when Qimen started making red tea in the 1880s, they studied the making of Bai Lin Gong Fu. A hundred years later in  the 1980s tea makers and government officials of Fu Ding met to choose a tea to be the official tea of Fu Ding. It was between Bai Lin Gong Fu or white tea. White tea obviously won and we now all know Fu Ding white tea, but this shows the significance of Bai Lin Gong Fu.

Bai Lin Gong Fu is a strong and bold black tea with a signature malty note. In this box we Gong Fus of different styles and different years.

2025 Bai Lin Gong Fu (strong):
This is a Gong Fu from a maker in Bai Lin. Its made in the broken leaf style that makes the teas flavor much stronger than the whole lea style. The signature malty flavor is on full display. With this malty flavor is a thick sugary sweetness.

2024 Bai Lin Gong Fu:
This is a Bai Lin from the same maker but its from last year. You will see that this tea calms down a lot after a bit of storage. The main flavors are still there but they are more balanced and a bit more refreshing.

2025 Bai Lin Whole Leaf: This is actually a tea from Zhe Rong. The father of Bai Ling Gong Fu seems to have been originally from Zhe Rong. This is my personal favorite of the three. While still having that malt flavor it is the most balanced and refreshing, also showing a floral aroma.

This is a tea that has history but maybe not a future. Even in the peak of black tea export it was not the only famous black tea from this area. It shared fame with Pan Yang Gong Fu from Fu An. While it was almost made the official tea of Fu Ding in the 1980s, since the explosion of the white tea market less and less focus is being put into making this tea. While I don't think this tea is in threat of completely disappearing, it is a tea that is slowly becoming obsolete. These days even Bai Lin tea makers focus on white teas. This is still an important tea in the history of tea and a tea that finds fits into an interesting niche between historically famous and local niche.