Fo Shou佛手

Fo Shou is a oolong from Wuyishan, Fujian. Brew it at 100°C with 6g of leaf per 100ml of water; expect up to 9 short infusions in a small gaiwan or teapot. A quick rinse is recommended.

Tasting notes

Fo Shou's leaves are huge — twice the size of Rou Gui — and you can feel it in the cup: a wide, soft body with almost no astringent bite. The first sip is citron honey, something between lemon zest and a ripe orange peel, with gardenia sitting on top. By steep three, cinnamon and sandalwood come through from the slow hand-firing, and a faint spearmint cooling starts at the back of the throat. Because the leaves are so large and low in tannin, this is the rare yancha you can brew slightly long without punishment — the bitterness just isn't there to find. That makes it a good entry point if Rou Gui has scared you off the category. The citrus-incense window peaks around steeps two to four; after that it settles into a mellow, honeyed mineral cup that holds until steep eight. Boiling water throughout. Cheap Fo Shou loses the citron and just tastes like generic roasted oolong.

Flavor profile

Named after the Buddha's Hand citrus, Fo Shou is a thick, fruit-forward yancha with low astringency. The cup opens with gardenia and citron honey, layered with cinnamon and sandalwood spice from slow hand-firing. Creamy, cooling minerality underneath with muscat grape and spearmint. The uniquely large leaves unfold beautifully across many infusions.

Terroir

Wuyi rock mineral soil, sheltered valleys

Cultivar: Fo Shou (uniquely large leaves)

Brewing

Rinse: Brief rinse — the large Fo Shou leaves open readily.

1. Quick rinse — pour off immediately.
2. Steep 1: 10 seconds
3. Steep 2: 8 seconds
4. Steep 3: 8 seconds
5. Steep 4: 10 seconds
6. Steep 5: 15 seconds
7. Steep 6: 20 seconds
8. Steep 7: 25 seconds
9. Steep 8: 30 seconds
10. Steep 9: 45 seconds

Fo Shou is forgiving and low in astringency, making it a good entry point for Wuyi yancha. The citrus-incense character is most vivid in steeps 2-4.

Aroma & taste

Processing

• withered
• semi-oxidized
• twisted
• slow hand-fired over low heat

Sources

• https://yunnansourcing.com/products/buddhas-hand-fo-shou-wu-yi-rock-oolong-tea
• https://verdanttea.com/fo-shou-wuyi-oolong
• https://verdanttea.com/reserve-fo-shou-buddhas-hand-wuyi-oolong