Abstract: Fuzhuan brick tea is fermented by a variety of microorganisms and belongs to the typical Chinese dark tea. It has a special flavor and long-term drinking is beneficial to human health. At present, the manufacturing?areas?of Fuzhuan brick tea in China mainly include Shaanxi, Hunan, Zhejiang and Guizhou provinces. There is a large number of “Golden Flower Fungi” in Fuzhuan brick tea from different manufacturing?areas. The species composition of “Golden Flower Fungi” is closely related to the quality and functional activity of Fuzhuan brick tea, varying among different geographical regions. Meanwhile, the quantity of “Golden Flower Fungus” is also an important indicator of the quality of Fuzhuan brick tea. Currently, “Golden Flower Fungi” are identified mainly by a single method such as morphology, internal transcribed spacer or 18S rDNA, but each method gives different species identification results with a significant variance. Moreover, use of a single identification method may lead to deviation. Therefore, the identification of “Golden Flower Fungi” in Fuzhuan brick tea is still controversial, which affects the evaluation of landmark products of Fuzhuan brick tea. In this article, the current status of research on the dominant flora in Fuzhuan brick tea and the existing methods for the classification and identification of “Golden Flower Fungi” are reviewed, with the aim of providing the basis for the identification, exploitation and application of “Golden Flower Fungi” and for the standardized production of Fuzhuan brick tea.

Key words: Fuzhuan brick tea, Golden Flower Fungi, Eurotium, Aspergillus