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Alcoholic drinks from China

Other baijiu aroma types (catalogue stubs)

Chinese baijiu is sorted into about a dozen aroma types. Besides the big three, strong (nongxiang), light (qingxiang) and sauce (jiangxiang), there are smaller types such as feng, chi, sesame, medicinal, te, laobaigan and fuyu, each tied to one maker or region and to its own grains, qu and fermentation vessel. This entry lists them until each has a page of its own.

DocumentedAlcoholic drinks2 months – 2.3 monthsFamily: Nongxiang (strong-aroma) baijiu — mud-pit process

What makes this one different

These minor types change one or two things in the solid-state baijiu method, such as the grain (whole rice for te-aroma, pure rice for chi-aroma), the qu (pure-wheat qu for laobaigan, herb-laden qu for medicinal Dongjiu, barley-and-pea qu for feng-aroma), the vessel (young mud pits for feng-aroma, buried jars for laobaigan) or an extra step (steeping with fat pork for chi-aroma).

Feng-aroma cellar period (Xifeng)
Fermented grains of Xifeng baijiu were sampled through day 30 of the round-cellar period
Feng-aroma pit age
Fermented in pits not more than 1 year old
Medicinal-aroma xiaoqu herbs (Dongjiu)
95 Chinese herbal medicines are added to the xiaoqu
Medicinal-aroma daqu herbs (Dongjiu)
40 Chinese herbal medicines are added to the daqu

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.

Total time across the steps of Nongxiang (strong-aroma) baijiu — mud-pit process: 2 months – 2.3 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countCandidaWickerhamomycesBacillus53–56 °C

What changes: Wheat bricks heat up as yeasts and bacteria grow through them

Step 1 of 6 · steps of Nongxiang (strong-aroma) baijiu — mud-pit process
Make medium-temperature daqu
Time
Not documented
Temperature
53–56 °C
Measured
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Candida
Wickerhamomyces
Bacillus
Moulds
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: medium-temperature daqu.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Candida and Wickerhamomyces heat the bricks; heat-tolerant Bacillus and Thermoascus survive

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Chinese baijiu is sorted into about a dozen aroma types. Besides the big three, strong (nongxiang), light (qingxiang) and sauce (jiangxiang), there are smaller types such as feng, chi, sesame, medicinal, te, laobaigan and fuyu, each tied to one maker or region and to its own grains, qu and fermentation vessel. This entry lists them until each has a page of its own. Made in 6 steps over 2 months – 2.3 months. The longest step, mud-pit fermentation, takes 2–2.3 months and runs at 20–34 °C.

Key numbers
Main step2–2.3 monthsReported[deng2025]Mud-pit fermentation
Temperature20–34 °CReported[deng2025]Mud-pit fermentation

Related ferments

Variants

  • Feng-aroma (fengxiang; Xifeng, Shaanxi)Sorghum fermented with medium-temperature daqu or fuqu and a starter made of barley and peas, in pits not more than a year old. The spirit is known for a honey aroma, with ethyl acetate and ethyl hexanoate in balance.
  • Chi-aroma (chixiang; Yubingshao, Guangdong)Pure rice fermented semi-solid with large baijiu cakes as the starter, like rice-aroma baijiu. The spirit is steeped with fat pork, which gives a fermented-soybean-like aroma.
  • Sesame-aroma (zhimaxiang; Jingzhi, Shandong)Made with continuous-residue steaming in mud-bottomed brick pits, combining daqu with bran qu (fuqu), with high-nitrogen ingredients, high-temperature piling and fermentation, and long storage. Its roasted-sesame aroma comes from sulfur compounds.
  • Medicinal-aroma (yaoxiang; Dongjiu, Guizhou)Uses both xiaoqu, made with 95 Chinese herbs, and daqu, made with 40, and brings their fermented grains together by a re-steaming, "stringing" method. High in total acid, higher alcohols and ethyl butyrate, low in ethyl lactate.
  • Laobaigan-aroma (Hengshui, Hebei)Sorghum with medium-temperature daqu of pure wheat, fermented in jars sunk in the ground, with mixed steaming, graded storage and blending. The fermentation and storage periods are short.
  • Te-aroma (texiang; Si'te, Jiangxi)Whole rice with medium- and high-temperature daqu, fermented solid-state. It is richer than any other type in odd-carbon esters such as ethyl propionate, valerate and heptanoate.
  • Fuyu-aroma (Jiugui, Hunan)Combines strong, light and sauce aromas; ethyl hexanoate leads, with ethyl lactate and ethyl acetate in equal amounts.
  • Jian-aromaKey aromas include ethyl hexanoate, gamma-nonalactone and dimethyl trisulfide.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [tu2022] Tu W., Cao X., Cheng J., Li L., Zhang T., Wu Q., Xiang P., Shen C., Li Q. 2022, Chinese Baijiu, the perfect works of microorganisms, Frontiers in Microbiology 13:919044paper
  2. [qiao2023] Qiao L., Wang J., Wang R., Zhang N., Zheng F. 2023, A review on flavor of Baijiu and other world-renowned distilled liquors, Food Chemistry X 20:100870paper
  3. [jin2024] Jin C., Jin G., Jin J., Lv Y., Dang Z., Feng Y., Xu Y. 2024, The impact of mechanized and traditional processes on microbial diversity and volatile flavor compound formation during Xifeng Baijiu fermentation, Foods 13:3710paper
  4. [WP:Baijiu] Wikipedia, Baijiu (outline only)wiki