Báizhúshān chá (白竹山茶), “the tea of White Bamboo Mountain”, is a mountain green tea of Fabiao Town (法脿镇), Shuangbai County (双柏县), Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It is made from a local population of Yunnan large-leaf tea brought to Mount Baizhushan, according to the geographical indication directory, in 1942. The name is protected twice: since 2013 as an agricultural product geographical indication, and since 2025 as a geographical indication product.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá), unfermented. The Yunnan Department of Agriculture (2025) calls it a quality green tea; the technology under the 2025 requirements is that of green tea, with fixation at 180–220 °C.
- Name trap: The character 白 (bái, “white”) belongs to the name of the mountain, not to the class. This is not a white tea.
- Category: A mountain green tea from Yunnan large-leaf raw material; geographical indication product.
- Origin: China, Yunnan Province (云南, Yúnnán), Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture (楚雄, Chǔxióng), Shuangbai County (双柏, Shuāngbǎi), Fabiao Town (法脿, Fǎbiào). According to a 2024 county publication, Mount Baizhushan lies to the southeast of the county seat.
- Protection zone: 13 administrative villages of Fabiao Town: Fabiao (法脿), Lanni (烂泥), Shitou (石头), Pusi (铺司), Liujie (六街), Shuangba (双坝), Zhekeshao (者科哨), Maidi (麦地), Yulong (雨龙), Fadian (法甸), Gumu (古木), Hongli (红栗) and Zheju (折苴). The applicant is the People’s Government of Shuangbai County.
- Geographic coordinates: 101°44′–101°50′ E and 24°26′–24°40′ N.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- 1942. According to the geographical indication directory, Yao Xingcun (姚兴存), a resident of Fabiao, brought Yunnan large-leaf tea from Jingdong County (景东) and successfully planted it on Mount Baizhushan.
- 1958. The Fabiao commune sent a group of young people to clear the mountain for tea. The directory attributes the present appearance of the tea to almost seven decades of local acclimatization.
- Awards. According to a reference description, in 1995 the local tea “Yunwu longzhao” (云雾龙爪, yúnwù lóngzhǎo) received a silver award, and in 2002 “Biluochun” (碧螺春) a gold one. A tourist guide dates the silver to 1985 — a discrepancy.
- 15 April 2013. The Ministry of Agriculture of the PRC registered “白竹山茶” as an agricultural product geographical indication (农产品地理标志).
- 2025. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), by announcement No. 625 of 1 April 2025, recognized 90 names as geographical indication products; Báizhúshān chá is number 69 on the list.
- Name: 白竹 — “white bamboo”, 山 — “mountain”, 茶 — “tea”. The name is taken from Mount Baizhushan, the center of the area.
- Cultural significance: “The production technique of Báizhúshān chá” (白竹山茶制作技艺) is included in the list of intangible cultural heritage at the level of Chuxiong Prefecture; the year of inclusion is not named in the sources consulted.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety / Cultivar: Under the 2025 requirements — a local population (地方群体种, dìfāng qúntǐzhǒng) bred on the basis of Yunnan large-leaf tea (云南大叶种, Yúnnán dàyèzhǒng). The introduced clones described in a 2017 record do not appear in the requirements.
- Propagation and planting: Seedlings are raised from October to June of the following year, by seed or clonal propagation. They are planted out in July, 3,500–4,000 seedlings per 667 m², in double rows with a spacing of about 25 × 30 cm, and on the same area — ten shade trees.
- Shaping: A bush 0.8–1 m high, a crown of 1.5–2 m.
- Harvest: Spring — March–April, summer — June, autumn — August–September; in batches, leaving leaves on the bush, by “lifting the hand” (提手采, tíshǒucǎi). A reference description gives other dates (March–May, July–August, September–October).
- Harvest standard: A bud with one or two leaves (一芽一叶, 一芽二叶). According to a 2025 provincial report, in spring the most tender bud with one leaf is picked into bamboo baskets; the first spring harvest of that year lasted about ten days.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: Mount Baizhushan, with high mountains and deep valleys around it.
- Growing altitude: 1,800–2,600 m — under the 2025 requirements. Reference descriptions give 1,800–2,350 m and gardens on slopes at no less than 2,000 m with a gradient of 25° or more; the 2024 county publication gives the highest point of the mountain as 2,550 m.
- Climate: Northern subtropical continental monsoon, 900–1,100 mm of precipitation a year, on average about 1,000 mm (according to reference descriptions); short sunshine hours, mists, a long frost-free period (indication directory).
- Soils: Humus, purple and yellow soils (黄壤土); organic matter not less than 3.0%, layer thickness not less than 1.0 m, pH 4.5–6.0, groundwater no closer than 2.0 m — under the 2025 requirements. Forest cover around the gardens is above 88% — according to a reference description.
- Garden area: The data diverge: 667 ha and 500 t a year — in the 2013 registration data; more than 7,000 mu — in a 2017 record; “ten thousand mu” — in the 2024 county publication.
5. Production Technology
The 2025 requirements set out nine operations and their parameters. According to the 2025 report, it takes three to five days from harvest to market.
- Spreading of the fresh leaf (摊凉, tānliáng): The leaf is spread in a layer of 5–10 cm for no longer than 1–2 hours.
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): 180–220 °C. The leaf must be “killed” thoroughly and evenly; slight scorching of the edges is acceptable, but there must be no reddened stems or leaves. The aim is the “three greens”: the color of the dry leaf, of the liquor and of the brewed leaf.
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn): By machine, about 35–45 minutes: tender leaf — “light pressure, short rolling”, coarse leaf — “heavy pressure, long rolling”.
- Breaking up clumps (解块, jiěkuài): The leaf is spread thinly and broken up so that the strands are straight and even.
- Drying (烘干, hōnggān): The first drying — 110–120 °C, 5–10 minutes.
- “Raw fire” (毛火, máohuǒ): 90–110 °C, in a pan for 30–35 minutes.
- “Full fire” (足火, zúhuǒ): The pan is at about 80 °C; as the leaf dries, the temperature is lowered to 65–70 °C; a load takes 40–45 minutes.
- Sifting (筛选, shāixuǎn): Four sieves: the first yields the coarse tea, the fourth the crumbs.
- Sorting (拣剔, jiǎntī): Impurities are picked out by hand.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
- Dry leaf appearance: Tightly rolled and even, with tender stems; the color is a slightly grayish green with luster (条索紧实、匀整、有嫩茎、色泽微灰绿润).
- Dry leaf aroma: A separate description was not found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: On brewing — clean and high (开汤香气清高).
- Taste: Rich and mellow (滋味浓醇). According to the indication directory — with a sweet aftertaste; the tea withstands many infusions.
- Liquor color: Yellow-green, bright (汤色黄绿明亮). The 2024 county publication puts it differently — “clear green, bright” (清绿明亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Yellow-green, tender and even (叶底黄绿嫩匀).
7. Chemical Composition
Physicochemical indicators under the 2025 requirements:
| Indicator | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Tea polyphenols | not less than 20.0% |
| Caffeine | not less than 2.5% |
| Free amino acids | not less than 3.1% |
| Theanine | not less than 1.5% |
8. Brewing
Class practice for green tea; tea-specific recommendations were not found in the sources consulted.
- Water temperature: 80–85 °C.
- Tea amount: 3 g per 150 ml.
- Teaware: A glass tumbler or a white gaiwan.
- Process:
- Warm the teaware.
- Add the tea and pour the water down the side.
- First infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
- Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
- Top up with water.
- Two or three further infusions.
9. Storage
Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors. Best drunk within a year.
10. Price and Counterfeits
Price data were not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the special geographical indication mark. The right to it is approved by CNIPA on application through the county and provincial authorities.
- Check that the producer is from Fabiao Town, Shuangbai County.
- The leaf is tight, even, grayish green with luster; the liquor is yellow-green and bright.
- Do not take the name for a white tea: 白 in it is part of the mountain’s name.
11. Interesting Facts
- According to the indication directory, in 2000–2002 the local “Baizhu yinhao” (白竹银毫, Báizhú yínháo) and “Biluochun” won the “Yuncha Bei” (云茶杯) gold at three competitions in a row.
- A 2017 county blog cites a valuation of the brand “双柏县白竹山茶” for 2016 — 487 million yuan — and reports that two tea factories received “green food” certificates for seven products.
12. Comparison with Other Yunnan Green Teas
- Yunnan Lücha (云南绿茶): The common name of the province’s large-leaf green teas.
- Baohongcha (宝洪茶): A flat pan-fired tea of Yiliang County from a small-leaf variety.
- Nanjian Lücha (南涧绿茶): A green tea of Nanjian County in Dali Prefecture.
- Tengchong Lücha (腾冲绿茶): A green tea of Tengchong county-level city.
In Conclusion:
Báizhúshān chá is a green tea from a mountain that was planted with tea in the middle of the last century: large-leaf bushes from Jingdong County, gardens at 1,800–2,600 m, mists and acid soils. The 2025 requirements describe it precisely — from fixation at 180–220 °C to the yellow-green liquor — and protect the name within the boundaries of a single town.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page