Chángshā lǜchá (长沙绿茶) is a green tea from Changsha prefecture-level city (长沙市) in Hunan Province. It is not the tea of a single village but a shared green tea brand of the prefecture: the protection zone lies in Changsha County, Wangcheng District and the county-level cities of Liuyang and Ningxiang. According to the protection document, it has thin, curved strands of emerald color with down, a tender green liquor and a fresh taste with a sweet return. Since 2022 the name has been protected by a certification mark, and since 2025 the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has recognized it as a geographical indication product.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá), unfermented. The class is stated in the name and confirmed by the technology in the protection document: spreading, fixation by heat, rolling, drying — without oxidation and without smothering.
- Category: A prefecture-level green tea brand under three protection regimes — see section 2.
- Origin: China, Hunan Province (湖南, Húnán), Changsha prefecture-level city (长沙, Chángshā).
- Protection zone: According to the appendix to CNIPA announcement No. 640 — 33 towns, 5 townships and 1 subdistrict: 12 towns of Changsha County (长沙县), including Jinjing, Gaoqiao, Lukou and Chunhua; 3 towns and 1 subdistrict of Wangcheng District (望城区), including Chating; 10 towns and 2 townships of the county-level city of Liuyang (浏阳市), including Daweishan and Guandu; 8 towns and 3 townships of the county-level city of Ningxiang (宁乡市), including Weishan Township.
- Geographic coordinates: According to the protection document — 111°57′25″–114°09′46″ E, 27°55′52″–28°35′35″ N. The applicant is the Changsha City Tea Industry Association (长沙市茶业协会).
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- Predecessors. The announcement of the mark’s registration names green teas of Changsha that were famous at different times: Gaoqiao Yinfeng (高桥银峰), Jinjing Maojian (金井毛尖) and Xiāngbōlǜ (湘波绿). The towns of Gaoqiao and Jinjing are part of the present zone.
- Agricultural indication. The number in the Ministry of Agriculture register is AGI02412; I have not checked the date of entry against the primary source.
- 2022. CNIPA, in issue 1781 of the trademark gazette, announced “长沙绿茶” as a geographical indication certification mark, in force from May 28, 2022. The announcement calls the tea a product of the “一县一特” (“one county, one specialty”) program of Changsha County.
- 2025. By CNIPA announcement No. 640 (signed on July 16, published on August 13) the name was recognized as a geographical indication product, appendix item 953.
- Name: “Changsha” (长沙) is the name of the prefecture-level city and of one of its counties; lǜchá (绿茶) means “green tea”. The name describes neither the leaf shape nor the variety, but the place and the class.
- Cultural significance: According to the announcement of the mark, the core of production is the “hundred-li tea corridor” (百里茶廊) in seven towns of Changsha County. The city newspaper wrote in 2022 that the technique of making Changsha (Jinjing) green tea (长沙(金井)绿茶制作技艺) had been entered in the provincial list of intangible cultural heritage.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Varieties / Cultivars: The protection document permits medium- and small-leaf varieties suitable for this tea and names four of them: Bìxiāngzǎo (碧香早), Zhūyèqí (槠叶齐), Xiāngbōlǜ (湘波绿) and Báiháozǎo (白毫早); the list is open — the names are followed by “and others”. Xiāngbōlǜ is at once the name of a variety on this list and the name of the historical tea named in the announcement of the mark.
- Harvest: From the beginning of March to the end of September — according to the protection document.
- Harvest standard: From a single bud to a bud with two leaves (单芽至一芽二叶).
- Raw material requirements: The leaf is processed without delay, batch after batch.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: Changsha prefecture; the zone stretches from west to east over more than two degrees of longitude — from Ningxiang to Liuyang.
- Growing altitude: 50–500 m, slope less than 20° — according to the protection document.
- Soils: Mainly red soils (红壤) and paddy soils (水稻土), layer not less than 50 cm; organic matter 11.2–56.5 g/kg, total nitrogen 0.65–1.73 g/kg, available phosphorus 12.5–246 mg/kg, available potassium 37–332 mg/kg, pH 5.0–6.5.
- Planting: Row spacing 1.5 m, 33–35 cm between bushes in a row; deep plowing to 60 cm before laying out the garden.
- Climate: No data in the sources consulted.
- Scale: According to the announcement of the mark, the core in Changsha County is about 106,000 mu (about 7,000 ha), roughly 44% of the main production area. This is a figure from the announcement, not from the protection document.
5. Production Technology
The protection document allows manual pan-firing in a wok and machine processing. The parameters below are from the document.
- Spreading (摊青, tānqīng): A layer of 4–6 cm, 6–8 hours, until the leaf is soft and the aroma clean; moisture about 70%, weight loss 15–20%.
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): By hand — a wok at 200–220 °C, the leaf is tossed with both hands until it turns dark green and soft, with a clean aroma. By machine — a drum at 280–320 °C for about 2 minutes; the stalk should bend and not break, there should be no red stalks, scorched edges or “fish-eye” blisters, moisture — about 62%.
- Rolling in two stages (揉捻, róuniǎn): The first stage by hand follows the rule “light — strong — light” for 5–8 minutes, by machine — until about 80% of the leaf curls into strands; the second, with stronger pressure, takes 6–8 minutes. Clumps are broken up. Between the stages the leaf is partly dried: by hand — by shaking in a wok at 150–180 °C for 4–6 minutes, to roughly four-tenths dryness; by machine — at 110–120 °C for 5–8 minutes to a moisture of about 45%, then it is cooled for 30–40 minutes.
- Third drying: By hand — until the strands stop sticking to the hands; by machine — at 90–100 °C to a moisture of 12–15%.
- Shaping and bringing out the down (整形, 提毫): By hand — shaping at 60–70 °C to roughly eight-tenths dryness, then 70–80 °C until white down appears. By machine — shaping-firing in a drum at 100–110 °C, 10–12 minutes, to a moisture of about 8%.
- Full drying (足干, zúgān): To a moisture of no more than 7%; in the machine scheme — aroma finishing at 90–95 °C for about 40 minutes.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
The description follows the first of the four grades in the protection document; the differences of the lower grades are given at the end of the section.
- Dry leaf appearance: Tight, thin, curved strands; emerald green with a sheen; the leaf even, with visible down (条索紧细弯曲，色泽翠绿润，匀整显毫).
- Dry leaf aroma: No separate description in the document.
- Liquor aroma: Tender and lasting (嫩香持久).
- Taste: Fresh, brisk, with a sweet return (鲜爽回甘).
- Liquor color: Tender green, bright (嫩绿明亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender green, fresh and lively, even (嫩绿鲜活匀齐).
In the second grade the color is “green, fairly glossy”, the aroma is no longer “tender” but “clean and lasting” (清香持久), the taste “fresh and mellow” (鲜醇). In the third and fourth the liquor becomes yellow-green, the taste “mellow” (醇和), the spent leaves yellow-green; the sweet return is retained in all four grades.
7. Chemical Composition
The protection document sets physicochemical norms by grade:
| Indicator | First | Second | Third | Fourth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moisture, not more than | 7.0% | 7.0% | 7.0% | 7.0% |
| Water extract, not less than | 36.5% | 36% | 36.0% | 35% |
| Total ash, not more than | 6.0% | 6.5% | 6.8% | 7.0% |
| Free amino acids (as glutamic acid), not less than | 3.0% | 2.5% | 2.2% | 2.0% |
These are acceptance thresholds, not a measured composition. Data on catechins and caffeine are not found in the sources consulted.
8. Brewing
Class practice for green tea.
- 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 foreign odors. Best drunk within a year.
10. Price and Counterfeits
Price data are not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the special geographical indication mark.
- Check that the producer is from Changsha County, Wangcheng District, Liuyang or Ningxiang.
- The first grade has thin, curved emerald strands with down, and a tender green, bright liquor.
- A yellow-green liquor passed off as the top grade is a reason for doubt: according to the document, this color belongs to the third and fourth grades.
11. Interesting Facts
- In the protection zone there is the town of Chating (茶亭) — literally “tea pavilion”.
- In the manual scheme the last stage is called just that — “bringing out the down” (提毫): the heat is chosen so that white hairs appear on the strands.
- One name — Xiāngbōlǜ (湘波绿) — appears both in the list of permitted varieties and in the list of Changsha’s historical teas.
12. Comparison with Other Hunan Green Teas
- Gaoqiao Yinfeng (高桥银峰): The tea of Gaoqiao Town, one of the towns of the zone; the announcement of the mark calls it a historical tea of Changsha.
- Jinjing Maojian (金井毛尖): The tea of Jinjing Town, also inside the zone.
- Weishan Maojian (沩山毛尖): The tea of Weishan Township in Ningxiang, inside the zone; it has its own geographical indication, and in the corpus it is described in the yellow tea family.
- Taolin Lücha (桃林绿茶): Green tea of Yueyang prefecture, outside the zone.
In Conclusion:
Chángshā lǜchá is a prefecture-level green tea brand that has gathered under one name 39 units in four counties and districts. Its protection document is detailed: varieties, soils, two firing schemes with temperatures, and four grades with their own norms. The best grade has thin emerald strands with down, a tender green liquor and a fresh taste with a sweet return.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page