Dàbù wūlóng chá (大埔乌龙茶) is an oolong from Dabu County (大埔县) of Meizhou prefecture-level city in the east of Guangdong Province, in the Hakka region. It is an independent protected name of Meizhou, not a branch of the Fenghuang dāncóng of Chaozhou, although the variety “dāncóng” is on its list. The protection document is detailed: four varieties, sandy loam with pH 4.0–5.5, dense planting under shade trees, fixation in a pan at 200–250 °C and drying in three rounds — “three heatings, three coolings”. The name is protected twice: as an agricultural product geographical indication (AGI) and, since 2025, as a geographical indication product.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Oolong (乌龙茶, wūlóngchá) — a semi-fermented tea. The class is stated in the name itself, and the technology in the document is that of oolong: sun withering, shaking alternated with resting, fixation, rolling, drying. The document does not set the degree of oxidation in figures.
- Category: Guangdong oolong of the Hakka region of Meizhou; geographical indication product (2025) and agricultural product geographical indication.
- Origin: China, Guangdong Province (广东, Guǎngdōng), Meizhou prefecture-level city (梅州, Méizhōu), Dabu County (大埔, Dàbù).
- Protection zone: According to the 2025 document — 15 towns and farms of the county: Huliao (湖寮), Baihou (百侯), Fenglang (枫朗), Dadong (大东), Guangde (光德), Taoyuan (桃源), Gaopi (高陂), Dama (大麻), Sanhe (三河), Zhourui (洲瑞), Yinjiang (银江), Chayang (茶阳), Xihe (西河), Qingxi (青溪) and the Fengxi forestry farm (丰溪林场).
- Geographic coordinates: 116°18′–116°56′ E, 24°01′–24°41′ N.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- Origins. According to a 2020 publication in the newspaper Nanfang Ribao, which refers to chronicles without naming them, tea was already grown in Dabu at the end of the Tang dynasty. The same newspaper writes that under the Ming there were gardens throughout the county, and under the Qing the tea of Xiyan (西岩茶) was among the eight historical famous teas of Meizhou.
- Republican years. The newspaper cites an entry from the chronicle Dabu Zhi (大埔志) of that time: the county’s “misty tea” (云雾茶) was sold in the ports of the Southern Seas (南洋). Later, according to the newspaper, the gardens fell into neglect because of wars.
- 1958. According to the same publication, the county revived its tea industry: it established the Xiyanshan (西岩山茶场), Shuangjishan (双髻山茶场) and Feitianma (飞天马茶场) tea farms and introduced the varieties Lingtou Dancong (岭头单丛), Fenghuang Shuixian (凤凰水仙), méizhàn (梅占) and Daye Qilan (大叶奇兰).
- Titles. According to the newspaper, in recent years the county has received the titles “hometown of famous Chinese tea” (中国名茶之乡) and “key tea-producing county of the country” (全国重点产茶县); the newspaper does not give the years.
- 2016. According to reference summaries, the Ministry of Agriculture registered Dàbù wūlóng chá as an agricultural product geographical indication (AGI01969). The newspaper also confirms the fact of registration, without a date.
- 2025. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), by announcement No. 632 of 9 June, recognized it as a geographical indication product. The applicant is the Dabu County Tea Industry Association (大埔县茶叶行业协会).
- Scale: According to figures from the county agriculture bureau cited by the newspaper, by the end of 2019 the county had 108,000 mu of tea gardens, with output of 7,800 t. These are figures for all of the county’s tea, not only for the oolong under the mark.
- Name: “Dabu” (大埔) is the name of the county; “wūlóng chá” (乌龙茶) means “oolong”, literally “black dragon”.
- Cultural significance: Guangdong oolong is usually reduced to the Fenghuang dāncóng of Chaozhou; the Hakka county of Dabu has its own protected name. The newspaper writes that oolong is the county’s main tea here.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Varieties / Cultivars: The document names four: xiǎoyè wūlóng (小叶乌龙, “small-leaf oolong”), dāncóng (单丛), huángzhīxiāng (黄枝香) and méizhàn (梅占). The list is left open by the words “and others” (等).
- Harvest: Spring — from March to May; autumn — from September to November.
- Harvest standard: When the terminal bud has opened and the shoot has stopped at three to four leaves (驻芽三四叶). The leaf is not crushed, and no moisture is left on it.
- Raw material requirements: No more than 3 kg of fresh leaf per basket.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Soils: According to the document — sandy loam (砂壤土) in a layer deeper than 70 cm, slightly acidic, pH 4.0–5.5.
- Planting: Dense: about 6000 bushes per hectare, so that the bushes themselves create a shady microclimate. In addition, 270–300 楹树 trees (yíngshù, albizia) are planted per hectare for shade.
- Care: Organic fertilizers are applied in winter; in the rainy season, from June to August, the bushes are pruned to stimulate growth.
- Altitude and climate: No data for the zone as a whole in the sources consulted.
5. Production Technology
Below are the requirements of the 2025 document, not the general scheme for the class.
- Plucking (采摘, cǎizhāi): According to the standard in section 3.
- Sun withering (晒青, shàiqīng): On a clear day, in the morning or evening, in a thin layer and under gentle sun. The leaf loses about 15% of its moisture, darkens and droops. In rainy weather a withering machine is used.
- Shaking (做青, zuòqīng): Shaking (碰青, 摇青) is alternated with resting; from round to round the leaf is shaken more often and harder, resting is made longer and the leaf layer thicker.
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): Quickly and at high temperature: pan at 200–250 °C, leaf no cooler than 80 °C, 6–10 minutes in all. First the leaf is fired under a lid, then turned uncovered, and at the end the two techniques are alternated. The finished leaf is soft and yellow-green; the stem bends without breaking.
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn): After cooling to about 30 °C, alternating pressure and release — until tight twists form with moderate cell breakage.
- Drying (烘焙, hōngbèi): “Three heatings, three coolings” (三焙三降温). The first round — at 110–120 °C, to sixty percent dryness, when the leaf stops sticking to the hands. The second — at 90–100 °C, almost dry: the stem breaks easily. The third — at 80–90 °C, until the leaf begins to crumble between the fingers; moisture — about 7%.
The document does not describe a refining or roasting stage after drying.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
The description below is taken from the 2025 document.
- Dry leaf appearance: The twists are large and tight, full, smooth and even (条索肥壮紧结，饱满光滑匀整); the color is black-brown and oily (乌褐油润).
- Dry leaf aroma: Not described separately; no data in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Floral-honey, clean and natural, rich and lasting (花蜜香味，清香天然，香浓持久).
- Taste: Full-bodied, mellow and sweet, rich and fresh, with a long sweet aftertaste (醇厚甘润、浓醇鲜爽、回味甘甜).
- Liquor color: Orange-yellow, bright, with a golden tint (橙黄明亮、略显金黄).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender green, even, soft and glossy (嫩绿，匀齐柔亮).
Nanfang Ribao sums up the character of the county’s tea in five words — 香、甘、韵、滑、醇: fragrant, sweet, with a long resonance in the mouth (韵, yùn), smooth, mellow.
7. Chemical Composition
The document gives the indicators as ranges, not as threshold limits:
| Indicator | Content |
|---|---|
| Tea polyphenols | 18.2–20.7% |
| Theanine | 0.487–0.718% |
| Water-soluble extractives | 39.7–42.4% |
| Caffeine | 1.82–3.01% |
| Anthocyanins | 0.25–0.37% |
In addition, the document mentions salts and free amino acids but gives no figures for them. The moisture of the finished tea is stated only in the description of drying — about 7%.
8. Brewing
Class practice for oolong. The document has no specific recommendations.
- Water temperature: 95–100 °C.
- Tea amount: 6–8 g per 110–150 ml.
- Teaware: Gaiwan or a small clay teapot.
- Process:
- Warm the teaware.
- Add the tea.
- Quickly rinse it with hot water and pour off.
- First infusions — 10–20 seconds.
- Pour out completely.
- Further infusions with a small increase in time.
9. Storage
Class practice for oolong. In airtight packaging, in a cool, dark, dry place, away from foreign odors.
10. Price and Counterfeits
Price data are not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication product mark; the right to use it is approved by CNIPA.
- Check that the producer is located in one of the 15 towns and farms of Dabu County.
- Dry leaf — large, tight black-brown twists with an oily sheen; liquor — orange-yellow; aroma — floral-honey.
11. Interesting Facts
- The zone list includes the Fengxi forestry farm alongside the towns: the zone was drawn by production units, not only by the administrative grid.
- The descriptions of appearance in the documents of Dàbù wūlóng chá and Xiyan Wulongcha coincide almost word for word — aroma, taste, liquor color and spent leaves. The color of the dry leaf differs: for Dabu it is black-brown, for Xiyan yellow-brown.
12. Comparison with Other Oolong Teas
- Xiyan Wulongcha (西岩乌龙茶): Oolong of Fenglang Town in the same county, according to county data with gardens above 1250 m and with a single spring harvest; its zone is part of the Dàbù wūlóng chá zone. The Xiyan document requires drying in two stages (150 and 100 °C), the Dabu document in three (110–120, 90–100 and 80–90 °C).
- Xingning Dancong (兴宁单丛): Oolong of Xingning County in the same Meizhou prefecture-level city.
- Lingtou Dancong (岭头单丛): Oolong and the variety of the same name from Raoping County of Chaozhou prefecture-level city. According to Nanfang Ribao, this variety was brought to Dabu in 1958; the Dàbù wūlóng chá document lists four varieties.
- Huangzhixiang Dancong (黄枝香单丛): In Fenghuang this is the name of one of the aroma types of dāncóng; in the Dabu document huángzhīxiāng is on the list of varieties.
In Conclusion:
Dàbù wūlóng chá is an oolong of a Hakka county in eastern Guangdong, separate from the Fenghuang dāncóng of Chaozhou. Its document describes everything from soil to drying: four varieties, dense planting under umbrella trees, fixation in a red-hot pan and drying in three heatings. In the cup — a floral-honey aroma, an orange-yellow liquor with a golden glint and a mellow sweetness. The county holds two protected oolongs — a broad county-wide one and a narrow mountain one, Xiyan Wulongcha.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page