Dàozhēn lǜchá

Dàozhēn lǜchá (道真绿茶) is a green tea from Daozhen Gelao and Miao Autonomous County (道真仡佬族苗族自治县) of Zunyi prefecture-level city in the north of Guizhou Province. The geographical indication product has two names: the second, in brackets, is Daozhen Xisi Cha (道真硒锶茶, Dàozhēn xīsī chá), “Daozhen selenium-strontium tea”. Since April 2015 the name has been protected throughout the county. The product requirements describe two forms — twisted into a “thread” and flat — and gardens at an altitude of 600–1200 m. Selenium and strontium are featured in the name, but the requirements set no norms for them.

1. Classification and Origin

Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá) — the class is stated in the name and confirmed by the technology: fixation, rolling or shaping, drying, no oxidation.
Category: County green tea of northern Guizhou; geographical indication product (2015). Two forms: twisted (条形茶, tiáoxíngchá) and flat (扁形茶, biǎnxíngchá).
Origin: China, Guizhou Province (贵州, Guìzhōu), Zunyi prefecture-level city (遵义, Zūnyì), Daozhen Gelao and Miao Autonomous County (道真, Dàozhēn).
Protection zone: The current administrative boundaries of the whole autonomous county — as stated in the 2015 announcement and in the application accepted in 2014.
Geographic coordinates: About 28.9° N and 107.6° E.

2. History and Cultural Significance

History:
- 2011. The county adopted its own standard — “Technical rules for the production of Dàozhēn lǜchá (Dàozhēn xīsī chá)” DB520325/T02-2011. It is named among the documents of the 2014 application.
- 2014. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), by announcement No. 85 of 2014 (25 July), accepted the application for review. The protection zone was outlined by the government of the autonomous county: the whole county.
- 2015. By AQSIQ announcement No. 44 of 2015 (7 April), Dàozhēn lǜchá was placed under protection as a geographical indication product. The same announcement includes another product of the county, 道真灰豆腐果, and the Guizhou tea 水城春茶; 22 products in all.
- 2017–2018. The provincial standard “Geographical indication product. Dàozhēn lǜchá (Dàozhēn xīsī chá)” DB52/T 1219-2017 was issued on 27 September 2017 and has been in force since 26 March 2018. According to the national standards platform, it is recommended and current. I have not seen the text of the standard.
- 2024. According to the registry, the county is included in the 2024 list (issue 3) of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) related to the right to the special mark.
Name: “Dàozhēn” (道真) is the name of the county. “Lǜchá” (绿茶) means green tea. “Xīsī” (硒锶) means selenium and strontium: the county builds its public brand on the mineral composition of the soils. I do not give health claims here.
Cultural significance: The county is autonomous — for the Gelao and Miao peoples. No tea tradition is described in the documents I opened.

3. Botanical Description and Raw Material

Variety / Cultivar: Local population bushes (当地群体种) and varieties suitable for this tea; the document names no specific varieties.
Harvest: Spring — from the end of February to the beginning of May; autumn — from mid-September to the end of October.
Harvest standard: For the twisted tea — from a single bud to a bud with two leaves. For the flat tea — from a single bud to a bud with one just-unfolding leaf.
Planting requirements: Propagation by cuttings. Planting in spring (from mid-February to the end of March) or in autumn (from mid-October to the end of December). Density no more than 50,000 plants per hectare; no less than 30 t of well-rotted organic fertilizer per hectare per year.

4. Terroir and Cultivation Features

Region: North of Guizhou, Zunyi prefecture-level city.
Growing altitude: 600–1200 m — according to the product requirements.
Soils: Yellow or sandy loam (黄壤或沙壤); pH 4.5–6.5; organic matter no less than 1.0%; soil layer thickness no less than 50 cm.
Selenium and strontium: The second name of the tea is built on them, but there are no figures for the soil or the leaf in the documents I opened, and the 2015 announcement sets no requirements for them.
Climate: No data found in the sources consulted.

5. Production Technology

The product requirements set two schemes with parameters — this is a description of Dàozhēn lǜchá specifically.

Twisted tea: fresh leaf, spreading (摊晾, tānliàng), fixation, cooling, rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn), breaking up clumps (解块, jiěkuài), first drying (毛火, máohuǒ), cooling, final drying (足火, zúhuǒ), refining (精制, jīngzhì).

Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): 200–300 °C. The leaf is taken off when it has turned dark green, the stalk does not break when bent, and the leaf feels slightly sticky to the touch.
First drying: 120–150 °C, until the “threads” become deep green (墨绿) and prickly to the touch; then the leaf cools and rests.
Final drying: Pan at 80–90 °C, until the “threads” become grey-green with an oily sheen; moisture — no more than 7%.

Flat tea: fresh leaf, spreading, fixation, cooling, first shaping (做形, zuòxíng), cooling, second shaping, cooling, final drying with polishing in the pan (辉锅, huīguō), cooling.

Fixation: The leaf is taken off when the grassy smell goes and an aroma appears.
Shaping: 100–120 °C. After the first, no less than 90% of the leaf must become straight “threads”, moisture — less than 50%. After the second, no less than 98% of the leaf must become flat, moisture — less than 30%.
Final drying with polishing: Pan at 80–100 °C, until the leaf becomes green, glossy and smooth, and the bud crumbles into powder between the fingers; moisture — no more than 7%.

6. Organoleptic Characteristics

The sensory requirements in the document are brief.

Dry leaf appearance: No separate description. The technological guidelines speak of grey-green “threads” with an oily sheen for the twisted tea and of a green, glossy, smooth leaf for the flat tea.
Dry leaf aroma: No data found in the sources consulted.
Liquor aroma: Clean and rich (香气清香，浓郁).
Taste: Soft and full (滋味醇厚); the tea withstands many infusions (耐泡).
Liquor color: No data found in the sources consulted.
Spent leaves (wet leaves): No data found in the sources consulted.

7. Chemical Composition

Indicator	Norm
Water extract (浸出物)	no less than 38.0%
Moisture of the finished tea	no more than 7% (set in the technology)

The 2015 announcement has no other physico-chemical norms, including for selenium and strontium. What the 2017 provincial standard added I cannot say: I have not seen its text.

8. Brewing

Class practice for green tea.

Water temperature: 80–85 °C.
Tea amount: 3 g per 150 ml.
Teaware: Glass tumbler or white gaiwan.
Process:
1. Warm the teaware.
2. Put in the tea and pour the water down the side.
3. First infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
4. Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
5. Top up with water.
6. Two or three repeat infusions; the document notes that the tea withstands many 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

No price data found in the sources consulted.

How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the special mark of the geographical indication product. According to the 2015 announcement, the producer applies for the right to use it to the market supervision administration of the autonomous county.
- Check that the producer is from Daozhen Gelao and Miao Autonomous County.
- The words “硒锶” on the packaging guarantee nothing: the selenium content can only be confirmed by a test report.

11. Interesting Facts

One protected product has two names: “道真绿茶” and, in brackets, “道真硒锶茶”.
The path of the standard — from the 2011 county standard to the 2017 provincial one.
The flat tea is picked finer than the twisted tea: no further than a bud with one just-unfolding leaf.

12. Comparison with Other Guizhou Teas

Gelao Yu Cui (仡佬玉翠): A flat green tea of the same county under its own trademark; described separately in the corpus. Dàozhēn lǜchá is a county-level protected name under which both twisted and flat tea are made.
Fenggang Xin Xi Cha (凤冈锌硒茶): A green tea of Fenggang County in the same Zunyi prefecture-level city; its name contains zinc and selenium.
Zheng’an Baicha (正安白茶): A green tea of Zheng’an County in Zunyi prefecture, from a white-leaf variety.
Meitan Cui Ya (湄潭翠芽): A flat green tea of Meitan County in the same prefecture.
Enshi Xicha (恩施硒茶): The selenium umbrella name of Enshi prefecture in Hubei Province — another name built on soil minerals.

In Conclusion:

Dàozhēn lǜchá is a county green tea of northern Guizhou with gardens at 600–1200 m, protected since 2015 throughout the county. The document describes two forms with detailed pan regimes, and the taste as soft and full, with a rich, clean aroma. The second name promises selenium and strontium, but the requirements set no norms for them.