Dàwù lǜchá (大悟绿茶) is a green tea of Dawu County (大悟县), Xiaogan prefecture-level city, in the northeast of Hubei Province, at the southern foot of the Dabie Mountains. Three documents stand behind the name: protection as a geographical indication product since 2012, a provincial standard of 2014 and a geographical indication certification mark. The requirements of the indication describe three leaf forms under one name — flat, máojiān and shòuméi — and reference works trace the modern tea of the county to the Shuangqiao farm of the early 1980s. The green tea of the county also has a second protected name — Dàwù chá (大悟茶): since 2022 it has been an agricultural product geographical indication (AGI), and since 2025 a geographical indication product with its own document.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá). The class is stated in the name and is confirmed by the technology: spreading, fixation, shaping, drying.
- Forms: Flat (扁形茶), máojiān (毛尖茶) and shòuméi (寿眉茶). “Shòuméi” here is the name of a form of green tea, not the white shòuméi of Fujian.
- Category: Geographical indication product (2012); geographical indication certification mark.
- Origin: China, Hubei Province (湖北, Húběi), Xiaogan prefecture-level city (孝感, Xiàogǎn), Dawu County (大悟, Dàwù).
- Protection zone: Seventeen townships and towns of the county within their current boundaries: Chengguan, Yangping, Fangfan, Xincheng, Liuji, Xiadian, Hekou, Lüwang, Huangzhan, Xuanhuadian, Fengdian, Gaodian, Daxin, Sanlicheng, Dongxin, Pengdian and Sigu.
- Geographic coordinates of the county: 114°02′–114°35′ E, 31°18′–31°52′ N.
- Second name — Dawu Cha (大悟茶, Dàwù chá): A separate indication with its own document. The applicant is the Dawu County Tea Industry Association (大悟县茶叶产业协会); the zone is the whole county: three townships, fourteen towns and three special zones — the high-speed rail pilot zone (高铁试验区), the county economic development zone and the Wufengshan resort (悟峰山度假区), 268 administrative villages in all. The document does not name the class, but its description — flat and strip-shaped forms, a tender green, bright liquor — corresponds to green tea. In 2025 the county tea industry center distinguished the names as follows: “大悟绿茶” is a national geographical indication product, “大悟茶” an agricultural product geographical indication.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- A legend of antiquity. A reference work writes that since the Tang dynasty Dawu tea was sent to the court as tribute. Documentary confirmation was not found in the sources consulted.
- 1958. According to the account of the county tea industry center in Hubei Ribao (2025), in October 1958 General Xu Haidong (徐海东), a native of Dawu, came to his home region with his wife, and his wife, a native of Lu’an in Anhui Province, brought from there 400,000 tea seedlings. The newspaper’s headline speaks of “400,000 bushes of Lu’an Guapian”; according to the text itself, these were seedlings from the region where Lu’an Guapian is made. Another publication about Dawu tells it differently: in the 1950s the general himself brought 400,000 seedlings into the county from Lu’an, his wife’s home region. The sources disagree on who brought the seedlings.
- Early 1980s. The state-owned Shuangqiao tea farm (国营双桥茶场) created a strip-shaped baked green tea (条形烘青). A reference work links this with the appearance of Dàwù lǜchá in its present form; another reference article calls this tea Shuangqiao Maojian (双桥毛尖).
- 1983. According to reference works, the tea was recognized as a famous tea of Hubei Province; one reference article says this of Dàwù lǜchá, another of Shuangqiao Maojian.
- 2007. According to the provincial register, the geographical indication certification mark “大悟绿茶” No. 4237408 was registered in this year; the applicant is the Dawu County Tea Industry Association. The current term of the mark according to the provincial register of 2020 is from 7 January 2017 to 6 January 2027. Lists of the companies of the county permitted to use this mark are published by the provincial intellectual property office.
- 2010. The China Tea Science Society gave the county the title “home of famous Chinese tea” (中国名茶之乡).
- 2012. On 18 December the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), by announcement No. 209, placed Dàwù lǜchá under protection as a geographical indication product.
- 2014. Provincial standard DB42/T 998-2014 “地理标志产品 大悟绿茶”: published on 18 June, in force from 15 August; according to the register of local standards, it is in force.
- 2022. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, by announcement No. 532 of 25 February, in the first batch of the year, registered Dàwù chá (大悟茶) as an agricultural product geographical indication (AGI); the applicant is the Dawu County Tea Industry Association.
- 2025. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), by announcement No. 640 — signed on 16 July, published on 13 August — recognized Dàwù chá as a geographical indication product. The same announcement recognized the red tea Xiaogan Hong (孝感红), whose zone also covers Dawu County.
- Name: Dàwù (大悟) is the name of the county; lǜchá (绿茶) means “green tea”.
- Cultural significance: The provincial government, according to a reference work, in a 2004 plan placed Dawu among the five largest tea-producing counties of Hubei — together with Wufeng, Hefeng, Zhuxi and Yingshan. In 2025 the county industry center called Dawu fifth in the province by garden area. Since 2017 the county has added red tea to green, then matcha and white, and in 2024 yellow; the name Dàwù lǜchá refers only to the green.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety / Cultivar: The 2012 requirements of the indication, as set out in a reference work, name improved cultivars suitable for Dàwù lǜchá — Echa No. 1 (鄂茶1号), Fuding Dabaicha (福鼎大白茶) and others.
- Raw material: Buds and leaves of new shoots (新梢的芽叶) of the bushes of the county.
- Harvest time: From March to May.
- Harvest standard: A garden is opened for picking when 5–6% of the shoots have reached one bud and one leaf. Picking is by hand, in rounds, to the standard, without tearing or grabbing by the handful, so that the shoot stays whole, fresh and clean.
- Under the Dawu Cha document: Only one cultivar is named — Echa No. 1. Planting is double-row, two bushes at a time: 1.5 m between rows, 0.40 m between the rows of a pair, a spacing of 0.33 m, 5,000–6,000 bushes per mu, in February — March. Picking is by hand, in rounds according to the tenderness of the leaf, leaving leaves on the bush; stripping the shoots and grabbing them by the handful is not allowed.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: Northeast Hubei, the southern foot of the Dabie Mountains (大别山), on the border with Henan Province. A reference work names the Chengguan — Shuangqiao belt as the main production area.
- Soils: According to the description of the indication — mainly acidic and slightly acidic sandy loams; a reference work names yellow-brown soils (黄棕壤) as predominant.
- Plot requirements: According to the requirements of the indication — altitude from 300 m, soil pH 4.5–6.5, organic matter no less than 1.5%, soil layer no less than 80 cm thick, loose, permeable soil without standing water.
- Dawu Cha requirements: Slightly acidic soil, pH 4.5–6.0, deep and loose, organic matter no less than 1.5%; a slope of less than 25°, and when land is developed, plowing deeper than 60 cm with the breaking up of compacted subsoil layers.
- Climate: Subtropical monsoon, humid, with distinct seasons and a large daily temperature range. According to a reference work, the mean annual temperature is 14.9–15.7°C, rainfall 1,049–1,170 mm, the frost-free period 227–242 days; the mountains above 300 m are often in clouds and fog, and there is little sun there. The county industry center describes it differently: for tea the location is a northern one, fogs are frequent, rains moderate, sun sufficient, pests few.
- Area: According to the county statistical bulletin for 2024 — 242,011 mu of tea gardens at the end of the year, of which 198,435 mu were being picked; 9,565 t of tea were produced in the year. The county tea industry center in Hubei Ribao (2025) gives a round figure — about 300,000 mu.
5. Production Technology
The description of the indication names five operations: spreading (摊青, tānqīng), fixation (杀青, shāqīng), shaping (做形, zuòxíng), drying (干燥, gānzào) and selection (精选, jīngxuǎn). The requirements set out the chain for each form:
- Flat form: spreading, fixation, forming (造形), finishing in the wok (辉锅), selection, packing.
- Máojiān: spreading, fixation, rolling (揉捻), first drying (初烘), straightening (理条), drying with heating to bring out the aroma (提香), packing.
- Shòuméi: spreading, fixation, rubbing (搓揉), finishing in the wok, baking (烘焙), sorting (拣剔), packing.
Spreading: a layer of 2–5 cm, 5–6 hours, a weight loss of 10–15%.
The summary in a reference work calls fixation the key stage:
- Wok temperature: 150–180°C.
- Load: 200–250 g of leaf.
- Technique: High heat, the leaf is tossed more than it is covered, with moderate turning.
- Time: About 5 minutes.
Then the leaf is cooled and rolled for about 5 minutes, breaking up lumps and letting the heat out so that it does not turn yellow from stuffiness. The finished tea is sorted by hand to remove coarse leaves, stalks and fines; the moisture of the best tea is no more than 6%.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
The description of the indication for the top grade:
- Dry leaf appearance: Flat type — flat, smooth and glossy, straight and pointed (扁平光润，挺直尖削); máojiān — a thin, tight strip, slightly curved (条索紧细微曲); shòuméi — slightly flat and straight, with visible bud tips (略扁直显锋苗).
- Dry leaf aroma: No descriptions found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Tender and lasting (嫩香持久).
- Taste: Fresh, tender, refreshing (鲜嫩爽口).
- Liquor color: Tender green, bright (嫩绿明亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Soft, glossy, even (软亮、匀整).
| Grade | Aroma | Taste | Liquor | Spent leaves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top (特级) | Tender, lasting | Fresh, tender, refreshing | Tender green, bright | Soft, glossy, even |
| First (一级) | Clean, lasting | Fresh, mellow, refreshing | Tender green, fairly bright | Bright, even |
| Second (二级) | Clean | Fresh, mellow, fairly refreshing | Green, bright | Fairly bright, fairly even |
The Dàwù chá document describes the appearance more briefly. The flat form is described in the same words as for Dàwù lǜchá (扁平光润，挺直尖削); the strip-shaped form — a thin, tight twist with noticeable down (细紧显毫), a high, lasting aroma, a tender green, bright liquor, a fresh, mellow taste with a sweet return in the throat (回甘润喉), even spent leaves, many infusions.
7. Chemical Composition
The requirements of the indication set physico-chemical indicators: moisture no more than 6.0%, total ash no more than 6.5%, fines no more than 2.0%, crude fiber no more than 14.0%, water-soluble extractives no less than 38.0%.
A reference work also gives the result of an analysis by a testing center of the Ministry of Agriculture: polyphenols 24.13%, amino acids 4.15%, caffeine 4.44%, soluble sugars 3.07%, total catechins 13.749%. The date of the analysis and the sample are not stated; this is a single sample, not a norm. The text of the standard DB42/T 998-2014 was not found in the sources consulted.
The Dàwù chá document sets other thresholds: tea polyphenols no less than 19.2%, free amino acids no less than 2.9%, water-soluble extractives no less than 46.4% — markedly stricter on extract than the requirements for Dàwù lǜchá.
8. Brewing
Class practice for green tea.
- Water temperature: 80–85°C; for the tender top grade — closer to 80°C.
- Tea amount: 3 g per 150 ml.
- Teaware: A glass tumbler — the shape of the leaf is visible in it — or a white gaiwan.
- Process:
- Warm the teaware.
- Put in 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
Prices were not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication product mark or certification mark No. 4237408.
- Check that the producer is from the seventeen townships and towns of Dawu County.
- Compare the form with the description: flat, máojiān or shòuméi; the liquor tender green.
- Do not confuse it with the white shòuméi of Fujian.
- Look at which name is on the packaging: Dàwù lǜchá and Dàwù chá have different documents, applicants and requirements. The producer obtains the geographical indication product mark by application through the local intellectual property office, after review by the province and approval by CNIPA.
11. Interesting Facts
- The Dawu “shòuméi” is a green tea, a namesake of the white one from Fujian.
- The county borders Henan, where Xinyang Maojian is made, and lies in the same Dabie Mountains as Lu’an in Anhui.
- One green tea of the county has two protected names — Dàwù lǜchá and Dàwù chá, each with its own document; on top of both lies the zone of the red Xiaogan Hong.
- According to a reference work, in the 1970s a stone figure about four hundred years old, with verses about brewing tea, was found in the ruins of a Guanyin temple in Xuanhuadian town.
12. Comparison with Neighboring Teas of the Dabie Mountains
- Xinyang Maojian (信阳毛尖): The Henan neighbor; a thin, twisted green tea, close in form to the Dawu máojiān.
- Lu’an Guapian (六安瓜片): An Anhui tea from leaf without a bud, from the same Dabie mountain system; according to the 1958 account, the seedlings for Dawu were brought from its region.
- Yingshan Yunwucha (英山云雾茶): A green tea of Yingshan County in Hubei — one of the five largest tea counties of the province, together with Dawu.
- Macheng Guishan Lücha (麻城龟山绿茶): A green tea of Mount Guifengshan, also in the Dabie Mountains.
- Xiaogan Hong (孝感红): The red tea of Xiaogan prefecture, whose zone includes Dawu County; recognized by the same 2025 announcement as Dàwù chá.
In Conclusion:
Dàwù lǜchá is the green tea of a large tea county on the southern slope of the Dabie Mountains. Its documentation is dense: protection since 2012, a standard of 2014, a certification mark, seventeen townships and towns in the zone, named cultivars and plot requirements from 300 m altitude. Three forms under one name — flat, máojiān and shòuméi — converge in a tender, lasting aroma and a tender green, bright liquor.
Sources
Standards
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page