Fènghuà qūháo (奉化曲毫) is a green tea of Fenghua District (奉化区) of the city of Ningbo on the coast of eastern Zhejiang. It is recognized by its thick leaf, twisted into a curl and covered with noticeable white down: 曲 (qū) — “curved”, 毫 (háo) — “down”. The name is derived from a line by a Song-dynasty monk, while the present tea was created in 1996 and is made only from spring leaf. It is protected by a certification mark (published in 2018), an agricultural product geographical indication (2021) and, according to the catalog of indications, recognition as a geographical indication product (2025).
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá): fixation, rolling, drying. The provincial market supervision administration directly calls it a green tea (系绿茶), and a reference source calls it a “first-class famous tea of Zhejiang Province” (浙江省一类名茶).
- Category: A twisted green tea with down, under several protection regimes.
- Origin: China, Zhejiang Province (浙江, Zhèjiāng), the city of Ningbo (宁波, Níngbō), Fenghua District (奉化, Fènghuà).
- Protection zone: The catalog of indications defines it as the entire present territory of Fenghua District. The reference description of the agricultural indication names 10 towns and subdistricts with 325 villages, among them Shangtian, Dayan, Xikou and Xiwu.
- Geographic coordinates: 121°03′–121°46′ E, 29°25′–29°47′ N — according to the same description.
- Protection regimes:
- Certification mark “奉化曲毫” No. 28458230. According to the provincial market supervision administration, it was approved and published on 28 December 2018 and, after a three-month publication period, came into force on 28 March — counting the period, in 2019. The regulator’s note itself was posted in August 2020 and calls this date “28 March of this year”; a reference article dates the mark to 2020. The owner is the Fenghua Tea Culture Promotion Society (奉化茶文化促进会).
- Agricultural indication. Announcement No. 431 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; the certificate was issued on 4 June 2021.
- Geographical indication product. The catalog of indications places the name under announcement No. 640 (2025) of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and writes that it replaces the corresponding part of announcement No. 45 of 2003 of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) on “奉化曲毫茶（雪窦山牌）”. What regime the 2003 announcement granted could not be established; the texts of both announcements could not be opened.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- The Song line. A reference source writes that tea was already grown in Fenghua under the Tang. Sources link the name to a phrase by the abbot of Xuedou Monastery (雪窦寺), the Chan master Guangwen (广闻), from the work “御书应梦名山记”: “荼荠不同亩，曲毫幽而独芳” — “the bitter herb and the shepherd’s purse do not grow in one field, while the qūháo, hidden away, is fragrant alone”. Most sources date it simply to the Song period, the catalog of indications and the district press to the “景右” years of the Northern Song. A reference text on Mount Xuedou, however, retells a legend according to which the inscription “应梦名山” was made, in fulfilment of his predecessor’s wish, by Emperor Lizong, already of the Southern Song; if so, a Northern Song date for the “Record” about it is doubtful. The quotation and the date could not be checked in the original.
- 1996. The present tea was created by tea specialists from the leaf of heavily downy varieties; reference sources call it at once a historical and a new famous tea. The district press writes of an improved curling technology (改良蟠曲加工工艺), a reference article — that the panlong tea (蟠龙茶) was taken as the basis.
- 1997. According to the application for the 2012 Japanese competition, the technology was settled in 1996 after many years of trials, and the following year the tea received the rating of a provincial-level famous tea.
- 1999. The “Xuedoushan” (雪窦山) brand appeared. In 2015 its value was estimated at 176 million yuan.
- 2012. Preparation of the application for the mark began. In the same year the tea was among the prize winners of the World Green Tea Contest in the city of Shimada (Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan), in the gold award section. It was entered by the Fenghua Agriculture and Forestry Bureau, the producer being the Xuedoushan tea cooperative. Judging took place on 21–22 August; a total of 56 samples were submitted — 32 Japanese, 15 Korean, 8 Chinese and one Taiwanese.
- 2017. Status as a product protected for its ecological origin (国家生态原产地保护产品).
- Awards. More than 40 according to the regulator, more than 50 according to the district press, including the top gold medal of the first World Green Tea Congress, a special prize of the “Zhongcha Bei” (中茶杯) competition and, according to the district press, a gold medal of the China International Tea Expo.
- Name: 奉化 — the name of the district; 曲毫 — “curved down”.
- Cultural significance: The district website calls the tea Fenghua’s “golden business card” (金名片). The catalog of indications sums up its profile in the formula “色绿、香高、味醇、形美” — green color, high aroma, mellow taste, beautiful shape.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety / Cultivar: The descriptions speak of clonally propagated, heavily downy improved varieties (无性系多毫良种) without names. A 2023 district report names, for one garden of 500 mu, the varieties Fuding Dabai (福鼎大白) and Yingshuang (迎霜); no mandatory list was found in the sources consulted. The application for the 2012 Japanese competition names the variety “福鼎白毫” — with abundant white down.
- Harvest time: Spring only. Picking begins before the Qingming festival and runs from Chunfen to Guyu.
- Harvest standard: The sources differ. The district press writes of a bud with two leaves (一芽二叶), a 2023 district report — of a bud with one leaf (一芽一叶), the catalog of indications — of a bud with one or two leaves.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The coast of eastern Zhejiang; the relief of the district, according to a reference source, is formed by the Tiantaishan (天台山) and Simingshan (四明山) ranges. The district website describes the main tea area, Shangtian, with the formula “six parts mountains, one part water, three parts fields” (六山一水三分田).
- Main areas: Shangtian (尚田) and Dayan (大堰); the historical gardens are by Mount Xuedoushan near Xikou.
- Growing altitude: According to the district website, the Anyan garden in Shangtian, at the junction of the Simingshan and Tiantaishan ranges, lies on average at 400–600 m, the Nanshan garden above 600 m. There are no general data for the zone.
- Climate: Subtropical monsoon, average annual temperature 16.4 °C (according to a reference article). The district website writes of year-round fogs, a mild climate and abundant rain at the Anyan garden.
- Soils: According to a reference article — sandy yellow soils and “ash” soils (香灰土) formed on granites and volcanic rocks, pH 4.5–6.5.
- Area and output: The figures differ. The description of the indication — 1,633 ha and 157 t of dry tea a year; a reference article — more than 13,000 mu; the district press (2024) — more than a thousand households, 16,000 mu and over 150 t; the district website (2023) — more than 22,500 mu and revenue of 120 million yuan for 2022.
5. Production Technology
The district press lists eight operations, which take more than ten hours:
- Spreading of the fresh leaf (摊青, tānqīng).
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng).
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn).
- First drying (初烘, chūhōng).
- Pan-firing with shaping (炒干做形).
- Bringing out the down (提毫, tíháo).
- Cooling and moisture equalization (摊凉回潮).
- Final drying (足火烘干).
At the Anyan (安岩) tea factory, according to the provincial portal (2018), the sequence is similar — with cooling after fixation and without separate moisture equalization — and the degree of mechanization is high. The application for the 2012 Japanese competition writes that the whole process has been transferred to machines and that the appearance of the tea has not suffered from this. The district press sees the main distinction in the combination of rolling with drying and pan-firing: rolling gives the curl and makes it easier for substances to pass into the infusion. Reliable sources give no temperatures or durations.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
According to the description of the indication, as retold in a reference source:
- Dry leaf appearance: Twisted into a curl, thick, green with luster, with noticeable down (外形蟠曲肥壮、绿润显毫).
- Dry leaf aroma: No separate description found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Clean and lasting (清香持久).
- Taste: Fresh, mellow, with a sweet aftertaste (滋味鲜醇回甘).
- Liquor color: Green and clear (汤色绿明).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Open out into “flowers”, tender green and bright (叶底成朵、嫩绿明亮).
The catalog of indications adds a golden sheen to the color and a “jade-white” infused leaf with tender green veins (叶底现玉白色，嫩绿通脉). The regulator, on the other hand, calls the dry leaf fine and upright (细嫩挺秀), which fits poorly with a thick curl. The 2012 Japanese application describes the taste as full, sweet and cool, the aroma as fresh, and notes that the tea withstands several infusions.
7. Chemical Composition
A reference retelling of the description of the indication gives the following lower limits:
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Water-soluble extractives | not less than 39% |
| Tea polyphenols | not less than 14% |
| Caffeine | not less than 4% |
| Free amino acids | not less than 3.5% |
The same source says that the ratio of polyphenols to amino acids is low (酚氨比较小). The regulator writes of an amino acid content of “up to 4.2%” (高达4.2%). The document with the norms could not be opened, so the figures are given according to the retelling.
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:
- 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 infusion, and top up with water.
- Two or three repeat infusions.
9. Storage
Class practice. In airtight packaging, in the refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors. Best drunk within a year.
10. Price and Counterfeits
According to the provincial portal, in 2018 the best Fènghuà qūháo on the Ningbo market cost up to 1,800 yuan per jin (500 g). According to the head of one of the gardens, quoted by the district website, in 2023 the market price held at about 4,000 yuan per kilogram.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the certification mark “奉化曲毫” and the indication mark; the right to the mark is given by agreements with the Fenghua Tea Culture Promotion Society.
- Check that the producer is from Fenghua District.
- This is a tea of a single spring harvest: a summer or autumn “qūháo” contradicts the description.
- The leaf is curved and has white down, rather than being flat and straight like that of Longjing.
11. Interesting Facts
- A seller at the Ningbo tea market, according to the provincial portal, said that the best qūháo is “not inferior to Longjing” (与龙井相媲美).
- According to the regulator’s report, about 30 cooperatives, each with more than 100 mu of gardens, agreed to use the mark.
- The tea received the 2017 ecological origin status before the certification mark and the agricultural indication.
12. Comparison with Other Teas
- Xihu Longjing (西湖龙井): Flat, straight leaf — the main contrast in shape.
- Yuyao Pubu Xianming (余姚瀑布仙茗): A green tea of the same city of Ningbo, from the Simingshan mountains.
- Wanghai Cha (望海茶): A mountain green tea of Ninghai County, also in the Ningbo prefecture.
- Yangyan Gou Qing (羊岩勾青): A twisted green tea of Linhai in the east of Zhejiang.
In Conclusion:
Fènghuà qūháo is a spring green tea of Fenghua with a thick, curled leaf, white down, a clean, lasting aroma and a green liquor. The name is traced back to a Song line, the tea itself was created in 1996, and it has received protection by several different routes. The variety and the exact processing regimes are not fixed in open sources.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page