---
title: "Hóngyá lǜchá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/hongya-lucha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Hóngyá lǜchá (洪雅绿茶)

*Hóngyá lǜchá* (洪雅绿茶) is a green tea of Hongya County (洪雅县), Meishan prefecture-level city, Sichuan Province, on the southwestern edge of the Sichuan Basin. According to the specification of the mark, this is a land of clouds, little sunshine and high humidity, and the tea itself is flat and straight, with a bright yellow-green liquor and a fresh, mellow taste. The name has been protected by an agricultural product geographical indication since 2011 and by recognition from the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) in 2025.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*). Here the characters in the name really do set the class: 绿茶 is a technological category, and the specification of the mark describes green tea technology — fixation, rolling and drying.
* **Category:** County green tea; geographical indication product.
* **Origin:** China, Sichuan Province (四川, *Sìchuān*), Meishan prefecture-level city (眉山, *Méishān*), Hongya County (洪雅, *Hóngyá*).
* **Protection zone — two lists:**
    * The CNIPA annex (2025) lists 12 towns: Zhige, Zhongshan, Jiangjun, Liujiang, Caoyutan, Hongchuan, Gaomiao, Yuping, Dongyue, Zhongbao, Wawushan and Qiliping.
    * The specification of the agricultural mark (2011) named 15 towns and townships; it also included Sanbao, Hanwang, Huaxi and Taoyuan, but not Qiliping. The sources do not explain why the lists diverged. The protection area under the 2011 specification is 14,378 ha, the annual output 13,000 t.
    * Both lists include Wawushan Town (瓦屋山, *Wǎwūshān*) by the table mountain of the same name — the zone takes in the high-mountain part of the county too, not only the valleys.
* **Geographic coordinates:** 102°49′–103°32′ E, 29°24′–30°00′ N — the same in both documents.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

Below are excerpts from the historical reference given by a geographical indication reference portal. I have not checked these old texts myself.

* **History:**
    * **Antiquity.** According to the reference, under the Han the lands of present-day Hongya belonged to Nan'an County of Qianwei Commandery, and the 4th-century *Chronicles of Huayang* (华阳国志) write that Nan'an and Wuyang “produced famous tea”. Hongya County itself was created in 593.
    * **Tang.** The reference links the mention of Meizhou prefecture in Lu Yu's *The Classic of Tea* (茶经) to Hongya and cites a record of 813 about the Hongya tea purchasing station in present-day Huaxi Town.
    * **Five Dynasties.** Mao Wenxi's *Tea Register* (茶谱), as quoted by the reference, says: “眉州洪雅、昌阖、丹棱，其茶如蒙顶制法” — the tea of Hongya and the neighboring counties was made “by the Mengding method”.
    * **Song.** According to the reference, in Wu Shu's *Ode to Tea* (茶赋) Hongya is named among the tea places.
    * **Qing.** The reference, citing the Jiaqing-era *General Gazetteer of Sichuan*, writes that the Hongya tea trade yielded 6456 licenses a year — first place in the province.
    * **2011.** Agricultural product geographical indication, number AGI00821. The specification was published by announcement No. 1699 of the Ministry of Agriculture of 20 December 2011 — as reprinted on the portal.
    * **2025.** Recognition as a geographical indication product under CNIPA announcement No. 646.
* **Name:** “*Hóngyá*” — the name of the county; “*lǜchá*” — green tea.
* **Cultural significance:** According to the reference, in the 2000s the county became a base of green tea without harmful residues and shipped the export green teas “珠茶” and “[眉茶](https://thetea.app/article/meicha)” to the European Union, Africa and Southeast Asia.

**3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:**

* **Varieties:** The specification of the mark names high-yielding and resistant varieties well suited for processing: Mingshan 131 (名山131), Mingshan 311 (名山311) and Fuding Dabai (福鼎大白).
* **Harvest timing:** Before the Qingming festival.
* **Harvest standard by the specification's grades:**
    * first grade — one bud with one just-unfolding leaf, the bud longer than the leaf;
    * second — one bud with one or two just-unfolding leaves, bud and leaf of roughly equal length;
    * third — the same, but the leaf longer than the bud.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The southwestern edge of the Sichuan Basin. According to the specification, the county has danxia landforms (丹霞, *dānxiá*), rare for the country — red-colored cliffs; the terrain descends from southwest to northeast, from high mountains to hills, terraces and the valleys of the Qingyijiang and Huaxi rivers.
* **Mountains and forests:** According to the specification, about 500 peaks above 1000 m; forests cover 67% of the territory.
* **Soils:** Acidic and slightly acidic, pH 5–6.5, with organic matter above 3%.
* **Climate (according to the specification):**
    * average annual temperature 16.8 °C, January 6.6 °C, July 25.7 °C;
    * precipitation 1435 mm a year, frost-free period 307 days;
    * sunshine only 1080 hours a year — the specification places Hongya among the areas of the country with low solar radiation;
    * relative humidity 84% (in the reprint the line is mistakenly called “air temperature”, but the figure is given in percent).
* **“Winter buds”.** The saying “九月微微冷，十月小阳春” — in the ninth lunar month it is cool, in the tenth a “little spring” — explains, according to the specification, the main feature of the county: tea buds start growing early here.

**5. Production Technology:**

The specification of the mark describes the technology in detail — this is a description of this particular tea, not a general scheme:

1.  **Spreading (摊晾, *tānliàng*):** Right after picking, the leaf is spread out to cool and wilt slightly; in spring, in cool weather, for 8–12 hours.
2.  **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** In a machine at 200–220 °C, usually 3–5 minutes.
3.  **Rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*):** Tender leaf is rolled cold and lightly to preserve the yellow-green liquor and the tender spent leaf; coarser leaf is rolled hot so that the twist comes out tight.
4.  **Straightening (理条, *lǐtiáo*):** For flat and needle-shaped teas, instead of ordinary rolling — in a machine at 60–90 °C, to 80–90% dryness, then cooling and moisture equalization for 5–8 hours.
5.  **Drying (干燥, *gānzào*):** With hot air, in a pan or by a combination. Flat tea is dried in a pan, needle-shaped tea with hot air.

The technology in the specification covers both the flat and the needle-shaped form, while the description of the appearance names only a flat straight leaf; the document does not explain how one agrees with the other.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

Description according to the specification of the mark (2011):

* **Dry leaf appearance:** Elegant buds, flat and straight leaf, even; the color is green, with a sheen (芽头秀雅、扁平直、匀整，色泽绿光润).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No separate description in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** Clean and lasting (清香持久).
* **Taste:** Fresh, mellow and brisk (鲜醇爽口).
* **Liquor color:** Yellow-green and bright (黄绿明亮).
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Tender green, even and bright (嫩绿匀亮).

The portal's reference describes the liquor differently — as “clear emerald” (清碧明亮); which description is closer to the present-day product cannot be determined from the documents.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

The specification of the mark sets lower thresholds for the finished tea:

| Indicator | Requirement |
| :--- | :--- |
| Water-soluble extractives | not less than 40% |
| Tea polyphenols | not less than 16% |
| Amino acids | “rich content”, without a figure |

There are no other physicochemical data in the sources consulted.

**8. Health Properties:**

There are no verified data on the effects of this particular tea.

**9. 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:**
    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. Two or three further infusions.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors; drink within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Price data are not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the geographical indication mark: the name “洪雅绿茶” together with the common agricultural indication mark.
    * Check that the producer is from Hongya County.
    * The leaf is flat, straight, green with a sheen; the liquor is yellow-green and bright.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* According to the reference, in 2010 the county brand “雅茶” was named the best brand of ecological gardens at the tea expo of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
* The specification requires heating to be gradually switched to electricity, gas and infrared units — toward smokeless production.
* The list of towns in the zone has changed over 14 years: in 2011 there were 15, in 2025 — 12.

**13. Comparison with Other Sichuan Green Teas:**

* **Mengding Shihua ([蒙顶石花](https://thetea.app/article/mengding-shihua)):** A flat tea from Mount Mengding in neighboring Ya'an; the old book compared the tea of Hongya with the “Mengding method”.
* **Mengding Ganlu ([蒙顶甘露](https://thetea.app/article/mengding-gan-lu)):** A curled tea from the same mountain, one of the oldest tea areas of Sichuan.
* **Emei Zhuyeqing ([峨眉竹叶青](https://thetea.app/article/emei-zhuyeqing)):** A flat tea from Mount Emei in neighboring Leshan; for *Hóngyá lǜchá* the specification also allows a needle-shaped form.
* **Guosheng Cha ([国胜茶](https://thetea.app/article/guosheng-cha)):** A mountain green tea of southern Sichuan, with an emphasis on orchid aroma.

**In Conclusion:**

*Hóngyá lǜchá* is a green tea from a humid, overcast county on the edge of the Sichuan Basin, where buds start growing early. The specification of the mark describes it in detail: picking before Qingming, fixation at 200–220 °C, a flat or needle-shaped leaf, a yellow-green liquor and a fresh, mellow taste. The long history of the tea is known from the reference's retelling, not from checked texts.