Huánggǎngshān yùlǜ

Huánggǎngshān yùlǜ (黄岗山玉绿) is a mountain green tea of Yanshan County (铅山县), Shangrao prefecture-level city, in the northeast of Jiangxi Province. The name means “jade green of Mount Huanggang”: Mount Huanggang (黄岗山) on the border with Fujian is the highest point of East China, and “yùlǜ” (玉绿) is an old name of a Yanshan tea that the local gazetteer places among the famous teas of the county in the Ming era. Since 2013 the tea has been protected as an agricultural product geographical indication, and since 2025 as a geographical indication product. The protection document divides the tea into seven grades by harvest time — from a single bud to late large leaf.

1. Classification and Origin

Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá), unfermented. The technology under the protection document is that of green tea: fixation, rolling, final drying.
Category: Mountain green tea of northeastern Jiangxi; agricultural product geographical indication (2013) and geographical indication product (2025).
Origin: China, Jiangxi Province (江西, Jiāngxī), Shangrao prefecture-level city (上饶, Shàngráo), Yanshan County (铅山, Yánshān).
Protection zone: Under the agricultural registration — six units of the county: Wuyishan Town (武夷山镇), Yingjiang Township (英将乡), Ehu Village of Ehu Town (鹅湖镇鹅湖村), and the townships of Taiyuan (太源乡), Huangbi (篁碧乡) and Tianzhushan (天柱山乡). The protected area is 1,333 ha, the output 300 t a year (2013). The 2025 requirements keep the same six units and the same coordinates.
Geographic coordinates: According to the protection document — 117°44′33″–117°47′31″ E and 27°48′19″–28°17′16″ N.

2. History and Cultural Significance

History:
- Song. According to the protection document, Yanshan tea already became tribute to the court under the Song; the Yanshan County Gazetteer (《铅山县志》), as retold there, names the Song teas 周山茶, 白水团茶 and 小龙凤团茶.
- Ming. In the Xuande — Zhengde years (1426–1521), the famous teas 小种河红, 玉绿, 特贡, 贡毫, 贡玉 and 花香 appeared in the county; the source named is the Ming “铅书”. According to the same retelling, Hehong and Yùlǜ sold best.
- Qing. The Shangrao Agricultural Gazetteer (《上饶市农业志》) cites the formula “纸外唯茶” — “besides paper, only tea”. In the Guangxu years (1875–1908) the county produced 40,000–50,000 chests of Hehong and 20,000–30,000 chests of Yùlǜ a year; the gazetteer gives the weight of a chest — 25 kg — with the Hehong figure.
- 1953. A committee for the reform of tea production was set up in Shangrao, and it began switching the production of red Hehong to green tea.
- 2013. On 15 April, the Ministry of Agriculture, by announcement No. 1925, placed “黄岗山玉绿” under protection as an agricultural product geographical indication (certificate AGI01104).
- 2025. By announcement No. 640 of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) of 16 July 2025, the tea was recognized as a geographical indication product in a general list of 1,409 products; the applicant was the county’s tea industry association (铅山县茶行业协会).
- Award. According to a reference website, the tea of one local company received the title of “tea king” (茶王) in the green tea group at the “Hehong Cup” (河红杯) tasting in Yanshan; the source does not name the year.
Name: “Huánggǎngshān” (黄岗山) — Mount Huanggang, the “first peak of East China” (华东第一峰) of local texts; “yùlǜ” (玉绿) — “jade green”.
Cultural significance: The protection document places the Ming “yùlǜ” next to the modern product but does not prove continuity: it is the same name, not confirmed to be the same tea. Local materials present Yùlǜ and red Hehong (河红茶) as the two teas of the county with a nationwide geographical indication.

3. Botanical Description and Raw Material

Variety / Cultivar: According to the protection document — mainly a population variety (群体种, qúntǐzhǒng) with stable yields and long-lasting tenderness of the shoots (持嫩性强). The document does not name a specific variety.
Harvest: Under the 2025 requirements — from early April to the end of May. The seven grades of the tea differ in harvest time and maturity of the raw material:
- Yunhao (云毫, yúnháo): a single bud around the Qingming festival.
- Yunya and Yunzhen (云芽, 云针, yúnyá, yúnzhēn): a bud with one leaf around Guyu.
- Yunwu (云雾, yúnwù): a bud with two leaves, early May.
- Yunyu and Yuncui (云玉, 云翠, yúnyù, yúncuì): a bud with three or four leaves, mid-May.
- Yunpian (云片, yúnpiàn): “large tea” (大茶) of mid- and late May.
Harvest standard: By hand, by the “lifting pinch” method (提采法, tícǎifǎ), on a clear morning; the leaf is taken in bamboo containers straight to processing.

4. Terroir and Cultivation Features

Region: In the south Yanshan borders Fujian across the Wuyi range; in the north it reaches the Xinjiang River (信江).
Growing altitude: Both protection documents require plots above 800 m. The elevation range in the area, according to the 2013 regulation, is from 300 to 2,157.7 m; the document gives the last figure for the highest point, Mount Huanggang.
Climate: Humid subtropical with pronounced mountain features. The slopes are often in fog. Sunshine — only 1,694.5 hours a year, precipitation — 2,173.2 mm, air humidity — 83%.
Soils: Red, yellow-red and yellow-brown; under the forest litter lies a humus horizon with about 16% organic matter, pH 4.8–5.5. For gardens the document requires pH 4.8–5.5 and organic matter above 5%.
Garden care: Green manure between the rows of young gardens, well-rotted organic matter in winter; pest control — light traps (one per 50 mu), pruning, entomophagous insects and biological preparations.
Environmental standards: The environment and production follow the sector standards for “green food” (绿色食品) NY/T 391-2000 and NY/T 288-2002.

5. Production Technology

The 2013 agricultural GI regulation sets a short machine scheme with parameters; the 2025 requirements repeat the same sequence without figures:

Spreading (摊青, tānqīng): The fresh leaf is spread on bamboo mats for 4–8 hours.
Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): In an automatic drum at 180–220 °C.
Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn): In a roller, 20 minutes.
Final drying by pan-firing (炒干, chǎogān): In a drum, 4–5 hours.
Sorting and packing: The tea is sorted into the seven grades and packed; the packaging must bear the mark “黄岗山玉绿”.

6. Organoleptic Characteristics

The description below is given by the protection document.

Dry leaf appearance: Thin, tightly rolled, slightly curled, lush green, with visible down (细紧微卷，绿润显毫).
Dry leaf aroma: No separate description; the document calls the aroma clean and lasting without specifying whether of the dry leaf or of the liquor.
Liquor aroma: Clean and lasting (清香持久).
Taste: Fresh, mellow, with a sweetish freshness (鲜醇甘爽).
Liquor color: Tender green and bright (嫩绿明亮).
Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender green, even, with clearly visible buds (嫩绿、显芽匀整).

7. Chemical Composition

The 2013 regulation and the 2025 requirements give the same indicators:

Indicator	Value
Moisture	2.5–6.6%
Water-soluble extractives	43–47%
Total ash	5–6%
Water-soluble ash	3–4%
Tea polyphenols	17.5–20.8%
Catechins (total)	15.2–17.1%
Caffeine	3.4–4.3%
Crude fiber	8.2–10.2%

These are characteristic ranges, not limit norms; the source does not name the method. A standard number for the tea itself was not found in the sources consulted.

8. 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. Add 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 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. The protection document requires the same of warehouses: dryness, darkness, no foreign odors, storage by batches.

10. Price and Counterfeits

Price data were not found in the sources consulted.

How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication mark.
- Check that the producer is from the six listed units of Yanshan County — both protection documents name this zone.
- Do not confuse it with Hehong — a red tea of the same county with its own geographical indication.

11. Interesting Facts

The old formula “纸外唯茶” makes tea the second trade of Yanshan after paper.
The names of all seven grades begin with the character 云 — “cloud”.

12. Comparison with Other Teas

He Hong Cha (河红茶): A red tea of the same county; in the Ming list it stands next to Yùlǜ.
Shangrao Bai Mei (上饶白眉): A green tea of the same Shangrao prefecture-level city.
Wuyuan Lücha (婺源绿茶): A green tea of northeastern Jiangxi, also from Shangrao prefecture.
Lushan Yun Wu (庐山云雾): One of the best-known green teas of Jiangxi; it is related to Yùlǜ only by the word “yúnwù” in the name of one of the grades.

In Conclusion:

Huánggǎngshān yùlǜ is a mountain green tea of Yanshan County with a detailed regulation: gardens above 800 m, a population variety, seven grades by harvest time, machine fixation at 180–220 °C and long final drying in a drum. In appearance — a thin, tight leaf with down, a tender green liquor, a fresh mellow taste. The old name links it to the Ming list of the county’s teas, but continuity has not been proven.