---
title: "Huìdōng xiānrén chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/huidong-xianren-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Huìdōng xiānrén chá (惠东仙人茶)

*Huìdōng xiānrén chá* (惠东仙人茶) is a tea from the local tea population *xiānrén chá* (仙人茶, “tea of the immortal”) of Huidong County (惠东县) in Huizhou prefecture-level city, Guangdong province. The name belongs not to a tea class but to a plant: the newspaper *Huizhou Ribao* calls *xiānrén chá* a variety found only in Huidong, and in the wild it occurs in the mountains of several towns of the county. The name is protected by a geographical indication certification mark — apparently since January 2023. The documents found do not say what tea — green, red or other — is produced under this mark, so the article is placed among the categories rather than in a class folder.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Not established. “仙人茶” is the name of a bush, not of a class. According to the description in *Huizhou Ribao* (2024), the tea of the Jiulongfeng tourist area, where *xiānrén chá* grows, is mainly green and red; I have not seen which classes the mark allows.
* **Category:** Tea from a local population; geographical indication certification mark No. 61850800.
* **Origin:** China, Guangdong province (广东, *Guǎngdōng*), Huizhou prefecture-level city (惠州, *Huìzhōu*), Huidong County (惠东, *Huìdōng*).
* **Mark zone:** The register indicates Huidong County — this is an administrative affiliation, not a verified legal boundary of the zone. In a material of the county market supervision administration the mark is called “仙人茶 of Duozhu town” (多祝镇).
* **Geographic coordinates:** Huidong County — about 23.0° N and 114.7° E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **Legend.** A reference page on local products retells, after the book “惠东乡镇大事典”, two legends: according to one, *xiānrén chá* was planted by Ge Hong (葛洪) with his own hands; according to the other, immortals played chess on the summit of Qipanzhang (棋盘嶂), drank tea and threw the leaves onto the slope, where they took root. These are legends, not history; I do not carry over the “thousand-year age” that popular texts attribute to the tea.
    * **The county's tea in general.** According to *Huizhou Ribao* (2025), a Tang tea mill “昆山片玉” was found in Lianghua town (梁化镇), and the newspaper considers it evidence of the county's tea tradition since Tang times. The find does not relate directly to *xiānrén chá*.
    * **The mark.** The county market supervision administration, in a material for the provincial “先锋杯” competition, writes that the mark for the potato “惠东马铃薯” was obtained in November 2022, and the mark “惠东仙人茶” — “in January of this year”. The material itself is undated; it belongs to a collection from the 11th competition, and apparently January 2023 is meant. I did not find the exact registration date. According to the same material, the application was prepared by an association with the help of the administration; its name is not given. In the list of results the mark is called “仙人茶 of Duozhu town”.
    * **2024 — mark users.** The Ministry of Commerce intellectual property portal reported that in September 2024 five companies were presented with plaques for the right to use the mark “惠东仙人茶”.
    * **2024 — neighboring names.** In an official reply by the county authorities (2024) the mark “惠东仙人茶” is described as registered; applications for “[惠东南山茶](https://thetea.app/article/huidong-nanshan-cha)” and “[惠州岩茶](https://thetea.app/article/huizhou-yancha)” had been filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and accepted for examination, while the materials for “[白盆珠横坑茶](https://thetea.app/article/baipenzhu-hengkeng-cha)” were still being prepared.
* **Name:** “Huidong” (惠东) is the name of the county; “xianren” (仙人) means “immortal, celestial being” of Taoist legends; “cha” (茶) means tea. The reference page also gives the folk name of the plant — “shanzi cha” (山子茶).
* **Cultural significance:** According to the same reply by the county authorities (2024), of the county's tea names only this mark is registered. The first mark of this kind in the whole of Huizhou prefecture-level city was “惠东马铃薯” — a potato from the same county, registered in November 2022.

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

* **Variety / Population:** *Xiānrén chá* is a local population; according to *Huizhou Ribao* — “a variety unique to Huidong” (惠东县特有品种). The reference page describes it as a wild tea in the form of a small tree (亚[乔木](https://thetea.app/article/qiaomuguanmu)的[野生茶](https://thetea.app/article/ye-sheng-cha)). A botanical description of the leaf and the bush is not found in the sources consulted.
* **Wild locations:** According to the entry, wild *xiānrén chá* occurs in the mountains of Duozhu, Baipenzhu (白盆珠), Gaotan (高潭) and Baokou (宝口) towns.
* **Garden plantings:** In the Jiulongfeng (九龙峰) tourist area, *xiānrén chá* grows in Changkeng (长坑) and Tianxin (田心) villages on the Lianhuashan range and on the slopes of Shangwei (上围) village; large planting bases also operate there. Alongside it, the gardens of the area grow the varieties [金萱](https://thetea.app/article/jin-xuan) (*Jīnxuān*), “高山水晶” and Guangdong large-leaf tea.
* **Harvest dates:** The reference page writes that the tea goes on sale in the days around the Qingming festival (清明) — “eight or nine days before and after”. A harvest standard is not found in the sources consulted.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** According to *Huizhou Ribao* (2025), the county's tea gardens lie in the Lianhuashan mountains (莲花山) and in the basin of the Xizhi River (西枝江).
* **Topography and altitude:** According to *Huizhou Ribao* (2025), mountains and hills occupy more than 80 % of the county's area, the slopes are low, the light is diffused, the average altitude is 300 m. A separate altitude for the *xiānrén chá* gardens is not found in the sources consulted.
* **Soils:** According to the same publication — deep, loose, rich in organic matter, with good water permeability and aeration, pH about 6.2. This is a description of the county's tea lands as a whole.
* **Climate of Jiulongfeng:** According to *Huizhou Ribao* (2024), the mountains are in clouds and mist for most of the year, the humidity is high, the water clean and sweetish, the soil layer deep and rich in organic matter.
* **Best sites:** The reference page, citing the book “我们的惠东”, names as the “purest” the *xiānrén chá* from Jiemeiding mountain (姐妹顶) near the junction of Mashan and Gaotan, in the Wuqinzhang range (乌禽嶂). I have not seen the primary source.

**5. Production Technology:**

A technology tied to the mark is not found in the sources consulted. *Huizhou Ribao* (2024) writes about the tea of the Jiulongfeng area in general: it is mainly green and red, and most of it is pan-fired by hand over a wood fire. The newspaper does not say what share of this tea is made from *xiānrén chá*.

Since the class is not established, I do not give the general scheme of a class: it differs for green and red tea.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

No class is described under the mark, so there are no data on the tea's character.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** Not found in the sources consulted.
* **Dry leaf aroma:** Not found in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** Not found in the sources consulted.
* **Taste:** Not found in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor color:** Not found in the sources consulted.
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Not found in the sources consulted.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

Physicochemical data on *xiānrén chá* are not found in the sources consulted.

**8. Health Properties:**

There are no verified data on the effects of this particular tea. The reference page attributes folk medicinal properties to *xiānrén chá*; it gives no evidence, and I do not repeat them.

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice — the parameters depend on which tea made from *xiānrén chá* is in hand.

* **Green:** 80–85 °C, 3 g per 150 ml, first infusion 40–60 seconds, glass tumbler or gaiwan, two or three further infusions.
* **Red:** 90–95 °C, 3 g per 150 ml, first infusion about a minute, gaiwan or porcelain teapot, several infusions with increasing time.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. Green tea — in airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors, to be drunk within a year. Red — in a dry, dark place at room temperature, in tight packaging, away from odors.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Price data are not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the geographical indication certification mark “惠东仙人茶” (No. 61850800).
    * Check that the producer is from Huidong County and is authorized to use the mark: in September 2024 five companies received plaques for the right to the mark.
    * Do not confuse it with Xianrenzhang Cha ([仙人掌茶](https://thetea.app/article/xianrenzhang-cha)) — a different tea with a similar name.
    * The word “wild” on the packaging proves nothing by itself: *xiānrén chá* also grows in gardens.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The name protects not a processing method but a plant: 仙人茶 is the name of a local tea bush.
* The county obtained the tea mark and the potato mark almost at the same time: the potato in November 2022, the tea in January of the following year, apparently 2023.
* According to the reply by the county authorities (2024), two more tea names — “惠东南山茶” and “惠州岩茶” — were awaiting a decision, and for “白盆珠横坑茶” an application was only being prepared.
* According to *Huizhou Ribao* (2025), the county's red-colored cliffs (丹霞) suit oolong varieties — “惠州岩茶” grew on them.

**13. Comparison with Other Teas:**

* **Huidong Lü Cha ([惠东绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/huidong-lucha)):** The corpus article on the green teas of the county as a whole — an umbrella over local raw material that also includes *xiānrén chá*; this article is about a specific protected name.
* **Huidong Nanshan Cha (惠东南山茶):** A name from the same county, but as of 2024 an application, not a mark; class not established.
* **Xianrenzhang Cha (仙人掌茶):** A Hubei green tea, “palm of the immortal” — all it shares with Huidong *xiānrén chá* is the word “immortal”.

**In Conclusion:**

*Huìdōng xiānrén chá* is the name of a local tea population of Huidong County, protected by a mark apparently since 2023. The documents about it speak of the plant and of the brand — wild bushes in the mountains of Duozhu, Baipenzhu, Gaotan and Baokou, gardens on the Lianhuashan range, five companies with the right to the mark — but not of the tea in the cup: they contain nothing on class, technology or appearance. Until these are published, it is more honest to regard *xiānrén chá* as raw material from which the county makes both green and red tea.