--- title: "Jiāolǐng lǜchá" url: https://thetea.app/article/jiaoling-lucha lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app) --- # Jiāolǐng lǜchá (蕉岭绿茶) *Jiāolǐng lǜchá* (蕉岭绿茶) is a green tea of Jiaoling County (蕉岭县) of Meizhou prefecture-level city in the northeast of Guangdong Province. Its main oddity is recorded in the geographical indication document itself: green tea here is made from varieties customary for oolong — **[水仙](https://thetea.app/article/shui-xian)** and **小叶乌龙**. The 2016 document describes in detail both the place — an altitude of no less than 530 m, soil requirements down to the thickness of the soil layer — and the tea itself: a tight twist with bud tips, a bright yellow-green liquor, a clean lasting aroma, a soft, sweet and smooth taste with a long aftertaste. **1. Classification and Origin:** * **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*), unfermented. The class is stated in the name; the geographical indication document sets a green tea technology: fixation, rolling, drying. * **Category:** Mountain green tea of Guangdong from oolong varieties; geographical indication product (2016). * **Origin:** China, Guangdong Province (广东, *Guǎngdōng*), Meizhou prefecture-level city (梅州, *Méizhōu*), Jiaoling County (蕉岭县, *Jiāolǐng Xiàn*). The protection zone is **the current administrative territory of Jiaoling County**. * **Geographic coordinates:** Jiaoling County — about 24.7° N and 116.2° E. **2. History and Cultural Significance:** * **History:** * **Before protection.** A documented history of Jiaoling green tea specifically is not found in the sources consulted. * **2016.** On 28 December the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), by announcement No. 128, placed *Jiāolǐng lǜchá* under protection as a geographical indication product. The annex to the announcement sets out the quality requirements: varieties, place, cultivation, harvest, technology and appearance. The same announcement protects the honey of the same county (桂岭蜂蜜). * **2020.** Meizhou issued the local standard **DB4414/T 6—2020 “地理标志产品 蕉岭绿茶”**: published on 25 September, in force from 25 October 2020. It applies to the tea protected by the 2016 announcement No. 128. * **2021.** On 22 December the tea was included in the third issue of the national catalogue of “名特优新” agricultural products (No. 333). The applicant was the county agriculture bureau; the application states an area of 1000 hectares. * **2025.** By announcement No. 620, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) granted producers the right to the special mark of a GI product. * **Name:** * “Jiaoling” (蕉岭) — “banana ridge”, the name of the county. * “*Lǜchá*” (绿茶) — “green tea”. * **Cultural significance:** No data in the sources consulted. Something else is known: the county promotes the tea through the geographical indication and the “名特优新” catalogue. **3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:** * **Variety / Cultivar:** According to the document — **水仙** (*shuǐxiān*) and **小叶乌龙** (*xiǎoyè wūlóng*), varieties of the oolong tradition. Green tea from oolong raw material is an unusual combination. * **Harvest:** According to the document — from early March to mid-April. * **Harvest standard:** From a bud with one just-opened leaf to a bud with two leaves (一芽一叶初展至一芽二叶). * **Cultivation:** Propagation by cuttings; no more than 45,000 bushes per hectare; no less than 12 tonnes of well-rotted organic fertilizer per hectare per year. * **Raw material requirements:** The varieties 水仙 and 小叶乌龙; origin from Jiaoling County. **4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:** * **Region:** The mountainous northeast of Guangdong. * **Growing altitude:** According to the document — **no less than 530 m**. * **Soils:** According to the document — red and gravelly soils (红壤土、砾土), pH **5.4–6.7**, organic matter **no less than 1.5%**, soil layer thickness **no less than 1.5 m**; for groundwater the document writes “地下水位≤1.0 m”. Popular descriptions call the county's soils rich in selenium; analyses are not found in the sources consulted. * **Climate:** The subtropical monsoon climate of northeastern Guangdong; precise data for the gardens are not found in the sources consulted. **5. Production Technology:** The technology is set by the 2016 document: spreading → fixation → rolling → drying → sorting and re-firing. * **Spreading (摊放, *tānfàng*):** A layer of fresh leaf no thicker than 0.15 m, for no longer than 8 hours, until the moisture of the leaf drops to 68–72%. * **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** At 220–260 °C, until the grassy smell is gone and an aroma appears, and the leaf becomes dark green, soft and springy. * **Rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*):** Until no less than 70% of the leaf has curled into strands. * **Drying (干燥, *gānzào*):** At 120–150 °C, firing to about nine-tenths dryness. * **Sorting and re-firing (拣剔和复火, *jiǎntī hé fùhuǒ*):** The document gives no parameters. The document does not describe separately how exactly the thick leaf of oolong varieties is handled. **6. Organoleptic Characteristics:** According to the 2016 document: * **Dry leaf appearance:** A tight twist with prominent bud tips (外形紧结，有锋苗), the color green, glossy (色泽绿润). * **Dry leaf aroma:** A rich clean aroma (干茶有浓郁的清香气味). * **Liquor aroma:** Clean and lasting (香气清香持久). * **Taste:** Fragrant, soft, sweet and smooth, with a long sweet aftertaste (滋味香醇甘滑，回甘持久). The document notes that the tea withstands many infusions (耐冲泡). * **Liquor color:** Yellow-green, bright (汤色黄绿明亮). * **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Green, bright (叶底绿亮). **7. Chemical Composition:** The 2016 document sets two indicators: * **Moisture:** no more than 5%. * **Water-soluble extractives:** no less than 38%. Data on amino acids, polyphenols and caffeine are not found in the sources consulted. **8. Health Properties:** There are no verified data on the effects of this particular tea. Mentions of selenium in the county's soils do not carry over to the properties of the tea without an analysis of the leaf itself. **9. Brewing:** Class practice for green tea. From the document, one thing applies here: the tea withstands many infusions. * **Water temperature:** 85–90 °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. 3. Pour in a little water and let the leaf open for 20–30 seconds. 4. Add the rest of the water; first infusion — 1–2 minutes. 5. Drink, leaving part of the liquor. 6. Two or three repeat infusions. **10. Storage:** Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors. A tea of the season; it needs no aging. **11. Price and Counterfeits:** Price data are not found in the sources consulted. * **How to avoid counterfeits:** * Look for the special GI product mark on the packaging. * Check that the producer is from Jiaoling County. * Compare the appearance with the document: a tight twist with bud tips, a bright yellow-green liquor. * Remember that the geographical indication protects green tea specifically; oolong from the same 水仙 or 小叶乌龙 varieties does not fall under this protection. **12. Interesting Facts:** * According to the document, green tea is made from the oolong varieties 水仙 and 小叶乌龙. * The document specifies even the thickness of the soil layer and the groundwater level. * During rolling, no less than 70% of the leaf must curl into strands — that is how it is written in the requirements. * “Jiaoling” means “banana ridge”. * In the 2021 “名特优新” catalogue, the tea is listed under number 333. **13. Comparison with Other Green Teas:** * **Meixian Lücha ([梅县绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/meixian-lucha)):** A neighboring green tea of the same Meizhou prefecture. * **Yingde Lücha ([英德绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/yingde-lucha)):** A green tea from the large-leaf Guangdong school. * **Lechang Baimaocha ([乐昌白毛茶](https://thetea.app/article/lechang-bai-maocha)):** A Guangdong tea from a local white-down population; a different type of raw material. **In Conclusion:** *Jiāolǐng lǜchá* is a green tea with unexpected raw material: the varieties 水仙 and 小叶乌龙, customary for oolong. The 2016 document describes it in detail: an altitude of no less than 530 m, slightly acidic red and gravelly soils, a harvest from March to mid-April, fixation at 220–260 °C, a tight twist with bud tips, a bright yellow-green liquor, a clean lasting aroma and a sweet smooth taste with a long aftertaste. Open sources give neither history nor prices — only what is written in the requirements.