Jīngxiàn lánxiāng chá (泾县兰香茶) is a green tea of Jing County (泾县), Xuancheng prefecture-level city, in the south of Anhui Province. 兰香 means “orchid aroma”, and it is this aroma, together with a leaf shape resembling the blades of embroidery scissors (绣剪形), that makes up the tea’s calling card. The county traces the name back to the old 白云兰香, mentioned in the county chronicle of the Jiaqing era, and the present technology to the early 1990s. The tea is protected in three ways: by a certification mark, by an agricultural product geographical indication and by recognition as a geographical indication product. The zone is outlined with rare precision — not by townships but by individual villages.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá). The county government explicitly calls Jīngxiàn lánxiāng “名优绿茶” — a famous green tea. The word 兰香 in the name describes the aroma, not the technology, so the class is established from this description and not from the name.
- Category: Bud green tea of southern Anhui; triple protection of the geographical name.
- Origin: China, Anhui Province (安徽, Ānhuī), Xuancheng prefecture-level city (宣城, Xuānchéng), Jing County (泾县, Jīngxiàn).
- Protection zone: Nine towns and townships, 46 administrative villages. Within one township some villages are part of the zone and some are not, so the zone does not coincide with the administrative boundaries of the townships.
- Geographic coordinates: 30°23′59″–30°51′05″ N, 117°58′56″–118°40′57″ E.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- The Jiaqing chronicle. According to the county government, the Jiaqing-era chronicle “泾县志” mentions among the precious local teas 白云兰香 — the present Jīngxiàn lánxiāng — and 涌溪火青.
- Early 1990s. The technology of Jīngxiàn lánxiāng was updated with the participation of well-known tea scientists of the older generation; the county names Chen Chuan (陈椽) among them.
- 2013. A provincial local standard of Anhui for Jīngxiàn lánxiāng chá was adopted — DB34/T 1842-2013.
- 2014. The Trademark Office approved the geographical indication certification mark “泾县兰香茶”. Under it the county introduced the “six unifications” — a unified brand, standard, packaging, management, promotion and supervision — and brought more than ninety former tea brands under a single name.
- 2018. The Ministry of Agriculture announced the registration of an agricultural product geographical indication on an application by the Jing County tea association; the number is AGI02471.
- 2025. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) recognized it as a geographical indication product by announcement No. 632.
- Name: “Jīngxiàn” (泾县) means “Jing County”. “Lánxiāng” (兰香) means “orchid aroma”. “Chá” (茶) means “tea”.
- Awards: The county lists more than twenty awards, among them a gold at the China Agricultural Expo, the top prize of the “Zhongcha Cup” competition and a gold at the China International Agricultural Products Fair; the years of the individual awards are not found in the sources consulted.
- Cultural significance: For Jing County, the home of 涌溪火青 and 泾县特尖, Lánxiāng is the common name under which more than ninety former brands were brought together in 2014. The mark, according to 2014 data, was used by more than a hundred firms and cooperatives of the county.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety / Cultivar: Reference summaries of the geographical indication description name the local population of the tea bush, lines selected from it such as “Lánxiāng No. 1” (兰香一号), and other varieties suitable for this tea.
- Harvest standard: One bud with one just-opened leaf (一芽一叶初展).
- Harvest time: According to the same summaries — usually from the end of March to the Guyu (谷雨) season.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The mountains of the southeast, the central south and the northwest of Jing County.
- Climate: Northern subtropical monsoon, humid: mild temperatures, abundant rain, plenty of sunshine, four clearly defined seasons.
- Soils: According to reference summaries of the geographical indication description — mountain yellow-brown soils on sandstones and shales, loose and fertile, organic matter above 5%, pH 5–6.
- Altitude: The altitude of the gardens is not given in the sources consulted; the same summaries give only the highest point of the mountains — 1175 m.
- Zone composition by town and township:
- Caicun (蔡村镇): Aimin, Songcun, Xiaokang, Yueliangwan.
- Tingxi (汀溪乡): Danankeng, Hongxing, Hongling, Gaoshan, Caoxi, Suhong, Taoling, Guochong, Shangcao.
- Langqiao (榔桥镇): Xiyang, Huangtian, Yongxi, Qiugui, Wuxi, Madu.
- Maolin (茂林镇): Lianchang, Shanshui, Tongshan, Gaohu, Nanrong, Tangli, Xilifeng, Xikou, Pancun, Fengcun.
- Taohuatan (桃花潭镇): Longtan, Chaji, Lianhong, Xidi.
- Jingchuan (泾川镇): Guba, Qinfeng, Panshi.
- Qinxi (琴溪镇): Qinxi, Leqin.
- Huangcun (黄村镇): Pingyuan, Jiufeng.
- Changqiao (昌桥乡): Xinqiao, Wangdian, Baishan, Yuandian, Zhongqiao, Tianfang.
- County scale: According to the county, it has more than 92,000 mu of tea gardens and about 2,600 tonnes of dry tea a year. The figures refer to all the tea of the county, not only to Lánxiāng.
5. Production Technology
Reference summaries of the geographical indication description give the following sequence; both hand and machine processing are allowed:
- Withering the raw material (摊放, tānfàng).
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): Heat stops oxidation.
- Shaping (做形, zuòxíng): The leaf is given a straight, flattened-out shape.
- First drying (初烘, chūhōng).
- Cooling (摊凉, tānliáng).
- Final drying (复烘, fùhōng).
- Packing.
Temperatures and operation times are not found in the sources consulted. The county reports that the technology was updated in the early 1990s; one of the accounts of the history of the “兰香” series specifies that the local technology of “pointed” tea (尖茶) was taken as the basis, the tenderness of the raw material was raised and the shaping improved. Reference books class 汀溪兰香, related by name, among the baked “pointed” green teas (烘青尖茶).
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
The description is taken from the requirements of the agricultural product geographical indication.
- Dry leaf appearance: The shape of “embroidery scissor blades” (绣剪形), straight and flattened out (平直舒展); the color tender green, even and moist, with visible down (嫩绿、匀润显毫).
- Dry leaf aroma: No descriptions are found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Tender, rich and lasting (嫩香馥郁、持久); the county specifies that after brewing the orchid aroma persists (兰花香持久).
- Taste: Fresh, brisk, full, with a sweet return (鲜爽醇厚、回甘).
- Liquor color: Tender green, clear and bright (嫩绿、清澈鲜亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender green, clean in color, fleshy and even (嫩绿鲜明、肥壮匀整).
The description names two typical features: the scissor shape and the orchid aroma.
7. Chemical Composition
Requirements for the product according to the geographical indication description:
- Moisture: not more than 7.0%.
- Total ash: not more than 6.5%.
- Water-soluble substances: not less than 35%.
- Broken tea and dust: not more than 6.0%.
Data on the content of catechins, amino acids and caffeine are 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:
- Warm the teaware.
- Add the tea and pour the water down the side.
- First infusion — 40–60 seconds.
- Drink, leaving a third of the liquor.
- Top up with water.
- Two or three repeat infusions.
9. Storage
Class practice. In airtight opaque packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from moisture, light and foreign odors. A seasonal tea: it is best drunk within a year.
10. Price and Counterfeits
Price data are not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication mark “泾县兰香茶”.
- Check that the producer is from Jing County.
- The leaf is straight, flat, with down; the liquor is tender green, the aroma orchid-like.
11. Interesting Facts
- The protection zone is drawn by villages: 46 villages in nine towns and townships.
- The name Lánxiāng brought together more than ninety former tea brands of the county.
- According to the county, it has 696 tea enterprises and farms, and more than 60,000 people are employed in the industry directly or indirectly.
12. Comparison with Teas of the County and Its Neighbors
- Jingxian Tejian (泾县特尖): Another baked green tea of the same county, with its own name. The two names must not be equated.
- Yongxi Huoqing (涌溪火青): A pearl green tea of Yongxi Village, which is part of the Lánxiāng zone. Huoqing’s leaf is rolled into tight pellets; Lánxiāng’s is straight and flat.
- Shucheng Xiaolanhua (舒城小兰花): An Anhui green tea also known for its orchid aroma, but from another prefecture.
In Conclusion:
Jīngxiàn lánxiāng chá is Jing County’s common name for its green tea: a straight leaf in the shape of scissors, a tender green liquor and a lasting orchid aroma. Its zone is outlined by name, down to the village, and its protection has been confirmed three times by different agencies. The appearance, the product norms and the order of processing are known from the geographical indication description; temperatures and operation times are not found in open sources.
Sources
Standards
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page