Jǔnán lǜchá (莒南绿茶) is a green tea of Junan County (莒南县), Linyi prefecture-level city, in the south of Shandong Province, a northern land where tea took root thanks to the “南茶北引” movement — “southern tea to the north”. The name has been protected since 2010, and since 2025 also as a CNIPA geographical indication product. The requirements of the mark describe three forms of the tea — curled, flat and needle-shaped, and for all three the aroma description names a chestnut note (栗香).
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá) — the class is named in the designation, and the requirements of the mark describe a green leaf and a green liquor.
- Category: A county name with a geographical indication covering three forms of tea; a northern green tea of Shandong.
- Origin: China, Shandong Province (山东, Shāndōng), Linyi prefecture-level city (临沂, Línyí), Junan County (莒南, Jǔnán).
- Protection zone: According to the CNIPA requirements — 13 townships and towns of the county: Zhubian (洙边镇), Zhuanggang, Tuanlin, Zhulu, Fangqian, Wentuan, Pingshang, Laopo, Xianggou, Shizilu, Xiangdi, Tingshui and Shilianzi.
- Geographic coordinates: 118°33′–119°11′ E, 35°06′–35°24′ N — according to the same requirements.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- 1950s. According to a 2021 local publication, in 1956 the first five thousand seedlings in Shandong froze, in 1957 seedlings in Qingdao failed to take root, and in 1959 Ju County successfully sowed seeds. A 2026 publication considers 1956 the start of the program.
- 1965–1969. According to the same publication, in spring 1965 an employee of the forestry station of Xianggou commune brought four varieties from the tea institute in Hangzhou for trial planting; in winter 1966, under the plan of Linyi prefecture, the county began its own program, and in 1969, 81.3 mu of trial gardens took root in full.
- 1970s. The Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences assessed the local tea with the formula “叶片厚、耐冲泡、香气高、滋味浓” — “thick leaf, stands many infusions, high aroma, rich taste”. A reference description dates the assessment to 1978; the 2021 local publication gives no date, but writes of the approval of tea from Zhubian in 1971 and of the peak of the gardens in 1978 — 15,386 mu.
- 2010. On 2 April the Ministry of Agriculture registered the agricultural product geographical indication “莒南绿茶” (AGI00276); the holder, according to a reference summary, is the county center for the extension of fruit-growing and tea-growing technology.
- 2025. By announcement No. 646, CNIPA recognized “莒南绿茶” as a geographical indication product; the applicant is the county agricultural technology extension center. Geographical mark No. 19854035 is also registered under the name; the holder, according to the summary of the Shandong geographical mark platform, is the Zhuxi Green Tea Research Center (莒南洙溪绿茶研究中心).
- Name: “Junan” (莒南) — the name of the county, lǜchá (绿茶) — “green tea”.
- Cultural significance: According to the 2026 publication, the county holds the title “中国茶叶之乡” — “China’s home of tea”; the 2021 publication attributes this 1996 title to Zhubian Town. On 1–2 September 2026 the county hosted provincial events for the seventieth anniversary of the “南茶北引” movement.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Varieties / Cultivars: According to the CNIPA requirements, the main ones are Fuding Dabai (福鼎大白), Qimen Zhuyeqi (祁门褚叶齐) and the Huangshan population (黄山群体); the auxiliary ones are the clones Longjing Changye (龙井长叶), Yingshuang (迎霜), Zhenong 139 (浙农139), Tieguanyin (铁观音), Taicha 7 (台茶7号) and the seed-propagated Jiukeng (鸠坑). The 2021 local publication names a different set, including Zhongcha 108 (中茶108), Longjing 43 (龙井43) and the yellow-leaf Huangjin Ya (黄金芽).
- Harvest standard: The requirements prescribe picking to standard, in batches and on time, but do not give the standard itself.
- Harvest time: The requirements of the mark name no dates. According to the 2021 local publication, spring tea from open-field gardens usually comes out around 25 April, and picking ends in early October — about 150 days, spring, summer and autumn.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The east of the Yimeng (沂蒙) mountain region, not far from the sea. According to a reference description, the gardens lie mainly on the hills of the east and south of the county; the main bases are Zhubian, Zhuanggang, Tuanlin and Zhulu.
- Climate: According to a reference description — a semi-humid continental monsoon climate of the warm temperate zone: an annual average of 12.7 °C, 198 frost-free days, 2458.9 hours of sunshine and 856.5 mm of precipitation.
- Growing altitude: No data were found in the sources consulted.
- Site: According to the requirements — clean soil and water, far from factories and mines.
- Garden care under the CNIPA requirements: In autumn — digging to a living layer of no less than 80 cm; fertilizing following the scheme “一基三追多次喷” — a base dressing in autumn and three top dressings per season; at the beginning of winter — “overwintering watering” (越冬水), in the rains — drainage: the roots fear standing water.
5. Production Technology
The requirements of the mark do not describe the technology: they contain no processing stages.
The general scheme of green tea, not a description of Jǔnán lǜchá specifically: spreading of the fresh leaf (摊放, tānfàng), fixation by heat (杀青, shāqīng), rolling or shaping (揉捻, róuniǎn) and drying (干燥, gānzào).
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
The CNIPA requirements describe the three forms separately.
- Dry leaf appearance: Curled — tight, even curls, from emerald to dark green, without yellowed or broken leaf. Flat — smooth, flat and straight, from tender green to yellow-green. Needle-shaped — flat and straight, green with a sheen, even.
- Dry leaf aroma: No descriptions were found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Curled — high, from tender chestnut to clean. Flat — rich chestnut. Needle-shaped — high and long-lasting chestnut.
- Taste: Curled — full-bodied and mellow (浓醇). Flat — mellow and full (醇厚). Needle-shaped — fresh, mellow, refreshing (鲜醇爽口). There must be no off-flavors.
- Liquor color: From tender green and bright to yellow-green and bright, without cloudiness; for the needle-shaped — tender green and clear.
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): From tender green and bright to yellow-green, for the flat — up to yellow and bright; for the needle-shaped — tender green, bright and even.
7. Chemical Composition
The CNIPA requirements set physicochemical indicators (by mass):
| Indicator | Norm |
|---|---|
| Moisture | not more than 7.0 % |
| Total ash | not more than 7.5 % |
| Broken tea and dust | not more than 6.0 % |
| Water extract | not less than 34.0 % |
| Crude fiber | not more than 16.0 % |
| Acid-insoluble ash | not more than 1.0 % |
| Water-soluble ash in total ash | not less than 45.0 % |
The requirements of the mark set no norms for polyphenols, amino acids or caffeine. A reference database gives figures of a “biochemical analysis” without a date, method or primary source; I do not reproduce them.
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 gaiwan.
- Process:
- Warm the teaware, add the tea and pour the water down the side.
- First infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
- Drink, leaving part of the liquor, and top up with water: the descriptions stress that the thick leaf stands many infusions (耐冲泡).
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.
10. Price and Counterfeits
No price data were found in the sources consulted. The industry figures diverge: the 2021 local publication gives about 80,000 mu of gardens, 2000 t of tea a year and 400 million yuan; the 2026 publication, with the same 80,000 mu, gives 4000 t and 1 billion yuan.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the special geographical indication mark: according to the CNIPA requirements, only authorized producers from the zone use it.
- Check that the producer is from one of the 13 townships and towns of Junan County.
- Compare the appearance with the requirements: no yellowed or broken leaf, a liquor without cloudiness, an aroma from chestnut to clean.
- Remember that three forms go under the name, and flat tea is not a counterfeit of the curled one.
11. Interesting Facts
- The award counts differ: a reference description gives 116 awards at the prefecture level and above (20 national, 50 provincial), the 2021 local publication — 262 (55 national, 98 provincial).
- According to the 2026 publication, in March of the same year the county signed a framework agreement on cooperation in the tea industry with the county-level city of Fuding (福鼎), Fujian Province; Fuding Dabai is one of the main varieties in the requirements of the mark.
12. Comparison with Other Green Teas of Shandong
- Yimeng Yu Ya (沂蒙玉芽): A flat green tea of the same county. Jǔnán lǜchá is broader: the name protects three forms, and the flat one is only one of them. There is a saying about it: “南有杭州龙井，北有沂蒙玉芽” — “in the south, Hangzhou Longjing; in the north, Yimeng Yu Ya”.
- Yishui Lücha (沂水绿茶): A green tea of Yishui County of the same Linyi prefecture-level city under a separate designation; its zone lies further north, at about 35°36′–36°03′ N, and does not overlap with that of Junan.
- Rizhao Lü Cha (日照绿茶): A green tea of neighboring coastal Rizhao, also a fruit of the “南茶北引” movement.
- Laoshan Lü Cha (崂山绿茶) and Jiaonan Lücha (胶南绿茶): Green teas of the coast near Qingdao.
In Conclusion:
Jǔnán lǜchá is a northern green tea grown out of persistence: after the failed plantings of the 1950s, the county did grow its own gardens in the late 1960s and by 1978 had brought them to fifteen thousand mu. The requirements of the mark describe three forms, and for all of them a chestnut note is named in the aroma, while the long-standing assessment of the tea institute is a thick leaf that stands many infusions.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page