---
title: "Liánghú bìyù chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/lianghu-biyu-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Liánghú bìyù chá (梁湖碧玉茶)

*Liánghú bìyù chá* (梁湖碧玉茶) is a tea of Liangzihu District (梁子湖区) of the prefecture-level city of Ezhou in eastern Hubei Province. “Lianghu” is what Ezhou residents call Liangzi Lake for short; “biyu” (碧玉) means “jade green”, an image, not a class. According to the description of the municipal market supervision administration, the tea grows in the forest protection zone of the Zhaoshan Mountains (沼山) in the town of the same name, and since January 2016 the name has been protected by a geographical indication certification mark. The described appearance resembles green tea, but the class is not named in the documents, and one of the companies produces both green and red tea under the “梁湖碧玉” brand. That is why the article is placed among the categories.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Not established by the documents. Official descriptions depict an appearance of the green type but do not name the class, and, according to a district report, a local company sells red and green tea series under the “梁湖碧玉” brand.
* **Category:** Tea with a geographical indication certification mark (2016); part of the district agricultural products brand “梁湖良品”.
* **Origin:** China, Hubei Province (湖北, *Húběi*), Ezhou prefecture-level city (鄂州, *Èzhōu*), Liangzihu District (梁子湖, *Liángzǐhú*), Zhaoshan Town (沼山镇).
* **Mark zone:** According to a reference on an unofficial geographical indication catalog website — the current administrative territory of Liangzihu District. The provincial register also names the district, but as the administrative affiliation of the holder; I have not seen a legal boundary of the zone in the text of the mark.
* **Mark holder:** According to the 2020 provincial register — the Ezhou Zhaoshan Camellia Oil Association (鄂州市沼山茶油协会). The same association holds the mark “沼山茶油” for edible oil.
* **Geographic coordinates:** Ezhou — about 30.4° N and 114.9° E; Liangzihu District lies farther south, by the lake of the same name.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **Beginnings.** According to the description published by the municipal market supervision administration in June 2020, tea has been grown in the Zhaoshan Mountains for more than twenty years. An exact start date was not found in the sources consulted.
    * **2016.** In January the name was registered as a geographical indication certification mark. According to the provincial register — No. 14531126, class 30, goods — tea leaf (茶叶); the first term of exclusive right — from 14 January 2016 to 13 January 2026.
    * **2018.** The city portal reported that spring tea was being picked at the “梁湖碧玉” organic demonstration base in Zhaoshan Town. According to the report, the company had introduced new varieties, expanded organic plantings to 300 mu, and sold the new handmade tea to Beijing, Zhuhai and Wuhan.
    * **2022.** On 28 May, the first municipal tasting “梁湖良品·有机碧玉茶” was held at the organic base at the foot of the Zhaoshan Provincial Forest Park, on the eastern shore of the lake. According to the district report, masters brewed green, red and yellow tea, and experts judged six samples of green tea. According to the report of the *Jingchu Wang* (荆楚网) portal, there were four samples: green, “white”, 黄金芽 and [紫娟](https://thetea.app/article/ziya-zijuan-puer); which report is more accurate is unknown.
    * **2023.** The Ministry of Commerce intellectual property portal reported on Ezhou's campaigns against the illegal use of geographical marks.
* **Name:** “Lianghu” (梁湖) — a local abbreviation of the name of Liangzi Lake (梁子湖); “biyu” (碧玉) — “jade green”; “cha” (茶) — tea.
* **Cultural significance:** The district develops rural tourism under the image “醉美梁湖” and a common agricultural products brand “梁湖良品”, which this tea is also part of. According to the district report, the company's red and green tea under the “梁湖碧玉” brand sells across twelve provinces, municipalities directly under the central government and autonomous regions, and the products received a national gold award for agricultural products three times in a row. *Jingchu Wang* names a different award — three top prizes in a row at the national “中茶杯” competition; the years are not named.

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

* **Variety / Cultivar:** Varieties for the mark were not found in the sources consulted. According to a 2018 report, one organic base introduced the varieties [乌牛早](https://thetea.app/article/wuniu-zao) (*Wūniúzǎo*) and “[安吉白茶](https://thetea.app/article/anji-baicha)” — this is what the report calls the pale-leaf Anji variety. Whether this applies to the whole district is unknown.
* **Raw material:** The reference on the same catalog website describes the shoots as follows: the buds and leaves are large and fleshy, the color emerald, the leaf soft, and the young buds and leaves have abundant down (芽叶肥壮，色泽翠绿，叶质柔软，幼嫩芽叶毫毛多). This appears to describe the fresh raw material, not the finished tea.
* **Standard and time of harvest:** Not found in the sources consulted; reports speak only of the spring harvest.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The Zhaoshan Mountains on the shore of Liangzi Lake. The 2020 description calls the place the forest protection zone of the Zhaoshan Mountains; the 2022 report, the foot of the Zhaoshan Provincial Forest Park on the eastern shore of the lake. According to the description, the mountain road through the zone is called the “little Lianghu road”, and tea plantations stretch along both sides of it.
* **Area:** According to the market supervision administration's description, at their peak the plantings reached 11,000 mu. The current area was not found in the sources consulted.
* **Altitude, climate, soils:** No data were found in the sources consulted.

**5. Production Technology:**

A document describing the technology was not found in the sources consulted. The 2018 report says only that the new tea at the organic base was made by hand.

The described appearance — emerald leaf, yellow-green liquor — corresponds to green tea. For green tea the general scheme is as follows; this is the scheme of the class, not a description of the technology of this particular tea:

1.  **Spreading of the fresh leaf (摊放, *tānfàng*).**
2.  **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** Heat stops oxidation.
3.  **Rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*).**
4.  **Drying (干燥, *gānzào*).**

The technology of the red tea of the same brand was not found in the sources consulted.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

The description below was given by the Ezhou market supervision administration (2020) for “梁湖碧玉茶” as a whole, without specifying a variety or batch.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** Tender green, with a sheen (茶形嫩绿、润泽).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No descriptions were found in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** A light, clean aroma (微微清香).
* **Taste:** Rich, mellow and “moist” (浓醇滋润).
* **Liquor color:** Yellow-green, bright and clear (黄绿明亮、通透).
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** No descriptions were found in the sources consulted.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

Physicochemical data were not found in the sources consulted. The reference on the geographical indication catalog website states in general terms that the tea “should contain” plenty of amino acids, vitamins and polyphenols, but gives no figures.

**8. Health Properties:**

There are no verified data on the effects of this particular tea.

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice for green tea — the described appearance corresponds to it.

* **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. The first infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
    4. Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
    5. Top up with water; two or three further infusions.

For the red tea of the same brand — class practice: 90–95°C, the first infusion about a minute.

**10. Storage:**

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

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Price data were not found in the sources consulted.

* **Mark status:** According to the provincial register, the first term of mark No. 14531126 ended on 13 January 2026. Whether it has been renewed is not evident from the sources consulted. The 2026 register marks the name as registered as of the source date.
* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the certification mark “梁湖碧玉茶” on the packaging.
    * Check that the producer is from Liangzihu District.
    * Do not confuse it with the separate mark “[沼山茶叶](https://thetea.app/article/zhaoshan-chaye)” of the same district — it has a different holder, the Zhaoshan state forest farm (鄂州市国有沼山林场), and its own term, from 28 December 2017 to 27 December 2027.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The tea mark is held by a camellia oil association; it also holds the mark “沼山茶油”.
* The district report on the 2022 tasting quotes a rhymed motto: “朋友遍天下，梁湖碧玉茶” — “friends all under Heaven — *Liánghú bìyù* tea”.

**13. Comparison with Other Teas:**

* **Huangpi Lücha ([黄陂绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/huangpi-lucha)):** Green tea of Huangpi District in northern Wuhan, also with a geographical mark.
* **Baiquan Lücha ([柏泉绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/baiquan-lucha)):** A flat pan-fired green tea of Dongxihu District in Wuhan.
* **Jinhai Nü'ershan Baicha ([金海女儿山白茶](https://thetea.app/article/jinhai-nu-ershan-baicha)):** Tea of the neighboring prefecture of Huangshi; the word “白茶” in its name, like “碧玉” here, does not prove the class.
* **Anji Bai Cha (安吉白茶):** Green tea of Anji County from a pale-leaf variety; the variety is named among those introduced in Zhaoshan.
* **Wuniu Zao (乌牛早):** An early green tea from Zhejiang; a variety with the same name is also named there.

**In Conclusion:**

*Liánghú bìyù chá* is a tea of the Zhaoshan Mountains by Liangzi Lake. The official description depicts the appearance of green tea but does not name the class, and the brand of the same name also produces red tea. The mark was registered in 2016 to a local camellia oil association; the first term expired in January 2026, and renewal is not confirmed by the sources consulted.