Lóngzhōu wūlóngchá (龙州乌龙茶) is an oolong from Longzhou County (龙州县), Chongzuo prefecture-level city, in the southwest of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on the border with Vietnam. The present industry is young: from 2000 an experimental station brought in oolong varieties from Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan and grafted them onto bushes of Yunnan large-leaf tea. The protection document names a single variety — the Taiwanese Jin Xuan (金萱) — and sets out the process in detail: sun withering, tossing, fixation, bag rolling. Since 4 November 2016 Lóngzhōu wūlóngchá has been a geographical indication product covering the whole county.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Oolong (乌龙茶, wūlóngchá), a semi-fermented tea. The class is stated in the name and confirmed by the process in the protection document: sun withering (晒青), tossing with resting (做青), fixation (炒青), bag rolling (包揉).
- Category: A Guangxi oolong; geographical indication product (2016).
- Origin: China, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (广西, Guǎngxī), Chongzuo prefecture-level city (崇左, Chóngzuǒ), Longzhou County (龙州, Lóngzhōu).
- Protection zone: According to the announcement — the entire current administrative territory of Longzhou County.
- Geographic coordinates: Longzhou County — about 22.3° N and 106.9° E.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- Old trees. A geographical indication reference cites the Annals of Longzhou County: at the end of the Qing, deep in the Daqingshan Mountains (大青山), on the lands of the former Shanglong native chieftaincy (上龙司), there grew “Longzhou oolong trees” with thick trunks and dense dark green foliage; tea made from them is at first slightly bitter, then richly sweet, with a quick return (制茶后味清苦，后浓甘，回味快). From this the reference derives a history of more than 130 years. I have not seen the annals themselves.
- 2000 — grafting. According to a reference description, the experimental station of the Guangxi Institute of Subtropical Crops brought in 16 varieties from Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan, among them Tie Guanyin (铁观音), Huangzhixiu (黄枝秀), Jin Xuan (金萱) and Cuiyu (翠玉). Bushes of Yunnan large-leaf tea were top-grafted to oolong varieties (嫁接换种) — and oolong was produced in the same year the grafting was done.
- 2004. According to the reference, a national expert group assessed the quality of the tea as leading among similar products in the country and comparable to the oolongs of Anxi.
- 2012–2015. According to reference data, in 2012 the oolong area in the county reached 3,000 mu around a demonstration base in Wude Village (武德村); in 2015 more than 1,500 additional mu were planted, and the tea was recognized as a class A “green product”.
- 2016. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), by announcement No. 112 of 4 November 2016, placed Lóngzhōu wūlóngchá under protection as a geographical indication product — in a single list together with 43 other products from across the country. According to the reference, it is the county’s first geographical indication product.
- Discrepancy: The annals speak of old local trees, while the protection document names a single variety — the Taiwanese Jin Xuan, introduced in 2000.
- Name: Lóngzhōu (龙州) — “dragon region”, the name of the county; wūlóngchá (乌龙茶) — oolong.
- Cultural significance: According to the reference, local people drink this tea all year round, and the gardens have received the titles of pollution-free tea base (无公害) — from the Guangxi Department of Agriculture, and of science and technology demonstration base and famous tea base — from the China Tea Association.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety: According to the document — Jin Xuan (金萱, jīnxuān), a Taiwanese oolong variety. The document names no other varieties.
- Propagation: According to the document — by cuttings (扦插育苗).
- Harvest standard: According to the document — a two-leaf shoot without a growing bud (对夹2叶), as well as single leaves from the second to the fourth.
- Harvest time: No data were found in the sources consulted.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The southwest of Guangxi, a county on the border with Vietnam.
- Growing altitude: According to the document — no lower than 400 m.
- Soils: According to the document — sandy loams (砂壤土) with a pH of 4.50–6.50, at least 80 cm deep and with at least 2% organic matter.
- Cultivation practice according to the document: Planting density — no more than 45,000 plants per hectare; well-rotted organic fertilizer — at least 35 t per hectare per year; pesticides and fertilizers — only according to national rules.
- Climate: The reference describes high altitude, clouds and mist, abundant rainfall and a mild climate (高海拔、云雾弥漫，雨量充沛，气候温和); no figures were found in the sources consulted.
5. Production Technology
The protection document sets the sequence: picking → sun withering → tossing with resting → fixation → bag rolling → drying → packing.
- Sun withering (晒青, shàiqīng): Under the slanting evening sun or the weak afternoon sun, 20–40 minutes. Leaf temperature — no higher than 30 °C; in the same line the document requires keeping the temperature below 35 °C, without specifying whether of the air or of something else.
- Tossing and resting (做青, zuòqīng): Tossing (摇青) and resting (静置) alternate 3–5 times at 18–24 °C indoors. The drum is loaded to no more than two-thirds; tossing — 1–5 minutes, resting — 30–60 minutes.
- Fixation (炒青, chǎoqīng): At 250–280 °C, until the grassy smell is gone and the tea aroma emerges; then the leaf is cooled immediately.
- Bag rolling (包揉, bāoróu): The first round — 3–4 cycles of rolling with breaking up of clumps, 2–5 minutes each. Then the leaf is partly dried and another 3–4 cycles of 2–5 minutes are repeated.
- Drying (烘干, hōnggān): At 80–100 °C to eight-tenths dryness.
- Final drying (复烘, fùhōng): At 60–80 °C to full dryness.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
The description below gives the requirements of the protection document.
- Dry leaf appearance: Twisted leaves tight and plump (条索肥壮紧实), the color “sand green”, dark and oily, with a sheen (色泽砂绿乌润、油润有光), even.
- Dry leaf aroma: The document gives no separate description.
- Liquor aroma: Rich, clean and long-lasting, with a distinct “tea charm” (香气浓郁清长、“茶韵”明显).
- Taste: Full and mellow, with a sweet return (滋味醇厚、回甘).
- Liquor color: Yellow-green, bright (黄绿明亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Soft and lustrous, with a lingering aroma (软亮、有余香).
The document separately notes the endurance: after the seventh infusion the tea still has aroma and taste.
7. Chemical Composition
The protection document sets one physicochemical indicator: water-soluble (extractive) substances — at least 32%. No other data were found in the sources consulted.
8. Brewing
Class practice for lightly roasted oolong.
- Water temperature: 95–100 °C.
- Tea amount: 5–7 g per 100–110 ml.
- Teaware: A gaiwan or a small clay teapot.
- Process:
- Warm the teaware.
- Add the tea.
- Quickly rinse the leaf with hot water and pour it off.
- First infusion — 20–30 seconds.
- Pour out the liquor completely.
- Further infusions, each 5–10 seconds longer; according to the document, even after the seventh infusion the tea retains aroma and taste.
9. Storage
Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a dry, dark place, away from odors; for long storage of lightly roasted oolong — in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C.
10. Price and Counterfeits
Price data were not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication product mark. According to the 2016 announcement, a producer applies to the county administration of industry, commerce and quality supervision, the application is reviewed by the administration of the autonomous region, and the right is announced by the state authority. According to a list of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) naming 941 companies entitled to the mark, a producer of this tea is among them.
- Check that the producer is from Longzhou County.
- Appearance according to the document: plump, tight twisted leaves of a “sand green” color with a sheen, a yellow-green liquor.
11. Interesting Facts
- Oolong in Longzhou began not with planting but with grafting: oolong varieties were grafted onto Yunnan large-leaf tea, and oolong was produced in the year of grafting.
- Of the 16 varieties brought in, the protection document kept one — Jin Xuan.
- The name is easily confused with a Sichuan one: “龙州青丝” is a historical tea of Pingwu County, where Longzhou is an old name of the area (see Pingwu Lü Cha, 平武绿茶). It has nothing to do with Guangxi.
12. Comparison with Other Oolong Teas
- Jin Xuan (金萱): A Taiwanese oolong of the same variety — the homeland of the raw material from which, according to the document, Lóngzhōu wūlóngchá is made.
- Tie Guanyin (铁观音): An oolong of Anxi County in Fujian; according to the reference, the 2004 expert group compared the Longzhou tea with the oolongs of Anxi.
- Tengchong Wulongcha (腾冲乌龙茶): A Yunnan oolong near the border with Myanmar — also an oolong of a border county.
In Conclusion:
Lóngzhōu wūlóngchá is a young oolong of border Guangxi, grown out of grafting Taiwanese and Fujian varieties onto Yunnan large-leaf tea. The 2016 document describes it in detail: the Jin Xuan variety, an altitude of 400 m and above, sun withering, tossing, fixation at 250–280 °C and bag rolling; in the cup — a yellow-green liquor with a long aroma and a sweet return. The old trees of Daqingshan from the county annals remain prehistory, not the raw material of the protected product.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page