---
title: "Luótián xiānglù chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/luotian-xianglu-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Luótián xiānglù chá (罗田香露茶)

*Luótián xiānglù chá* (罗田香露茶) is a flat green tea from the northwest of Shengli Town (胜利镇), Luotian County (罗田县), Huanggang prefecture-level city, in the east of Hubei Province. The name means “fragrant dew from Luotian”. According to a reference on local products, the core of the zone is the Xiangluguan tea farm (香炉观茶场) and sixteen surrounding villages. The local quality formula is “色绿、香高、味浓、耐泡、回甘、形美”: green color, high aroma, rich taste, endurance over infusions, sweet return, beautiful shape; descriptions mention a chestnut note in the aroma. In 2020 the name received an agricultural product geographical indication (AGI), and in 2025 it was included in the list of geographical indication products of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*), flat. The reference on local products places it in the category “绿茶”. In the description of the protected product consulted here, the class is not named in words and there is no process chart, but the appearance is consistent with it: a green leaf, a yellow-green liquor, a product line with the names “香露龙井”, “香露[毛尖](https://thetea.app/article/mao-jian)”, “香露云雾”. The text of the CNIPA requirements has not been checked on this point.
* **Category:** A county green tea of Hubei; geographical indication product.
* **Origin:** China, Hubei Province (湖北, *Húběi*), Huanggang prefecture-level city (黄冈, *Huánggāng*), Luotian County (罗田, *Luótián*), Shengli Town (胜利, *Shènglì*).
* **Protection zone:** According to the reference on local products — the northwestern part of Shengli Town: the Xiangluguan farm and the villages 涂家铺, 陈家山, 畈里边, 高山, 甘家冲, 瓦学, 梅花坳, 杨家畈, 松子关, 脱甲岭, 黄泥畈, 洗儿岭, 汪家冲, 翁家垸, 大刘垸 and 黄泥岗; there are 247 ha of gardens within these boundaries. The catalogue of geographical indication products names a broader zone — “the current administrative territory of Luotian County”. The discrepancy has not been checked against the text of the announcement.
* **Geographic coordinates:** The reference writes “东经31°13′—31°27′，北纬115°42′—115°53′” — the longitude and latitude labels in it are swapped. Logically, this is 31°13′–31°27′ N and 115°42′–115°53′ E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **Before 2020.** Dates of the tea's appearance and early mentions were not found in the sources consulted. The reference writes that the tea has many times received awards at provincial famous-tea competitions in Hubei and that it is called “鄂东名茶” — a famous tea of eastern Hubei; it gives neither the years nor the names of the competitions.
    * **2020 — the agricultural indication.** On 19 May 2020 the portal *Jingchu Wang* (荆楚网) reported that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, by announcement No. 290, had issued agricultural product geographical indication certificates to nineteen Hubei products; *Luótián xiānglù chá* was among them. The registration number in the indication catalogue is AGI02949.
    * **2025 — the CNIPA list.** By announcement No. 640, signed on 16 July and published on 13 August 2025, CNIPA recognized 1,409 names as geographical indication products; the indication catalogue assigns *Luótián xiānglù chá* to this announcement.
* **Name:** *Luótián* (罗田) — the name of the county; *xiāng* (香) — aroma; *lù* (露) — dew. The consonance of “香露” with the name of the farm “香炉观” (*Xiānglúguàn*, “abode of the incense burner”) is noticeable, but the connection between the two names is not explained in the sources consulted.
* **Cultural significance:** According to the reference, the tea is sold across the counties of Hubei and in neighboring provinces and enjoys a good reputation throughout the Dabie Mountains (大别山).

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

* **Variety / Cultivar:** The variety is not named in the sources consulted.
* **Raw material:** The reference and the indication catalogue give the physicochemical indicators for spring raw material of “one bud with one leaf” (春茶一芽一叶). A harvest standard for the finished tea was not found in the sources consulted.
* **Harvest time:** Exact dates were not found in the sources consulted.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The east of Hubei, the northwest of Shengli Town in Luotian County; according to a piece on the *Jingchu Wang* portal (2020), the town lies at the southern foot of the main ridge of the Dabie Mountains.
* **Growing altitude:** There are no data for the gardens. The same portal writes that Shengli Town is at an altitude of 930 m.
* **Soils:** According to the reference — yellow-brown soils (黄棕壤, *huángzōngrǎng*), rich in organic matter: under natural vegetation the top layer contains on average 89.7 g of organic matter and 3.77 g of total nitrogen per kilogram.
* **Waters:** The Shengli River (胜利河) flows through the zone; according to the reference, in its middle and lower course it has a coarse-sand bed and clean fresh water.
* **Climate:** The reference describes the winter as snowy, with long frosts and low temperatures, and links this to the small number of pests in the spring gardens. The *Jingchu Wang* portal adds a large day-night temperature difference and frequent mists. Neither source gives mean temperatures or precipitation.
* **Ecology:** According to the reference, there are no industrial areas and no pollution in the zone.
* **Scale:** 247 ha of gardens and an annual output of about 80,000 jin, that is about 40 t — according to the reference; the year of the data is not given.

**5. Production Technology:**

A process chart and parameters were not found in the sources consulted.

For a flat green tea the usual sequence is as follows:

1.  **Spreading of the fresh leaf (摊放, *tānfàng*):** The leaf gives off part of its moisture.
2.  **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** Heating stops oxidation.
3.  **Shaping (整形, *zhěngxíng*):** The leaf is straightened and pressed, giving it a flat shape.
4.  **Drying and finishing (干燥, *gānzào*):** The leaf is dried until it is stable in storage.

This is the general scheme of the class, not a description of the *Luótián xiānglù chá* process.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

The description below follows the reference on local products; the indication catalogue adds the formula “清香持久，滋味鲜浓”.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** Flat and smooth; the bud is plump and short (芽头肥而短); the color is deep emerald with an oily sheen (苍翠绿润).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No descriptions were found in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** With a chestnut note (有板栗香); according to the catalogue — clean and lasting (清香持久).
* **Taste:** Sweetish, mellow, refreshing, with a long sweet return (甘醇爽口，回甘持久); according to the catalogue — fresh and rich (滋味鲜浓).
* **Liquor color:** Yellow-green, bright and clear (黄绿明亮).
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Yellow-green and even (黄绿匀整) — according to the same reference.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

Indicators of spring raw material of “one bud with one leaf” — identical in the reference and in the indication catalogue:

| Indicator | Value |
| :--- | :--- |
| Tea polyphenols | at least 21.2% |
| Free amino acids | at least 2.1% |
| Water extract | at least 39% |

The reference presents them as results of analysis; whether they are part of the protection requirements is not evident from what was read. Data on caffeine were not found in the sources consulted.

**8. Health Properties:**

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

**9. 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:**
    1. Warm the teaware.
    2. Add the tea and pour the water down the side.
    3. First infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
    4. Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
    5. Top up with water.
    6. Two or three further infusions.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors. Best drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Price data were not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the geographical indication mark on the packaging.
    * Check the origin: the indication catalogue names Luotian County as the zone, the reference — only the northwest of Shengli Town.
    * Leaf — flat, smooth, with a short plump bud; liquor — yellow-green; in the aroma — a chestnut note.
    * Remember that “香露龙井” and “香露毛尖” are trade names within the Xianglu line, not Xihu Longjing and not Xinyang Maojian.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* According to the reference, the brand has four products: “香露金凤”, “香露龙井”, “香露毛尖” and “香露云雾” — three of them borrow the names of famous teas.
* The reference explains the small number of pests in the spring gardens by the snowy and frosty winter.
* *Luótián xiānglù chá* and Donghe Bizhen Cha from Xishui County in the same prefecture received the agricultural indication in a single ministry announcement in 2020.

**13. Comparison with Other Green Teas:**

* **Donghe Bizhen Cha ([董河碧珍茶](https://thetea.app/article/donghe-bizhen-cha)):** A straight, downy green tea of Xishui County in the same Huanggang prefecture; *Luótián xiānglù chá* has a flat leaf.
* **Yingshan Yunwucha ([英山云雾茶](https://thetea.app/article/yingshan-yunwucha)):** A green tea of Yingshan County in the same prefecture, from the southern slopes of the Dabie Mountains.
* **Xihu Longjing ([西湖龙井](https://thetea.app/article/xihu-longjing)):** The benchmark flat green tea; one of the products of the Xianglu line bears its name, and the formula “色绿…形美” echoes its “four perfections”.
* **Xinyang Maojian ([信阳毛尖](https://thetea.app/article/xinyang-mao-jian)):** A Henan tea whose name is borne by another product of the line.

**In Conclusion:**

*Luótián xiānglù chá* is a small flat green tea from the northwest of Shengli Town: a deep emerald leaf with a short bud, a yellow-green liquor, a chestnut note and a long sweet return. There are few sources about it, and they speak of the zone, the appearance and the composition, but are silent on the variety, the altitude of the gardens and the process. Something else is firmly known: the agricultural indication of 2020 and the CNIPA list of 2025.