Mágū chá (麻姑茶) is a green tea of Mount Magu (麻姑山) in Nancheng County (南城县), Fuzhou prefecture-level city, in the east of Jiangxi Province. The mountain bears the name of the immortal Magu, and legend links the tea itself to her as well. Since 2016 Mágū chá has been an agricultural product geographical indication, and since 2025 a geographical indication product. The 2016 regulations describe manual work with drying in the shade, the 2025 requirements a short scheme with drying by heat.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá), unfermented; the 2016 regulations explicitly call it that.
- Category: A mountain green tea of eastern Jiangxi; agricultural geographical indication (2016), geographical indication product (2025) and the certification trademark “南城麻姑茶”.
- Origin: China, Jiangxi Province (江西, Jiāngxī), Fuzhou prefecture-level city (抚州, Fǔzhōu), Nancheng County (南城, Nánchéng), Mount Magu.
- Protection zone: According to both protection documents — the towns of Jianchang (建昌镇), Zhuliang (株良镇) and Hongmen (洪门镇), the townships of Tianjingyuan (天井源乡) and Xunxi (浔溪乡). The area under the 2016 registration is 866.67 ha, the annual volume 306 t.
- Geographic coordinates: 116°24′42″–116°57′24″ E and 27°18′51″–27°47′49″ N.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- Legend. According to legend, under the Eastern Han the immortal Magu lived on the mountain: in spring she gathered tender shoots, brewed them with water from the Shengong spring (神功泉) and treated guests to them.
- History:
- Tang. A reference work cites the Nancheng County Gazetteer (《南城县志》): the production of Magu tea flourished under the Tang.
- Ming. According to retellings in reference works, Xu Guangqi in the Complete Treatise on Agriculture (《农政全书》) called the Magu tea of Nancheng “the finest of teas” (为茶之极品), and Li Dongyang, Xiao Xian and Li Shishi praised it in verse. The quotations have not been checked against the primary sources.
- Qing. According to the reference work, at the beginning of the dynasty the tea became one of the gifts to the court. The same work, citing the journal Shipin Keji (《食品科技》, 1982), says that after the birth of the future Tongzhi Emperor in 1856, fourteen liang of Magu tea were included in the monthly allowance of his mother, the future Empress Cixi.
- 1985. According to the reference work, the tea received the title of a provincial “quality traditional famous tea” and was also sold to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.
- 2016. Registration as an agricultural product geographical indication (certificate AGI01815); the holder is the county agricultural technology extension center.
- 2022. According to the intellectual property portal of the Ministry of Commerce, the county association of local products received the certificate for the certification trademark “南城麻姑茶”.
- 2025. By announcement No. 640 of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) of 16 July 2025, the tea was recognized as a geographical indication product in a general list of 1,409 products; the applicant is the agricultural science and technology research center of Nancheng County.
- Name: 麻姑 (Mágū) — the name of the immortal after whom the mountain is named.
- Cultural significance: Mount Magu is a Taoist holy place: according to the Records of Famous Mountains (《名山志》) as retold by the reference work, it alone has both a “grotto-heaven” and a “blessed land”. On its slopes are the Danxia grotto (丹霞洞天) and the Xunzhen monastery (寻真寺).
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety / Cultivar: There is no registered variety. The 2016 regulations require mother plants to be taken from the local, naturally growing bushes of Mount Magu and propagated by cuttings; the 2025 requirements name the “Magu variety” (麻姑茶品种) as the raw material and also require propagation by cuttings. According to the reference work, the local population is a medium-leaf shrub with heavily pubescent shoots; one hundred “bud with three leaves” shoots weigh 36.1 g.
- Harvest: According to the 2016 regulations — from the Qingming festival; according to the 2025 requirements — from the end of March to the end of May, from a single bud to shoots with four leaves. According to the reference work, the yield is more than 100 kg of tea per mu.
- Harvest standard: For the best tea — only “bud with a leaf” (一旗一枪, yī qí yī qiāng), a shoot 2–3 cm long; the leaf is carried in ventilated bamboo baskets straight to processing.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: Mount Magu lies 10 km south-west of the county seat, a spur of the Wuyi Mountains.
- Climate and altitudes: Mid-subtropical monsoon, humid, with frequent fogs. According to the 2016 regulations — an altitude of 600–1,176 m, precipitation of 1,700 mm, 2,000–2,230 hours of sunshine a year, a mean temperature of about 15 °C, a day-night temperature difference of about 10 °C. The reference work gives gardens at 500–1,000 m and 2,300 mm of precipitation, the 2025 requirements an altitude of 600–1,000 m. The data sets disagree.
- Soils: According to the 2016 regulations — red earths, yellow-brown and sandy soils, pH 4.0–6.5; according to the 2025 requirements — yellow-brown, deep and fertile, pH 4.8–6.5.
- Garden care: Fertilizers are mainly organic, nitrate nitrogen is prohibited; one light trap per 50 mu.
5. Production Technology
According to the 2016 regulations of the agricultural GI:
- Cooling (凉青, liángqīng): In a layer 2–3 cm thick on woven trays, 6–12 hours.
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): In a wide iron pan at 150–200 °C, about 2 kg of leaf at a time, by the rule “high temperature, little leaf”. It is ready when the leaf is soft, without gloss and without a grassy smell.
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn): The shoots are rather coarse, with a thick petiole, so they are rolled hot, over a low fire, into a ball or into strands.
- Drying (干燥, gānzào): On bamboo mats in the shade, without direct sun, to a moisture content of 3–5%. In rainy weather — slow drying at a low temperature.
- Picking out and sifting (精挑, 筛分, jīngtiāo, shāifēn): Scorched leaves and lumps are removed by hand, and sieves divide the tea into grades.
The 2025 requirements give a different scheme: fixation → rolling → pan-firing (炒青, chǎoqīng) → drying by heat (烘干, hōnggān). The documents do not explain how the two schemes relate to each other.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
Descriptions are given by the 2016 regulations (“per the registration”), the 2025 requirements and the reference work.
- Dry leaf appearance: Per the registration — plump bud and leaf the color of jadeite (色如翡翠), tightly rolled. Per the 2025 requirements — straight, firm, even strands with a visible bud. Per the reference work — tight rolls with down, silvery grey with a lush green (银灰翠润).
- Dry leaf aroma: No separate description was found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: High and lasting (香气高扬且持久).
- Taste: Per the registration — light and fresh, with a sweet aftertaste (滋味清淡鲜爽，回味甘而生津); per the reference work — full, sweetish and brisk (醇厚甘爽). The sources disagree.
- Liquor color: Fresh green, clear (鲜绿透亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Even, tender green, bright (匀整、嫩绿明亮); per the 2025 requirements each shoot is distinguishable (芽叶朵朵可辨).
According to the 2016 regulations, the tea withstands many infusions (耐泡).
7. Chemical Composition
The 2016 regulations set the norms:
| Indicator | Norm |
|---|---|
| Moisture | not more than 7.0% |
| Ash | not more than 7.0% |
| Water-soluble extractives | not less than 36.0% |
| Crude fiber | not more than 14.0% |
| Theanine (茶氨酸) | not less than 2.1% |
The 2025 requirements: total ash not more than 6.5%, crude fiber not more than 10.5%, extractives not less than 36%, amino acids not less than 5.5%.
For a dry sample of “bud with two leaves” the reference work gives 3.0% amino acids, 26.6% polyphenols, 12.8% catechins and 5.9% caffeine, without the method; this disagrees with the 2025 norm for amino acids.
8. Brewing
The practice of the class 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.
- Put in the tea and pour the water down the side.
- The first infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
- Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
- Top up with water.
- Two or three repeat infusions or more.
9. Storage
The practice of the class. In a tightly closed jar, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from moisture, light and foreign odors. Best drunk within a year.
10. Price and Counterfeits
No price data were found in the sources consulted. According to the reference work, the finished tea is divided into five grades.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication mark or the certification trademark “南城麻姑茶” (according to the catalogue — No. 40782709).
- Check that the producer is from the five listed units of Nancheng County.
11. Interesting Facts
- The 2016 regulations explicitly forbid drying the tea under the scorching sun.
- The 2016 regulations set a norm for theanine, while the 2025 requirements set one for amino acids instead.
- The local name for the “bud with a leaf” picking is “banner and spear” (一旗一枪).
12. Comparison with Other Teas
- Zixi Bai Cha (资溪白茶): A green tea from a white-leaf variety of Zixi County in the same Fuzhou prefecture-level city.
- Lichuan Baicha (黎川白茶): A tea of Lichuan County in the same prefecture-level city; its class has not been established by a document.
- Lushan Yun Wu (庐山云雾): One of the best-known mountain green teas of Jiangxi.
- Gougunao Cha (狗牯脑茶): A green tea of Jiangxi with a 1915 gold medal.
In Conclusion:
Mágū chá is a mountain green tea of Nancheng County, named after a Taoist mountain. The 2016 regulations describe manual work: fixation in a pan at 150–200 °C, hot rolling and drying in the shade. Its appearance is tight rolls the color of jadeite and a clear green liquor; the sources disagree about the taste. The old fame of the tea rests on retellings not checked against the primary sources.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page