---
title: "Máoyán méichá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/maoyan-meicha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Máoyán méichá (茅岩莓茶)

*Máoyán [méichá](https://thetea.app/article/meicha)* (茅岩莓茶) is a drink made from the young shoots and leaves of the vine 显齿蛇葡萄 (*Ampelopsis grossedentata*) of the grape family, from Yongding District (永定区) of Zhangjiajie prefecture-level city, Hunan Province. There is no tea bush in it: *Hunan Ribao* calls such drinks “tea-like products” (类茶制品). Its main distinguishing feature is a white coating on the leaf, because of which the drink was once called 霉茶, “mold tea”. The name has been protected as an agricultural product geographical indication since 2010 and as a geographical indication product since 2025.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** A tea substitute from the leaf of *Ampelopsis grossedentata*, not tea from *Camellia sinensis*; it does not belong to the six classes of tea.
* **Category:** Geographical indication product.
* **Origin:** China, Hunan Province (湖南, *Húnán*), Zhangjiajie prefecture-level city (张家界, *Zhāngjiājiè*), Yongding District (永定, *Yǒngdìng*).
* **Protection zone:** Four townships and towns in the northwest of Yongding — Luotaping (罗塔坪乡), Qing'anping (青安坪乡), Wentang (温塘镇) and Sanjiaguan (三家馆乡). The 2025 applicant is the Zhangjiajie Meicha Development Service Center (张家界莓茶发展服务中心).
* **Geographic coordinates:** 110°04′15″–110°19′23″ E, 29°06′37″–29°24′36″ N.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **Legends.** According to *Hunan Ribao* (2019), the drink appeared at the turn of the Yuan and Ming dynasties on the lands of the Maogang native chieftaincy (茅岗土司); it is more than 600 years old, and the chronicle *Yongding Xiangtu Zhi* (《永定乡土志》) calls it the “divine tea of the Tujia” (土家神茶). The producer speaks of 700 years and tells legends — about the army of the rebel Qin Hou (覃垕), which discovered the vine, and about Li Shizhen's vain search for it. These are legends, not documents.
    * **1993–1995.** A forestry specialist identified the local “mold tea” as *Ampelopsis grossedentata* and gave it the name 茅岩莓 — after the river, and with the homophone 莓 (“berry”) instead of 霉 (“mold”). Literature searches in 1994 and 1995 found no studies of either the plant or the drink.
    * **2010.** According to the Baidu encyclopedia, on 15 November 2010 the Ministry of Agriculture took “茅岩莓茶” under protection as an agricultural product geographical indication; the registration number is AGI00396.
    * **2013.** According to district data, the small-leaf form of 显齿蛇葡萄 was approved as a new food raw material.
    * **2018.** According to *Hunan Ribao*, Zhangjiajie *méichá* was recognized as a product with ecological origin protection.
    * **2021.** Separately from 茅岩莓茶, the certification mark “张家界莓茶” was registered.
    * **2025.** Announcement No. 640 of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, dated 16 July (13 August on the website), recognized 茅岩莓茶 as a geographical indication product — according to the city market regulation authority, by transfer from the agricultural indication.
* **Name:** 茅岩 is the Maoyan River (茅岩河), in whose valley the plant was found and named; 莓 means “berry”, a homophone of 霉, “mold”; 茶 means tea.
* **Cultural significance:** Among the Tujia the drink is called “divine tea”, “sweet tea” and “dew tea”; Yongding District holds the title of “home of *méichá*”.

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

* **Plant:** 显齿蛇葡萄 (*Ampelopsis grossedentata* (Hand.-Mazz.) W. T. Wang), genus *Ampelopsis* of the grape family: a woody vine with pinnately compound leaves and tendrils. The raw material is the small-leaf form (小[叶种](https://thetea.app/article/qiaomuguanmu)), also known as “vine tea” (藤茶).
* **Wild and planted:** The specimen from which the plant was identified in 1993 was made from a wild vine. In 2021, according to district data, Yongding had more than 81,000 mu of *méichá*, of which about 20,000 mu were wild thickets. The 2025 requirements prescribe planting the domesticated small-leaf form, propagated vegetatively (无性繁殖), with top dressing and winter pruning.
* **Harvest (2025 requirements):** In gardens two years old and older — from April to mid-November: until September the tender tips of the vine, from September the mature pinnate leaves. Picking is by hand.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The Wuling Mountains (武陵山), the northwest of Yongding District.
* **Growing altitude:** The 2025 protection requirements give **800–1500 m** in the product description, as does the producer; the district administration writes of 400–1500 m.
* **Soils:** The 2025 requirements — deep soils on slopes no steeper than 25° with pH 4.5–6.5; the product description in the same document gives “red sandstone” (红砂岩). The district administration writes of quartz sandstone soils, and for wild *méichá* — of brown sandy soils with pH 4.0–6.02.
* **Climate:** The district and the producer speak of constant fog; data on temperature and precipitation are not found in the sources consulted.
* **Scale:** According to district data (2025), *méichá* in the whole of Yongding covers about 115,000 mu.

**5. Production Technology:**

The 2025 requirements describe the technology in detail; the raw material is fresh leaf of the premium or first grade.

1.  **Spreading (摊青, *tānqīng*):** in a layer of 10–20 cm in a trough or 3–4 cm on nets; in spring for 4–6 hours, in summer and autumn for 2–4.
2.  **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** in a tunnel microwave unit at 64–74 °C, 2–3 minutes.
3.  **Rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*):** 1–2 minutes, for the second grade 3–4.
4.  **Crystallization (析晶, *xījīng*):** the leaf, in a clean white bag, is kept in a heating cabinet at 50–60 °C — in summer for 2–2.5 hours, in spring and autumn for 3–4.
5.  **Straightening and drying (理条、干燥):** preliminary drying in a 0.5 cm layer, then 2–4 hours at 45 °C and 10–15 minutes at 60–65 °C.

The district explains the white coating as follows: during processing the cells break down, the flavonoids come to the surface and form “white frost” (白霜). The earlier product description, from the time of the agricultural registration, required processing according to the organic standard GB/T 19630.2—2005.

A tea website also describes cottage methods: pan-firing with drying in the sun (the best is a “black-and-white” leaf with an abundant coating), scalding with boiling water (little coating, bitterness), fermentation in a heap (渥沤) with a slight sourness, and simple drying in the sun (no coating, an empty taste).

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

Instead of an organoleptic description, the protection requirements give a narrative: “vine of longevity” and “divine tea” (长寿藤、神茶), a distinctive taste with a sweet aftertaste, and “a layer of natural protein frost” (蛋白霜).

* **Dry leaf appearance:** A white coating; in good raw material, according to the tea website, a “black-and-white” leaf.
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No descriptions in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** In a *Hunan Ribao* report (2019) on Zhangjiajie *méichá* at a tea exhibition — “fresh aroma” (清香).
* **Taste:** Distinctive, with a sweet aftertaste (protection requirements); of Yongshun *méichá* the same newspaper writes: slightly bitter at first, with a cool, sweet aftertaste (入口微苦，回味清凉甘甜).
* **Liquor color:** No descriptions for the protected product.
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** In the same report — bright emerald shoots (翠绿明亮).

**7. Chemical Composition:**

The 2025 protection requirements set a norm: **total flavonoids not less than 6%**. The district and the press write of more: according to district data, young stems and leaves contain on average more than 26% flavonoids (elsewhere on the same page — more than 30%), the tips up to 43.78%; *Hunan Ribao* also names dihydromyricetin (二氢杨梅素), 17 amino acids and 14 trace elements. The sources give neither the method nor the sample; the gap with the norm is several-fold.

**8. Health Properties:**

There are no verified data on the effects of this particular drink. The therapeutic effects listed by the district and the producer are their words, not evidence; the 2013 approval concerns food raw material.

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice. The district administration advises brewing with water above 90 °C and without rinsing; at the exhibition, according to the *Hunan Ribao* report, it was brewed with boiling water in a cup. Below are the usual parameters for a dried leaf that is brewed like tea.

* **Parameters:** 95–100 °C, 2–3 g per 150–200 ml, first infusion 2–3 minutes, then several more infusions.
* **Teaware:** A glass tumbler or a gaiwan.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. In tight packaging, in a dry, clean place, away from odors and light.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Price data are not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the special geographical indication mark and a producer from the four townships of the zone.
    * The plant itself does not prove origin: the same vine is sold as [永顺莓茶](https://thetea.app/article/yongshun-meicha), 凤凰雪茶, 恩施藤茶 and under other names.
    * Do not confuse three names: “茅岩莓茶” is the protected product, “张家界莓茶” is the prefecture's mark, “茅岩莓” is a private company's trademark.
    * No white coating — probably simple drying in the sun.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* “Berry tea” is not named after berries: 莓 replaced the homophonous 霉, “mold”, so as not to scare buyers away with the white coating.
* In a mature garden, according to the protection requirements, the vine is picked 20–25 times a year.
* The plant was identified on 12 April 1993; according to *Hunan Ribao*, growers celebrate this date by the lunar calendar as the birthday of the industry.

**13. Comparison with Neighboring Teas and “Teas”:**

* **Zhangjiajie Cha ([张家界茶](https://thetea.app/article/zhangjiajie-cha)):** The prefecture's mark for true tea, registered as a pair with “张家界莓茶”.
* **Yongshun Meicha (永顺莓茶):** The same vine from neighboring Yongshun County; according to *Hunan Ribao*, protected since 2004, at that time under the name 溪州莓茶 (other sources give 2005).
* **Laifeng Tengcha ([来凤藤茶](https://thetea.app/article/laifeng-tengcha)):** The same vine from Laifeng County in Hubei, a protected product since 2013.
* **Guanshan Lianqiao Cha ([冠山连翘茶](https://thetea.app/article/guanshan-lianqiao-cha)):** Forsythia leaf from Shanxi, also recognized by Announcement No. 640.

**In Conclusion:**

*Máoyán méichá* is not tea but the leaf of a vine from the Maoyan River valley, with a white coating of “frost” and a special “crystallization” stage in its technology. The protection requirements are detailed and show that the product has moved from the wild vine to the plantation, while the flavonoid norm of 6% is far from the advertised forty-odd percent.