---
title: "Mópíng gòngchá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/moping-gongcha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Mópíng gòngchá (磨坪贡茶)

*Mópíng gòngchá* (磨坪贡茶) is a mountain green tea of three villages of Limiao Town (李庙镇), Nanzhang County (南漳县), Xiangyang prefecture-level city, in the northwest of Hubei Province. It takes its name from Mopingsi village (磨坪寺), which bears the name of an old monastery: the county chronicle of the Tongzhi period writes that the local tea “was prized in its time”. The word “*gòngchá*” means “tribute tea”, but the sources consulted contain no documents on deliveries to the court. Since 2014 the name has been protected as an agricultural product geographical indication, and in 2025 the tea was recognized as a geographical indication product. The protection documents describe tight emerald strands with down, a light liquor and a chestnut aroma.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*). The specification of the agricultural mark lists the processing operations — fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*), rolling and hot-air drying (烘青, *hōngqīng*) — and assigns the product to the standard “Green Food — Tea”; the specification cites the edition of the standard differently — in one place NY/T 288-2002, in another NY/T 288-2012.
* **Category:** Mountain green tea of northwestern Hubei; geographical indication product.
* **Origin:** China, Hubei Province (湖北, *Húběi*), Xiangyang prefecture-level city (襄阳, *Xiāngyáng*), Nanzhang County (南漳, *Nánzhāng*), Limiao Town (李庙, *Lǐmiào*).
* **Protection zone:** Three villages of Limiao Town — Mopingsi (磨坪寺), Quanjiawan (全家湾) and Liuping (刘坪). The area lies in the northwest of the county, 23 km from the county seat; to the east it borders Chengguan Town, to the south Xueping, to the west Changping, to the north Gucheng County.
* **Geographic coordinates:** 111°29′–111°46′ E and 31°43′–32°00′ N.
* **Do not confuse:** Moping Township (磨坪乡) of Zigui County is a different place.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **The temple and the tea.** According to the geographical indications database, the Mopingsi monastery was formerly called Xiangguosi (相国寺) and was founded under the Tang emperor Zhongzong. The Tongzhi-period chronicle of Nanzhang County reports that here “tea is produced, called Moping tea, prized in its time” (产茶，名磨坪茶，为时所珍). According to the same database, the chronicle of the Republican period adds that more than a dozen tea trees with a pleasant taste grew by the temple (寺旁有茶树十数株，味芳美); it was not possible to check these quotations against the original chronicles.
    * **The name “*gòngchá*”.** The sources consulted do not explain when and why the word “贡” (*gòng*, “tribute”) was added to the name; they contain no evidence of deliveries to the court.
    * **2014.** The Ministry of Agriculture registered “磨坪贡茶” as an agricultural product geographical indication (record AGI01546). Ministry announcement No. 2179 is dated 28 November 2014 in the geographical indications database; a reference book gives 18 November as the date of approval. The holder is the Moping Gongcha Tea Growing Association of Nanzhang County (南漳县磨坪贡茶种植专业协会).
    * **2025.** By announcement No. 640 of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), the tea was recognized as a geographical indication product. In August 2025 the provincial intellectual property administration added a local tea cooperative (南漳县春天里茶[叶种](https://thetea.app/article/qiaomuguanmu)植专业合作社) to the list of those permitted to use the special mark.
* **Name:** “Moping” (磨坪) — from Mopingsi village, where the monastery stood; “*gòngchá*” (贡茶) — “tribute tea”.
* **Cultural significance:** According to the geographical indications database, the area around Mopingsi has long been called the “little peach spring” (小桃源, *xiǎo táoyuán*).

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

* **Variety / Cultivar:** 鸠坑 (*Jiūkēng*) is the only variety in the 2025 CNIPA requirements. The 2014 specification calls it the main one: the variety is approved at the provincial level and selected for quality, resilience and stable yield.
* **Harvest standard:** Harvesting begins when 15–20 standard buds accumulate on a square meter of the bush surface. The specification does not say which shoots exactly — buds, “one bud, one leaf” and so on.
* **Harvest time:** In clear weather, in the morning. The leaf is placed in bamboo containers. Season dates are not found in the sources consulted.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** Mountains in the northwest of Nanzhang County. The specification calls the area a high cold mountain area (高寒山区), cut by mountains and ravines, with fogs and many streams. A local saying describes it as “nine parts mountain, half water, half a part field” (九山半水半分田).
* **Altitude:** The elevation range in the zone is from 101 to 1410 m. The sources consulted do not say at what altitude the gardens lie.
* **Soils:** Deep yellow-brown sandy loams (黄棕砂壤土) with pH 5–6.5. Pig and cattle manure have long been applied on the plantations and straw plowed in, so the soil is rich in organic matter.
* **Climate:** Subtropical continental monsoon. According to the specification, the average annual temperature is 16 °C, relative humidity 62%, the frost-free period 245 days, 1780 hours of sunshine and 1140 mm of precipitation a year.
* **Forest and water:** In one place the specification gives a forest cover of 90%, in another a vegetation cover of about 75%. Around the gardens grow pine, cypress, poplar, cunninghamia (杉), peach, chestnut, pear and ginkgo. The gardens are watered mainly by rainwater.
* **Cultivation practices:** Organic matter is applied in autumn with deep digging and in winter; the bushes are pruned once a year, after the spring harvest; against pests, light traps are set — one per 50 mu.
* **Area and output:** 86.7 ha and 33 t a year — according to the specification. According to a reference description, in 2018, 33 t of tea brought in 21.12 million yuan; the tea is sold in Wuhan, Xiangyang, Guangzhou and other cities, as well as in Henan and Shaanxi provinces.

**5. Production Technology:**

The specification lists the operations without temperatures and times. The leaf is cleaned of impurities by hand, then:

1. **Spreading by grade (分级摊青, *fēnjí tānqīng*):** The fresh leaf is spread out separately by raw material class.
2. **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** Heat stops oxidation.
3. **Rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*).**
4. **Hot-air drying (烘青, *hōngqīng*).**
5. **Shaping (整形, *zhěngxíng*).**
6. **Raising the down (提毫, *tíháo*):** An operation after which the white down becomes visible on the strands.
7. **Final drying (烘干, *hōnggān*).**

The explanations for steps 1, 2 and 6 are general information about green tea, not the text of the specification.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

The description is from the specification of the agricultural mark (2014). The 2025 CNIPA requirements describe the tea more briefly and somewhat differently: the strands are tight and thin, with down (条索紧细显毫), emerald; the liquor is yellow-green and bright (黄绿明亮); the taste is rich, with a sweet return (浓郁回甘); the chestnut aroma is lasting (栗香持久); the spent leaves are tender green and even.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** The strands are tight and thin, but sturdy and straight (紧细硕壮挺直), emerald, with conspicuous white down (白毫显露).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No separate description in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** Chestnut (栗香).
* **Taste:** Full, fresh and brisk, withstands many infusions (浓厚，鲜爽耐泡).
* **Liquor color:** Tender yellow, clear and bright (嫩黄，清澈明亮).
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Tender green, even and uniform (嫩绿整齐一致).

**7. Chemical Composition:**

The thresholds of the two documents diverge:

| Indicator | Mark specification (2014) | CNIPA requirements (2025) |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Polyphenols | ≥ 15% | ≥ 20% |
| Water-soluble extractive substances | ≥ 36% | ≥ 40% |
| Total ash | ≤ 6.0% | ≤ 6.0% |
| Crude fiber | ≤ 10.0 (in the text — “mg/kg”) | ≤ 10.0 (in the text — “mg/kg”) |
| Moisture | ≤ 6.0 (in the text — “mg/kg”) | ≤ 6.0 (in the text — “mg/kg”) |

For fiber and moisture the unit “mg/kg” makes no sense — apparently it is a typo for percent, carried over from the 2014 document into the 2025 document; the thresholds are given as in the sources.

**8. Health Properties:**

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

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice for green tea. The protection documents contain no brewing recommendations.

* **Water temperature:** 80–85 °C.
* **Tea amount:** 3 g per 150 ml.
* **Teaware:** A glass tumbler or a white gaiwan.
* **Process:** First infusion — after 40–60 seconds, then two or three further infusions; the specification notes that the tea withstands many infusions.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors; green tea loses its aroma over time, so it is best drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Retail price data are not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the geographical indication mark; according to the specification, producers in the zone apply to the holder association and label the tea with the unified name together with the common mark.
    * Check the origin: three villages of Limiao Town, Nanzhang County.
    * Check the appearance: straight emerald strands with white down, a light tender-yellow or yellow-green liquor, a chestnut aroma.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The Tongzhi-period chronicle calls the tea “Moping” tea without the word “tribute”: the “*gòngchá*” in the name is not explained by documents.
* In Hubei there are two “Mopings”: Mopingsi village of Nanzhang County and Moping Township of Zigui County.
* The specification sets the start of harvest not by a date but by the density of buds on the bush.

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

* **Baokang Lücha ([保康绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/baokang-lucha)):** A green tea of the mountainous Baokang County of the same Xiangyang prefecture-level city.
* **Xieshan Diecui ([薤山叠翠](https://thetea.app/article/xieshan-diecui)):** A green tea of the Xieshan mountains of Gucheng County — the northern neighbor of the *Mópíng gòngchá* zone.
* **Meizi Gongcha ([梅子贡茶](https://thetea.app/article/meizi-gongcha)):** Another Hubei “tribute tea”, from Zhuxi County in the northwest of the province.

**In Conclusion:**

*Mópíng gòngchá* is a small mountain green tea of three villages near the old Mopingsi monastery. Little is known about its past, but the protection documents are clear: a single variety 鸠坑, harvest by bud density, tight emerald strands with white down, a light liquor and a chestnut aroma.