Nánchuān dàshù chá (南川大树茶) — “big-tree tea” — is a tea of Nanchuan District (南川区) of the city of Chongqing, from the lands south of Mount Jinfoshan (金佛山). The name comes from the tree: it is a local arboreal variety with a large, soft leaf and a high amino acid content. According to the description cited by the Chongqing Local Chronicles Office, the product is a green tea. It is protected twice: as an agricultural product geographical indication (2012) and as a CNIPA geographical indication product.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá), unfermented. The basis is the description in the Chongqing Chronicle: Agricultural and Special Products (重庆市志·农特产品志): “南川大树茶产品为绿茶” — “the Nánchuān dàshù chá product is green tea”. The Ministry of Agriculture register gives only the general category “tea” (茶叶).
- Category: Tea of a local arboreal variety; geographical indication of the Ministry of Agriculture (2012) and of CNIPA.
- Origin: China, the city of Chongqing (重庆, Chóngqìng), Nanchuan District (南川区, Nánchuān Qū). The legal zone according to the annex to CNIPA announcement No. 640: south of Jinfoshan, east of Baizhishan, north of Sanjieshan — Delong (德隆乡) and Guhua (古花乡) townships, Hexi (合溪镇) and Dayou (大有镇) towns, Sanquan town (三泉镇, Mazui village). The extreme points: in the east — Shijia village of Guhua township, in the south — Caoba of Hexi town, in the west — Chashu of Delong township, in the north — Mazui of Sanquan town.
- Geographic coordinates: 107°02′09″–107°18′06″ E, 28°31′48″–28°53′16″ N.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- Ancient trees. The data in the sources diverge. The chronicle writes of about 18,000 trees, all under protective plaques; the age of the largest, according to an expert estimate the chronicle refers to, is more than 1400 years. The website of the Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration gives more than 2000 trees and the age of the largest as more than 2700 years. Which estimate is correct cannot be established.
- “King of tea trees”. The largest tree grows in Chashu village (茶树村, “tea tree”) of Delong township. The chronicle calls it the “king of tea trees” (茶树王), the Chongqing IP Administration the “ancestor of tea trees” (茶树鼻祖).
- 2012. The Ministry of Agriculture entered Nánchuān dàshù chá in the register of agricultural product geographical indications (AGI00949); the holder is the tea association of Nanchuan District. The Chongqing IP Administration dates the registration to 28 March 2012.
- Research. Southwest University (西南大学) studied the processing of this leaf into red tea; for a 2019 study the leaf was picked in April 2018 at a demonstration base in Delong township. This is research, not a description of the product.
- CNIPA. The name was recognized as a geographical indication product (announcement No. 640).
- Name:
- “Nanchuan” (南川) — literally “southern river”, the name of the district.
- “Dashu cha” (大树茶, dàshù chá) — “big-tree tea”: tea from trees, not from bushes.
- Cultural significance: The Chongqing IP Administration calls Jinfoshan one of the places of origin of the wild tea tree and writes that a similar variety has not been found anywhere else; this is its assessment, and no independent verification is found in the sources consulted.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety / Cultivar: According to the chronicle — a local arboreal (乔木型, qiáomù xíng) wild variety of the Jinfoshan mountains of Nanchuan District. The leaf is large, soft, yellowish-green; the tree is frost-resistant. Amino acids, according to the chronicle, are especially abundant — up to 4.3%. In the Southwest University study the raw material is designated as the species Camellia nanchuanica.
- Harvest: The timing is not given in the sources consulted.
- Harvest standard: According to the chronicle, the product is divided into “quality tea” (优质茶) and “famous tea” (名茶). For quality tea a bud with two leaves and a bud with three barely opened leaves are picked; for famous tea, from a single bud to a bud with one opened leaf.
- Raw material requirements: Leaf from trees in the five units of the legal zone. Fertilizers — mainly manure.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The lands south of Jinfoshan, east of Baizhishan and north of Sanjieshan. According to the chronicle, the tea here grows interspersed with medicinal plants.
- Growing altitude: 800–1600 m according to the chronicle. The Chongqing IP Administration gives 1000–1500 m and places Delong township above 1400 m.
- Soils: According to the chronicle — slightly acidic, pH 4.5–6.5; “bianshatu” soil (扁沙土) on Permian rocks, rich in organic matter.
- Climate: Humid subtropical monsoon: the winter is short, spring comes early, the summer is long, the rains come together with the heat, and the climate changes sharply with altitude. According to the chronicle, on Jinfoshan the temperature in the hot months stays at about 17 °C; precipitation is about 1400 mm a year; there are about 260 foggy days, and air humidity is 90%.
- Area: According to the chronicle — 700 ha, output about 100 tonnes.
5. Production Technology
According to the chronicle, the product is a green tea of two grades:
- Quality tea (优质茶): spreading of the fresh leaf — fixation (杀青, shāqīng) — rolling — drying. Standard — GB/T 14456.1—2017 for green tea.
- Famous tea (名茶): fresh leaf — spreading and cooling — fixation — rolling — shaping — drying — sifting — packing. Standard — the local DB50/27—2008 for premium green tea.
No temperatures or durations of the operations are found in the sources consulted.
Suitability trials cited by the chronicle:
- Green tea came out with a high aroma and a rich taste, and it withstands many infusions.
- Oolong turned out even better.
- Broken red tea (红碎茶, hóngsuìchá) is higher in quality than that from Sichuan medium- and small-leaf varieties and Fujian populations, and close to the Yunnan large-leaf variety.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
The chronicle’s description for green tea:
- Dry leaf appearance: Tight, plump (肥壮), dark green.
- Dry leaf aroma: No separate description.
- Liquor aroma: A rich varietal aroma; the chronicle does not specify whether it refers to the dry leaf or to the liquor.
- Taste: Fresh and mellow, with a sweet aftertaste.
- Liquor color: Yellow-green, bright.
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Yellow-green, even and bright.
No description of red tea made from this leaf is found in the sources consulted.
7. Chemical Composition
According to the chronicle: amino acids — up to 4.3%; water-soluble extractives — not less than 35%; moisture — not more than 6.5%; ash — not more than 6.5%.
According to the Southwest University study (2019), the fresh leaf is rich in catechins, including EGCG; crude red tea made from this leaf contains 36.34 mg/g of free amino acids.
8. Brewing
Class practice for green tea. The chronicle only notes that the tea withstands many infusions.
- Water temperature: 80–85 °C.
- Tea amount: 3 g per 150 ml.
- Teaware: Glass tumbler or gaiwan.
- Process:
- Warm the teaware.
- Put in the tea, pour in a little water and let the leaf open.
- Top up with water; the first infusion — after 1–2 minutes.
- Repeated infusions — with added time.
9. Storage
Class practice for green tea. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and foreign odors.
10. Price and Counterfeits
No price data in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication mark.
- Check that the producer is from the five units of the legal zone.
- The words “大树茶” on the packaging mean nothing: this is what tea from old trees is called in many regions, above all in Yunnan.
- According to the chronicle, the Nanchuan leaf is large and tight, dark green; small bush leaf is not this product.
11. Interesting Facts
- The village where the “king of tea trees” grows is called just that — Chashu, “tea tree”.
- In the trials, oolong from this leaf turned out better than green tea, although the geographical indication product remains green tea.
- Estimates of the number and age of the trees differ manyfold: from 2000 to 18,000 trees and from 1400 to 2700 years for the oldest.
12. Comparison with Other Teas
- Dashu Cha (大树茶): The general name for tea from old trees, above all from Yunnan; the Nanchuan one has its own variety and its own legal zone.
- Nanchuan Hongcha (南川红茶): Red tea of the same district, a separate article in the encyclopedia.
- Nanchuan Lücha (南川绿茶): Green tea of the whole district; for Nánchuān dàshù chá the raw material is only the local arboreal variety, and the zone is five units.
- Yongchuan Xiuya (永川秀芽): A needle-shaped green tea of Chongqing from bushes.
- Dianhong (滇红): Red tea from the Yunnan large-leaf variety — the one with which the chronicle compares the Nanchuan leaf in the broken red tea trial.
In Conclusion:
Nánchuān dàshù chá is a tea in which the main thing is the tree: a local arboreal variety of the Jinfoshan mountains with a large, soft leaf and a high amino acid content, protected as a geographical indication with a precise zone. According to the Chongqing chronicle, the product is a green tea of two grades; the trials showed that the leaf is also suitable for oolong and for broken red tea. The number and age of the trees remain disputed.
Sources
Standards
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page