Píngshuǐ rìzhù chá (平水日铸茶) is a green tea of Keqiao District of Shaoxing city and neighboring places, Zhejiang Province. The name 日铸 (Rizhu) came from Song literature: in the 11th century Ouyang Xiu called Rizhu tea the first among the leaf teas of Zhejiang, and Lu You left one of the early descriptions of an unpressed tea that was called “pan-fired green” (炒青) and brewed by the pinch. Today’s Píngshuǐ rìzhù is a tea in the form of curled buds with a chestnut aroma. Since 2019 it has been an agricultural product geographical indication (AGI), the first for a Shaoxing tea, and since 2024 an industry standard has applied to it.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá), pan-fired (炒青, chǎoqīng). The industry standard GH/T 1425-2023 explicitly calls it a green tea: fixation, rolling, pan-firing, without oxidation.
- Category: A rolled green tea in the shape of a bud (花蕾形); a famous historic name of Zhejiang.
- Origin: China, Zhejiang Province (浙江, Zhèjiāng), Shaoxing city (绍兴, Shàoxīng), Keqiao District (柯桥区) and part of Yuecheng District (越城区).
- Protection zone: Eight towns of Keqiao District — Yangxunqiao, Xialü, Lizhu, Lanting, Fuquan, Pingshui, Jidong and Wangtan — and the urban subdistrict (街道) of Hutang, 93 administrative villages in all; added to them are 12 villages of Fusheng town in Yuecheng District and the Shaoxing city tea farm (绍兴市茶场).
- Geographic coordinates: 29°42′13″–30°08′16″ N, 120°17′45″–120°43′09″ E.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- 11th century. Ouyang Xiu (欧阳修), in Notes on Returning to the Fields (归田录), wrote that leaf tea flourishes in the two Zhe, and that first among them stands the Rizhu (日注, another spelling of the same name).
- Southern Song. The chronicle Jiatai Kuaiji Zhi (嘉泰会稽志) explains the name: below the pass stood the Zishou monastery, on the sunny slope of Youche the sun stayed from morning to evening, and the tea born there was excellent — hence “Rizhu”, “cast by the sun”.
- Lu You. In a note to his poems, the poet Lu You (陆游) writes that Rizhu tea is a tea of the land of Yue: it is pressed neither into lumps nor into cakes, it is called “pan-fired green” (炒青) and “grey hawk’s claw” (苍鹰爪), and it is brewed by the pinch.
- Song and later. The local press calls Rizhu “a thousand-year-old tribute tea” and “the progenitor of China’s pan-fired green tea”; the basis for the second phrase is above all the note by Lu You quoted above.
- 2019. On 17 January 2019 the Ministry of Agriculture registered the agricultural product geographical indication (AGI) “平水日铸茶”, number AGI02540. According to reports on the registration, it is Shaoxing’s fourth agricultural product geographical indication and the first for tea.
- 2023. The All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives published the industry standard GH/T 1425-2023 “平水日铸茶”; it has been in force since 1 March 2024.
- 2025. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) recognized it as a geographical indication product by announcement No. 640.
- Name: “Pingshui” (平水) is a town in the protection zone. “Rizhu” (日铸) is the Rizhu pass, “cast by the sun”.
- Cultural significance: The zone includes Lanting (兰亭) — the site of the Orchid Pavilion, where Wang Xizhi wrote his famous preface. The tea zone and the calligraphy monument coincide territorially.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Varieties / Cultivars: The industry standard names 龙井43 (Lóngjǐng 43), the local population, 平水日铸茶1号 and 平水日铸茶2号, 中茶108 (Zhōngchá 108) and other suitable cultivars.
- Harvest standard: No data found in the sources consulted.
- Harvest time: Dates not found in the sources consulted; the 2021 harvest opening ceremony took place on 15 March.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The Kuaiji mountains (会稽山) southeast of Shaoxing.
- Zone according to the standard: Keqiao District of Shaoxing city and Fusheng town in Yuecheng District.
- Altitude: No data found in the sources consulted.
- Soils: No data found in the sources consulted.
- Scale: According to reports on the 2019 registration, the zone has 4533.3 ha of gardens, and output is 6480 t.
5. Production Technology
The industry standard GH/T 1425-2023 lists the following operations:
- Withering of the raw leaf (摊青, tānqīng).
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng).
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn).
- Second partial drying (二青, èrqīng).
- First pan-firing (初炒, chūchǎo).
- Repeat pan-firing (复炒, fùchǎo).
- Aroma finishing (提香, tíxiāng).
The standard does not give temperatures or times for the operations, and they were not found in the sources consulted.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
The description below is taken from the geographical indication requirements in a reference summary; after the list come the norms of the industry standard.
- Dry leaf appearance: Curled into a bud (卷曲呈花蕾状), green, moist-glossy and fresh (绿润鲜活).
- Dry leaf aroma: No descriptions found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Chestnut, rich and lasting (栗香馥郁持久).
- Taste: Full, with a returning sweetness (醇厚回甘).
- Liquor color: Green and bright (绿明亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender, even, opening into a “flower”, evenly green and glossy (嫩匀成朵，匀齐绿亮).
The industry standard divides the tea into three grades with their own names: the top grade is “鹰爪” (“hawk’s claw”), the first grade “贡熙”, the second grade “赤堇”. For the top grade it requires: the leaf curled into a bud, clean, tender green and moist-glossy (盘花卷曲呈花蕾形，匀净，嫩绿鲜润); the liquor tender green and bright (嫩绿明亮); the aroma chestnut, rich and lasting (栗香馥郁持久); the taste fresh, mild, sweet and brisk (鲜醇甘爽); the spent leaves fine, tender, opened into “flowers”, tender green and bright (细嫩成朵，嫩绿明亮). The standard reduces the distinctive features to three: bud shape, chestnut aroma, fresh brisk taste (花蕾形、板栗香、鲜爽味).
7. Chemical Composition
Requirements of the industry standard GH/T 1425-2023:
- Moisture: not above 6.0 g per 100 g.
- Total ash (on a dry matter basis): not above 6.5 g per 100 g.
- Water-soluble substances: not less than 36.0 %.
Data on catechins, amino acids and caffeine not found in the sources consulted.
8. Brewing
Class practice for green tea.
- Water temperature: 80–90 °C; a curled leaf opens more slowly than a straight one.
- Tea amount: 3 g per 150 ml.
- Teaware: A white gaiwan or a glass tumbler.
- Process:
- Warm the teaware.
- Put in the tea and pour on the water.
- First infusion — 60–90 seconds.
- Pour off or drink, leaving a third of the liquor.
- Top up with water.
- Three or four repeat infusions, each slightly longer.
9. Storage
Class practice. In airtight, opaque packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from moisture, light and odors. Drink within a year.
10. Price and Counterfeits
According to a press report on the 2021 harvest opening ceremony, the price of the top grade “鹰爪” (“hawk’s claw”) was raised to 10,000 yuan per kilogram. Other prices not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Do not confuse it with Pingshui Zhu Cha (平水珠茶): the word “Pingshui” appears in both names, but these are different products.
- Look for the geographical indication mark “平水日铸茶” and a producer from the zone.
- The dry leaf is a green curled bud, not a tight pellet.
- The liquor aroma is chestnut; the liquor is green and bright.
11. Interesting Facts
- Lu You’s note calls Rizhu tea “grey hawk’s claw” — and the top grade of the modern tea is sold under the name “hawk’s claw” (鹰爪).
- Ouyang Xiu writes the name as 日注; the chronicle and today’s mark write it as 日铸.
- The protection zone includes Wang Xizhi’s Orchid Pavilion.
- Píngshuǐ rìzhù is the first Shaoxing tea with an agricultural product geographical indication.
12. Comparison with Shaoxing Teas
- Pingshui Zhu Cha (平水珠茶): An export green tea rolled into tight shot-like pellets; the same area and the same word “Pingshui”, a different product and a different shape.
- Shengzhou Hui Bai (嵊州辉白): A round-rolled green tea of Shengzhou, another old Shaoxing tea.
- Yuexiang Long Jing (越乡龙井): A flat Longjing tea of Shengzhou, the largest regional Longjing brand by volume; its shape is the opposite of the curled bud of Rizhu.
In Conclusion:
Píngshuǐ rìzhù chá is an old name with a new mark: Song authors ranked Rizhu tea first in Zhejiang, and Lu You described it as an unpressed pan-fired tea brewed by the pinch. Today it is a green bud from the Kuaiji mountains with a chestnut aroma, a bright green liquor and a returning sweetness. It is easy to confuse with Pingshui “gunpowder”, but their shape and history are different.
Sources
Standards
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page