Qínglóng lǜchá (晴隆绿茶) is a green tea from Qinglong County (晴隆县) of Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in the southwest of Guizhou Province. The gardens lie at an altitude of 1100–1700 m, at a low latitude, and according to local descriptions the first spring harvest here begins three to six weeks earlier than in many other areas. The product requirements describe two forms — curled and flat. The county is also known for a find made in 1980: on Mount Yuntou Dashan, near the border with neighboring Pu’an County, a fossilized seed of a tea plant was found. Since 2017 Qínglóng lǜchá has been protected as a geographical indication product.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá) — the class is stated in the name itself and confirmed by the technology: fixation, rolling or straightening, drying.
- Category: High-mountain early green tea of southwestern Guizhou; geographical indication product (2017).
- Origin: China, Guizhou Province (贵州, Guìzhōu), Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (黔西南, Qiánxīnán), Qinglong County (晴隆, Qínglóng).
- Protection zone: Fourteen units of the county: Liancheng (莲城) and Dongguan (东观) subdistricts, the towns of Zhongying (中营), Huagong (花贡), Chama (茶马), Guangzhao (光照), Jichang (鸡场), Shazi (沙子), Bihen (碧痕) and Dachang (大厂), the townships of Changliu (长流), Angu (安谷) and Zima (紫马), and Sanbao Yi Ethnic Township (三宝彝族乡).
- Geographic coordinates: Coordinates of the zone are not found in the documents consulted; according to the county government, the county lies between 25°33′ and 26°11′ N and between 105°01′ and 105°25′ E.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- Fossilized seed. According to the Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, on July 13, 1980 a team from its Tea Research Institute that was studying the province’s wild tea trees found a fossilized seed on Mount Yuntou Dashan (云头大山) near the border of Qinglong and Pu’an counties; other publications attribute the find to a senior agronomist of the county agriculture bureau. The Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences identified it as a seed of four-ball tea (四球茶) from the late Tertiary period, about 1.64 million years old; reference descriptions write of the boundary between the Tertiary and Quaternary periods and of an age of “more than a million years”. Xinhua calls Qinglong the only place in the world where such a fossil has been found; neighboring Pu’an County also refers to this find, because the mountain stands on the border of the two counties.
- Museum. The county is building a museum complex around the site of the find.
- 2010–2011. Geographical trademark No. 8685710 for tea; the holder is the Qinglong County Tea Industry Association (晴隆县茶叶产业协会). Some press reports date it to 2010, others write that the mark was registered in March 2011.
- 2017. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, by announcement No. 108, took Qínglóng lǜchá under protection as a geographical indication product and approved the requirements for it; according to a press report, protection has applied since December 8, 2017.
- 2025. The China National Intellectual Property Administration, by a notice, confirmed producers’ right to the special geographical indication mark.
- Name: “Qínglóng” (晴隆) is the name of the county; “lǜchá” (绿茶) means green tea.
- Cultural significance: The county promotes its tea with a four-character formula — “ancient, early, clean, fragrant” (古、早、净、香). “Ancient” stands for many old tea trees and the fossilized seed; “early” for a harvest 20–40 days earlier than in other areas thanks to the altitude and low latitude; “clean” for pesticide control; “fragrant” for an orchid note.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Varieties / Cultivars: The requirements name Fuding Dabai (福鼎大白, Fúdǐng dàbái), Longjing 43 (龙井43, Lóngjǐng 43) and local traditional varieties.
- Harvest: Two seasons — from early February to the end of April and from early July to the end of September.
- Harvest standard: A single bud, a bud with one just-opened leaf, a bud with two just-opened leaves.
- Raw material requirements: Bushes are propagated by cuttings; they are planted from October to February, at no more than 60,000 plants per hectare; at least 25 t of well-rotted organic fertilizer per hectare is applied every year.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: Southwest Guizhou, the mountains at the junction with Pu’an County.
- Growing altitude: 1100–1700 m — according to the product requirements.
- Climate: According to a reference description — a cool and humid high-mountain subtropical monsoon climate: average annual temperature about 14 °C, 1500–1650 mm of precipitation, about 1462 hours of sunshine a year, about 320 frost-free days. The county’s terrain is deeply dissected karst mountains, ranging from 543 to 2025 m.
- Soils: Yellow or yellow-brown soils, pH 4.5–6.5, organic matter no less than 1.5%, layer thickness no less than 50 cm.
5. Production Technology
The product requirements describe two chains:
- Flat tea: withering → fixation → straightening → shaping → drying → heating for aroma.
- Curled tea: withering → fixation → rolling → shaping → drying → heating for aroma.
Stage parameters:
- Withering (摊青, tānqīng): In a layer of 2–10 cm, 3–6 hours.
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): At 180–240 °C, 2–5 minutes.
- Straightening (理条, lǐtiáo) — for flat tea: at 120–150 °C, 2–5 minutes.
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn) — for curled tea: at least 80% of the leaf must roll into a strand.
- Shaping (做形, zuòxíng): Separately for the flat and the curled form; the requirements give no parameters.
- Drying (干燥, gānzào): In two or three stages, to a moisture content of no more than 7%.
- Heating for aroma (提香, tíxiāng): At 60–100 °C, 1.5–2 hours.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
- Dry leaf appearance: Curled — tight, fine, curled; the color even, moist green (紧细卷曲；色泽匀整润绿). Flat — flat and smooth, with noticeable down, even; the color moist green (扁平光滑，显毫、匀整；色泽润绿).
- Dry leaf aroma: Descriptions are not found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Curled — rich and lasting (浓郁、持久). Flat — pure (纯正). Local descriptions speak of a light orchid note.
- Taste: Curled — mellow and full, fresh and rich (醇厚、鲜浓). Flat — fresh and mellow, sweet, thick (鲜醇、味甘、浓厚).
- Liquor color: Curled — yellow-green and bright (黄绿明亮). Flat — yellow, bright and clear (黄亮透明).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Not described in the product requirements; other descriptions are not found in the sources consulted.
7. Chemical Composition
Physicochemical requirements for the product:
| Indicator | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Moisture | no more than 7.0% |
| Total ash | no more than 7.0% |
| Extractive substances | no less than 38.0% |
| Tea polyphenols | no less than 13.0% |
These are acceptance thresholds, not a measured composition. Data on amino acids and caffeine are not found in the sources consulted.
8. Brewing
Class practice for green tea.
- Water temperature: 80–85 °C; for tight curled tea, up to 90 °C is possible.
- Tea amount: 3 g per 150 ml.
- Teaware: A glass tumbler for flat tea, a white gaiwan for curled tea.
- Process:
- Warm the teaware.
- Put in the tea and pour the water down the side.
- First infusion — 40–60 seconds.
- Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
- Top up with water.
- Two or three further infusions.
9. Storage
Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and foreign odors. Early spring tea is valued for its freshness, so it is best drunk within a year.
10. Price and Counterfeits
Price data are not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication mark.
- Check that the producer is located in one of the fourteen units of Qinglong County.
- Compare the form with the requirements: curled — fine and curled, the liquor yellow-green; flat — smooth, with down, the liquor yellow and clear.
11. Interesting Facts
- The fossilized seed of a tea plant from Qinglong has been identified as a seed of four-ball tea from the late Tertiary period.
- The seed was found not by excavation but during a survey of wild tea trees on Mount Yuntou Dashan.
- The protection zone includes the town of Chama (茶马) — “tea and horses”.
- The requirements allow two harvest seasons — spring from February and summer-autumn from July to September.
12. Comparison with Neighboring Teas
- Pu’an Gushu Lü (普安古树绿): Green tea of neighboring Pu’an County from old trees, also early; the fossilized seed from the mountain on the border of the two counties is also mentioned in descriptions of Pu’an.
- Pu’an Hongcha (普安红茶): Red tea of Pu’an County.
- Guizhou Lücha (贵州绿茶): The provincial name for Guizhou green tea — a broader level than the county name of Qinglong.
In Conclusion:
Qínglóng lǜchá is an early high-mountain green tea of southwestern Guizhou: gardens at 1100–1700 m, harvest from early February, two forms — curled, with a rich and lasting aroma, and flat, with a pure aroma and a sweet, thick taste. Behind it stand the fossilized seed of 1980, on which the county builds its tea history, and, since 2017, also protection as a geographical indication product.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page