--- title: "Shíshǒu lǜchá" url: https://thetea.app/article/shishou-lucha lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app) --- # Shíshǒu lǜchá (石首绿茶) *Shíshǒu lǜchá* (石首绿茶) is a green tea of Shishou county-level city (石首市), Jingzhou prefecture-level city, in the south of Hubei Province, on the border with Hunan, between the Yangtze and Lake Dongting. The name has been protected by a geographical indication certification mark since 2017. The mark holder is named after Mount Liuhushan (六虎山) in the town of Tuanshansi in the southwest of the county; according to a 2023 publication of *Hubei Ribao*, tourists come there, among other things, to pick tea. Few documents on the tea itself have been found — neither a description of the leaf nor of the technology — and the article is honestly shorter than usual. **1. Classification and Origin:** * **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*). The class is stated in the name and in the name of the association that holds the mark. The technology is not given in the sources consulted. * **Category:** A tea with a geographical indication certification mark (证明商标, *zhèngmíng shāngbiāo*). * **Origin:** China, Hubei Province (湖北, *Húběi*), Jingzhou prefecture-level city (荆州, *Jīngzhōu*), Shishou county-level city (石首, *Shíshǒu*). * **Protection zone:** The register gives Shishou county-level city as the administrative affiliation of the mark holder; I have not checked the legal boundary of the zone. It must not be reconstructed from the name of the tea. * **Mark:** Geographical indication certification mark No. 18336742, class 30, goods — “tea” (茶). Holder — the Shishou City Liuhushan Green Tea Production and Marketing Association (石首市六虎山绿茶产销协会). The term according to the 2020 provincial register — from 21 November 2017 to 20 November 2027. The 2026 register lists the mark as valid. * **Geographic coordinates:** The town of Tuanshansi — about 29.6° N and 112.3° E. This is the point of the town, not the boundary of the zone. **2. History and Cultural Significance:** * **History:** * **2017.** On 21 November the certification mark “石首绿茶” was registered. On the same day the mark for Daolouzhai Baicha in Wuhan was also registered in the province. * No history of the tea before the registration of the mark, dates of garden establishment or awards were found in the sources consulted. * **Name:** *Shíshǒu* (石首) is the name of the county-level city; *lǜchá* (绿茶) means “green tea”. * **Cultural significance:** In Shishou tea is woven into rural tourism. According to a *Hubei Ribao* publication (2023), almost a hundred thousand tourists from Hubei and Hunan came to the “green demonstration zone” of the town of Tuanshansi — to see the flowering rapeseed, pick tea on Liuhushan and relax by the water; an ecological tourist corridor “Lake Qinkehu — Mount Liuhushan” is taking shape. The county authorities call the “Liuhushan green ecological demonstration zone in Tuanshansi” one of the four pillars of their tourism. **3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:** * **Variety / Cultivar:** No data found in the sources consulted. * **Raw material:** No data found in the sources consulted. * **Harvest time:** No data found in the sources consulted. **4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:** * **Region:** The south of Hubei, the bank of the Yangtze north of Lake Dongting, the border with Hunan. The gardens associated with the mark holder lie on Mount Liuhushan in the town of Tuanshansi in the southwest of the county. * **Landscape:** According to a reference book, Tuanshansi is an area of lakeside hills with low mountains, lakes and flat ridges; altitudes are usually 36–50 m, the lowest point is Lake Qinkehu (24.3 m), the highest is Mount Liuhushan (71.3 m). * **County climate:** Subtropical monsoon; according to the reference book, 1800–2000 hours of sunshine a year, mean annual temperature 15.9–16.6 °C, frost-free period 242–263 days, precipitation usually 1100–1300 mm. * **Altitude and soils of the gardens:** No data found in the sources consulted. **5. Production Technology:** The technology of *Shíshǒu lǜchá* is not described in the sources consulted. For green tea the usual sequence is as follows: 1. **Withering (摊放, *tānfàng*).** 2. **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** Heating stops oxidation. 3. **Rolling or shaping (揉捻, *róuniǎn*).** 4. **Drying (干燥, *gānzào*).** This is the general scheme of the class, not a description of the technology of this tea. **6. Organoleptic Characteristics:** * **Dry leaf appearance:** No descriptions found in the sources consulted. * **Dry leaf aroma:** No descriptions found in the sources consulted. * **Liquor aroma:** No descriptions found in the sources consulted. * **Taste:** No descriptions found in the sources consulted. * **Liquor color:** No descriptions found in the sources consulted. * **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** No descriptions found in the sources consulted. **7. Chemical Composition:** No physicochemical data found in the sources consulted. **8. Health Properties:** There are no verified data on the effects of this particular tea. **9. Brewing:** Class practice for green tea. * **Water temperature:** 80–85 °C. * **Tea amount:** 3 g per 150 ml. * **Teaware:** A glass tumbler or a white gaiwan. * **Process:** 1. Warm the teaware. 2. Put in the tea and pour the water down the side. 3. First infusion — after 40–60 seconds. 4. Drink, leaving part of the liquor. 5. Top up with water. 6. Two or three repeat infusions. **10. Storage:** Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors. Best drunk within a year. **11. Price and Counterfeits:** No price data found in the sources consulted. * **How to avoid counterfeits:** * Look for the geographical indication certification mark No. 18336742. * Check that the producer is from Shishou county-level city. **12. Interesting Facts:** * The mark holder is named not after the county but after a mountain: the Liuhushan green tea association. * Shishou stands on the Yangtze right at the border with Hunan; together with four neighboring Hunan counties and districts, the county publishes a joint tourist map of the area. * Mount Liuhushan, which gave its name to the mark holder, is the highest point of the town of Tuanshansi — only 71.3 m above sea level. **13. Comparison with Neighboring Teas:** * **Taolin Lücha ([桃林绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/taolin-lucha)):** A Hunan pan-fired green tea from Linxiang (Yueyang prefecture-level city), across the provincial border. * **Songfeng Lücha ([松峰绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/songfeng-lucha)):** A Hubei green tea from near Chibi, further down the Yangtze. * **Junshan Yinzhen ([君山银针](https://thetea.app/article/junshan-yin-zhen)):** The famous yellow tea of an island in Lake Dongting — for a contrast of class. **In Conclusion:** *Shíshǒu lǜchá* is a name behind which, for now, mainly documents and routes are visible: certification mark No. 18336742 since 2017, the Liuhushan green tea association and the tea gardens in the town of Tuanshansi, where people come to pick tea. Descriptions of the leaf, the liquor and the technology are not found in open sources, and the article has not filled them in with guesses.