Tàiqīng shuāngshàng lǜyá chá

Tàiqīng shuāngshàng lǜyá chá (太青双上绿芽茶) is a bud green tea from Taiqing Mountain (太青山) in Lixian County (澧县) of Changde prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan Province. Descriptively — “Shuangshang green buds from Taiqing Mountain”. The protection document describes flat, straight, emerald buds with white down and a chestnut note in the aroma — about 80,000 buds per kilogram. In 2015 the name was registered as an agricultural product geographical indication (AGI), and in 2025 it was recognized as a geographical indication product.

1. Classification and Origin

Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá): the document’s scheme has fixation and drying stages, without oxidation or smothering.
Category: A bud green tea of Hunan; geographical indication product (2025); agricultural product geographical indication (2015).
Origin: China, Hunan Province (湖南, Húnán), Changde prefecture-level city (常德, Chángdé), Lixian County (澧县, Lǐxiàn).
Protection zone: Seven townships and towns of the county: Taiqing (太青乡), Yangjiafang (杨家坊乡), Huolianpo (火连坡镇), Ganxitan (甘溪滩镇), Fangshiping (方石坪镇), Matoupu (码头铺镇) and Dongshi (洞市乡).
Applicant: The Chengtoushan “Shuāngshàng lǜyá” Tea Culture Research Institute of Lixian County (澧县城头山双上绿芽茶文化研究所).
Geographic coordinates: 111°12′35″–111°31′34″ E, 29°42′57″–29°57′39″ N.

2. History and Cultural Significance

History:
- Early datings differ. The catalogue of geographical indications, citing the Yuan historian Ma Duanlin (马端临) and the reference book Zhongguo Cha Jing (中国茶经), writes that “双上绿芽” from Lizhou (澧州, present-day Lixian) was already selected as tribute to the court before 1008, the first year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Song dynasty. The county tourism development plan (2019), citing the reference book “湖南名茶”, puts it differently: tea was already grown here under the Tang, and under the Yuan “双上绿芽” was known throughout the country and went as annual tribute. The primary sources have not been checked; no dating is definitive.
- 2014. According to the reference book, the production area in the seven townships and towns was 3333.33 ha, and the output 5000 tonnes of dry tea a year.
- 2015. On 5 November the Ministry of Agriculture of the PRC took the name under protection as an agricultural product geographical indication.
- Heritage. According to the reference book, the manual processing technique is on the intangible heritage list of Changde; according to a prefecture report of November 2024, it has also been entered in the sixth provincial list of intangible heritage of Hunan.
- 2025. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), by announcement No. 640 — signed on 16 July, published on 13 August — recognized the name as a geographical indication product.
Name: Taiqing (太青) is Taiqing Mountain, also written 太清山. “Shuāngshàng” (双上) means “went up twice”. The legend says that the “King of Medicine” Sun Simiao (孙思邈) came here twice: the first time, in passing, he dropped a tea seed into the ground, the second time he taught the inhabitants, who had looked after the bush, the medicinal use of tea and the way of processing it. In his memory the tea was named “双上绿芽”. This is a legend, not a documented fact. “Lǜyá” (绿芽) means “green buds”.
Cultural significance: According to reference books, the tea held the titles “famous tea of Hunan” and “famous tea of China”, and the “双上绿芽” brand the status of a well-known trademark of China. In the county tourism development plan for 2019–2030, the “Taiqing tea” project is on the list of ten rural revitalization projects; its concept is “The Way of Tribute” (贡茶之道).

3. Botanical Description and Raw Material

Variety / Cultivar: The protection document gives the variety the same name as the product — “太青双上绿芽茶” — without explaining what stands behind it; a bred cultivar is not found in the sources consulted.
Raw material: Buds. According to the reference book — a single bud (独芽) about 20 mm long, picked in the mountains before the Guyu season (谷雨). The document speaks of buds (芽头) and sets a benchmark of about 80,000 buds per kilogram of dry tea.
Harvest time: Spring; the document also gives the regime for autumn leaf.
Harvest requirements: The leaf is taken immediately in clean woven baskets to the collection point and, after inspection, spread out on bamboo mats.

4. Terroir and Cultivation Features

Region: Taiqing Mountain: most peaks are above 800 m; the highest point, Yamujian (鸭母尖), 1019.5 m, is also the highest point of the county, “the roof of Lixian”. According to a prefecture report (2024), the mountain is in clouds and mist all year round.
Growing altitude: According to the protection document — 500–1200 m. A reference summary of the 2015 description, which could not be verified, names 150–550 m as the usual altitudes for the tea base; the discrepancy is unresolved.
Soils: According to the document — sandy loams, loams and clay loams, pH 5.0–6.0, calcium not more than 0.2 %, layer thickness more than 1 m.
Climate: Verified climate data are not found in the sources consulted.
Agronomic practice according to the document: Planting from the end of October to the beginning of March, two bushes per hole, 4444 bushes per mu with double-row planting and 2222 with single-row. Manure and oilcake only after disinfection.

5. Production Technology

The protection document lays out eight operations with their regimes.

Spreading (摊放, tānfàng): In spring 6–8 hours, in autumn 2–3; in a layer no thicker than 3 cm on bamboo trays or 5 cm in a trough, with one or two turnings, to a moisture content of 70–72 %, without damage or reddening.
Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): The drum wall at the inlet is about 230 °C, the air at the outlet above 90 °C; a pass takes about 90 seconds, 45–50 loadings per minute. Moisture afterwards is about 62 %, the leaf is dark green, with a clean aroma.
Air blowing and cooling (清风、摊凉): In a layer up to 1 cm, about 15 minutes; leaves, stalks and debris are removed.
First drying (初干, chūgān): 110–130 °C, 5–8 minutes; the leaf does not stick to the hand and is slightly prickly, moisture 45–50 %.
Bringing out the down (提毫, tíháo): 60–80 °C, 10–15 minutes: the leaf is straightened and shaped, and when it is 70–80 % dry, the leaves are rubbed against each other so that the white down shows.
Manual finishing of the shape and repeated bringing out of the down: By hand the leaf is brought to a tight straight shape, emerald color and visible down.
Cooling (摊凉, tānliáng): 30–40 minutes, in a layer up to 2 cm.
Final drying with aroma firing (足干提香, zúgān tíxiāng): Layer by layer in an aroma-raising machine to a moisture content of not more than 5 %; the cooled tea is packed and sealed for storage.

6. Organoleptic Characteristics

The description is from the protection document.

Dry leaf appearance: Flat, straight, graceful; emerald green with a sheen, white down visible (扁直秀丽，色泽翠绿光润、白毫显露). According to the document, moisture is below 5 %: in the hand the tea is slightly prickly and breaks under light pressure.
Dry leaf aroma: A separate description is not found in the sources consulted.
Liquor aroma: High, fresh, lasting, with a distinctive chestnut note (栗香) and a long aftertaste.
Taste: Full, mellow, sweetish and refreshing (醇厚甘爽).
Liquor color: Clear, bright (清澈明亮).
Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender green, fresh and bright; the buds are plump, whole, even, springy. In the glass the buds stand vertically (茶芽直竖).

7. Chemical Composition

The protection document gives ranges:

Indicator	Content
Tea polyphenols	18.7–28.7 g/100 g
Water-soluble extractives	38.2–51.2 g/100 g
Caffeine	1.5–4.2 g/100 g
Saponins (total)	0.3–1.2 %
Zinc	3.5–5.5 mg/100 g
Selenium	7.5–12.0 µg/100 g

This is a description of the product, not an analysis of a batch.

8. Brewing

Class practice for a tender bud green tea.

Water temperature: 75–80 °C.
Tea amount: 3 g per 150 ml.
Teaware: A tall glass tumbler — in it you can see the buds rise vertically.
Process:
1. Warm the glass.
2. Pour in the water, then add the tea.
3. The first infusion is ready after 1–2 minutes, when the buds sink.
4. Drink, leaving a third of the infusion.
5. Top up with water.
6. Two or three repeat infusions.

9. Storage

Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors; 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 product mark: it is granted on application through the county intellectual property office, after review by the province and approval by CNIPA.
- Check that the producer is from the seven townships and towns of the zone.
- Check the appearance: single buds, flat and straight, with white down; a chestnut note; the buds stand up in the glass.
- Remember that “双上绿芽” is also a trademark, and a trademark and an indication mark are different documents.

11. Interesting Facts

The upper altitude limit in the protection document — 1200 m — is higher than the highest point of the county itself.
A kilogram of dry tea, according to the document, contains about 80,000 buds.
Pickers, according to the reference book, may not use cosmetics or perfume.

12. Comparison with Other Hunan Teas and Bud Teas

Shimen Yinfeng (石门银峰): A green tea of neighboring Shimen County, also with abundant down, but in thin straight needles rather than flat.
Changde Hongcha (常德红茶): A red tea of the prefecture, whose zone also includes part of Lixian County.
Junshan Yinzhen (君山银针): A bud tea of Hunan that also stands up in the glass, but a yellow tea, made with smothering.
Zhuyeqing (竹叶青): A flat green tea of Emei Mountain in Sichuan — the closest in leaf shape.

In Conclusion:

Tàiqīng shuāngshàng lǜyá chá is a bud green tea of Taiqing Mountain whose protection document lays out the technology down to the degree and the second. Flat emerald buds with white down, a chestnut note and buds that stand up in the glass are its hallmarks; the ancient tribute and the legend of Sun Simiao are, for now, versions from reference books.

Sources

Geographical indication

CNIPA 地理标志产品认定 №640

Full list — on the Sources page