Tīngxī lánxiāng chá

Tīngxī lánxiāng chá (汀溪兰香茶) is a green tea from four villages of Tingxi Township (汀溪乡), Jing County (泾县), Xuancheng prefecture-level city, in the south of Anhui Province; in descriptive translation, “Tingxi orchid aroma”. The requirements for the geographical indication product name two of its typical features: the shape of embroidery scissor blades (绣剪形) and the orchid aroma. The name has been protected by an agricultural product geographical indication since 2017 and by recognition as a geographical indication product since 2025. It is a separate product, not a synonym of Jingxian Lanxiang Cha: that tea has a zone of 46 villages, and the four villages of Tīngxī lánxiāng are part of it.

1. Classification and Origin

Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá). A reference book calls it a famous green tea of the class of baked “pointed” teas (烘青尖茶类名优绿茶, hōngqīng jiānchá); the technology according to the requirements is green (section 5).
Category: “Pointed” tea of Jing County; geographical indication product.
Origin: China, Anhui Province (安徽, Ānhuī), Xuancheng prefecture-level city (宣城, Xuānchéng), Jing County (泾县, Jīngxiàn), Tingxi Township (汀溪, Tīngxī).
Protection zone: Four villages of Tingxi Township — Danankeng (大南坑村), Hongxing (红星村), Hongling (红岭村) and Gaoshan (高山村). The applicant is the Jing County Tea Association (泾县茶业协会). One commercial page’s claim that the tea is made throughout the county is not confirmed by the document.
Geographic coordinates: 30°28′40″–30°38′19″ N, 118°33′51″–118°40′12″ E (boundaries of the protection zone).

2. History and Cultural Significance

History:
- Prehistory. According to reference books, “pointed” tea (尖茶, jiānchá) is a traditional product of the county. The datings diverge: some texts call “Baiyun Lanpian” (白云兰片) a tea of the Tang and Song eras, while another reference book writes that under the Tang “Baiyun Cha” (白云茶) was made here, and cites the name “Baiyun Lanpian” from the work “白云茶赋” of the Kangxi (康熙) era of the Qing dynasty.
- Late Qing. The “pointed” teas of Tingxi and Aimin (爱民) were sold in the cities along the Yangtze and exported in batches to Southeast Asia, which earned them the name “overseas pointed tea” (洋尖, yángjiān).
- Creation. According to reference books, the tea was made on the basis of the former top-grade “pointed” tea under the guidance of Professor Chen Chuan (陈椽): the picking was raised to a bud with one leaf, the shape was brought to that of scissor blades, and the name was given with an eye to the orchid “Baiyun Lanpian”. Another reference book names the local “Tingxi Tikui” (汀溪提魁) as the basis. The sources do not name the year of creation.
- 2013–2014. According to the county government, the tea entered the provincial top ten tea brands most loved by readers two years running — the only one of the teas of Xuancheng.
- 2015. The Anhui Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision (安徽省质量技术监督局) approved the local standard DB34/T 2413-2015 “Technical code of practice for the production of Tīngxī lánxiāng chá” (汀溪兰香茶生产技术规程) on 14 July; it came into force on 14 August 2015.
- 20 April 2017. The Ministry of Agriculture of the PRC registered “汀溪兰香茶” as an agricultural product geographical indication.
- 2019. The eighth harvest festival “泾县（汀溪）兰香茶” was held in Tingxi.
- 20 May 2020. According to a reference book, the tea was entered on the national list “全国名特优新农产品”.
- 9 June 2025. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) recognized it as a geographical indication product by announcement No. 632 — separately from Jingxian Lanxiang Cha, recognized by the same announcement.
Name: “Tīngxī” (汀溪) is the name of the township; “lánxiāng” (兰香) means “orchid aroma”; “chá” (茶) means tea.
Cultural significance: The Xuancheng government calls Tingxi the home of this tea and the “township of famous teas” of the prefecture, and the tea itself an organic hand-made green tea. The harvest festival promotes the common county brand “泾县兰香”.

3. Botanical Description and Raw Material

Varieties: The requirements name good varieties such as “Lánxiāng No. 1” (兰香一号, Lánxiāng yī hào). According to a reference book of an agricultural technology association, as retold, these are the local population (当地群体种) and lines selected from it; leaves with a purple tinge are not taken.
Harvest standard: A bud with one leaf just beginning to open (一芽一叶初展); the leaf is broken off with an upward movement of the hand (提手采).
Harvest time: According to the requirements, the harvest opens in the period from the last ten days of March to the Qingming festival (清明). One educational publication writes of picking between Qingming and Guyu (谷雨); what explains the discrepancy is not stated in the sources.

4. Terroir and Cultivation Features

Region: The mountains of southern Anhui.
Climate: Northern subtropical monsoon, humid. A reference book gives for Tingxi 15.7 °C on average for the year, 246 frost-free days, 1932.4 hours of sunshine and 1536.7 mm of precipitation; in clear weather there is fog here in the morning and evening, and in bad weather the mountains are in clouds.
Soils: According to the requirements — of good structure, sandy, well permeable, with a thick humus layer; organic matter 2–6%, pH 5.0–6.0.
Care: During loosening, well-rotted organic matter is applied — compost, oilcake, manure.
Growing altitude: No data in the sources consulted.
Scale: A reference book of local products gives 400 ha of gardens and 80 t of output; the year of these figures is not stated, and it is unclear what the area refers to.

5. Production Technology

The requirements for the geographical indication product set the following chain:

Withering of the fresh leaf (摊放, tānfàng).
Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): Heating stops oxidation.
Shaping (做形, zuòxíng): Straightening (理条, lǐtiáo) and light pressing — hence the straight flat shape.
First drying (初烘, chūhōng).
Cooling (摊凉, tānliáng).
Sorting (捡剔, jiǎntī).
Final drying (复烘, fùhōng).
Packing.

Production is also described by the provincial technical code of practice DB34/T 2413-2015 (section 2). The text of the code is not found in the sources consulted, so its requirements are not given here.

Temperatures and operation times are not found in the sources consulted. One commercial description writes of drying over charcoal to a moisture content of 5% and below; the requirements allow up to 7%.

6. Organoleptic Characteristics

According to the requirements for the geographical indication product.

Dry leaf appearance: The shape of embroidery scissor blades, straight and flattened out, emerald green, with visible down (绣剪形，平直舒展，翠绿显毫).
Dry leaf aroma: No descriptions are found in the sources consulted.
Liquor aroma: Clean and high, with a distinct orchid aroma (香气清高显兰花香).
Taste: Fresh and mellow, with a sweet return (滋味鲜醇回甘).
Liquor color: Clean, clear and bright (汤色清澈明亮); reference books specify — tender green.
Spent leaves (wet leaves): Fleshy and tender, the leaves open like a flower, green and glossy (叶底肥嫩成朵绿亮).

7. Chemical Composition

Physicochemical requirements for the geographical indication product:

Indicator	Norm
Moisture	not more than 7.0%
Dust	not more than 0.5%
Total ash	not more than 6.5%
Water-soluble extractives	not less than 37.0%
Crude fiber	not more than 14.0%

For physicochemical indicators and grading, the requirements of the agricultural indication referred to the provincial standard DB34/T 1582 “Geographical indication product Tīngxī lánxiāng chá”; its text is not found in the sources consulted. Data on polyphenols, amino acids and caffeine are not found in the sources consulted either.

8. 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 a third of the liquor.
5. Top up with water.
6. Two or three repeat infusions.

9. Storage

Class practice. In airtight opaque packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and foreign odors. The orchid aroma is the first to fade, so the tea 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 special geographical indication mark “汀溪兰香茶”: the right to it is approved by CNIPA, and the list of authorized users is published.
- Check that the tea comes from the four villages of Tingxi Township.
- The leaf is straight, flat, scissor-shaped, with down; not twisted and not rolled into a ball.

11. Interesting Facts

Popular texts explain the orchid aroma by wild orchids that bloom on the slopes in spring — this is a folk explanation, not analytical data.
All four villages of Tīngxī lánxiāng are part of the 46-village zone of Jingxian Lanxiang Cha; both names were recognized by one announcement on the application of one association.
The norms of the two neighbors differ: for Tīngxī lánxiāng the harvest opens from the end of March to Qingming, up to 0.5% dust is allowed and extractives must be not less than 37%; for Jingxian Lanxiang the harvest opens from the end of March to Guyu, up to 6% broken tea and dust is allowed, and extractives must be at least 35%.

12. Comparison with Teas of Jing County and Its Neighbors

Jingxian Lanxiang Cha (泾县兰香茶): The common orchid tea of the county with the same scissor shape; its zone is wider and includes the villages of Tīngxī lánxiāng.
Jingxian Tejian (泾县特尖): A baked “pointed” green tea of the same county with its own name.
Yongxi Huoqing (涌溪火青): A green tea of the county rolled into tight pellets.
Taiping Houkui (太平猴魁): A famous Anhui “pointed” tea, flat and large-leaved.

In Conclusion:

Tīngxī lánxiāng chá is a “pointed” green tea from four mountain villages of Tingxi Township: a straight flat leaf in the shape of embroidery scissor blades, an emerald color with down, a clean high aroma with an orchid note and a fresh mellow taste with a sweet return. It grew out of the old county “pointed” tea and neighbors the broader Jingxian Lanxiang, but its norms are its own — an earlier harvest opening date and a stricter tolerance for dust.