Tónggǔ nínghóng (铜鼓宁红) is a red tea from Tonggu County (铜鼓县) of Yichun prefecture-level city in the northwest of Jiangxi Province, in the upper reaches of the Xiu River near the border with Hunan. The name “nínghóng” (宁红) is the historical name of the gongfu red tea of the Ningzhou area, which two neighboring counties inherited: Xiushui and Tonggu. Each now has its own protected name, its own zone and its own number. The Tónggǔ nínghóng zone consists of thirteen units of the county, and four of them are not townships but forestry farms; one is called just that: Chashan, “tea mountain”. The tea is described as tightly rolled, with prominent golden buds, a sweet aroma and a bright red liquor.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Red tea (红茶, hóngchá), fully oxidized. The class is set by the historical name 宁红 — this is what the Ningzhou gongfu red tea (工夫红茶, gōngfu hóngchá) is called.
- Category: County red tea with a geographical indication; heir to the historical export nínghóng.
- Origin: China, Jiangxi Province (江西, Jiāngxī), Yichun prefecture-level city (宜春, Yíchūn), Tonggu County (铜鼓, Tónggǔ).
- Protection zone: Thirteen units of Tonggu County — the townships and towns of Gangkou (港口乡), Qiping (棋坪镇), Gaoqiao (高桥乡), Paibu (排埠镇), Wenquan (温泉镇), Yongning (永宁镇), Sandu (三都镇), Daduan (大塅镇), Daixi (带溪乡) and four forestry farms: Huashan (花山林场), Daweishan (大沩山林场), Chashan (茶山林场) and Longmen (龙门林场). The same list appears in announcement No. 640 of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).
- Geographic coordinates: 114°04′40″–114°43′54″ E, 28°22′59″–28°49′46″ N.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- Nínghóng before county boundaries. Local descriptions call Tonggu one of the places of origin and main production areas of the historical nínghóng. According to the same descriptions, under the Ming and Qing the local teas “Ninghong Taizi” (宁红太子) and “Quangang Longzhua” (泉港龙爪) from the northwest of the county — from Qiping, Youju (幽居) and Gangkou — were sent to the court as tribute. I have not seen the documents on which these descriptions rely.
- Motto. Local texts repeat the formula “唐载茶经，宋称绝品，明清入贡” — “recorded in The Classic of Tea, called incomparable under the Song, sent as tribute under the Ming and Qing”. This is an advertising formula, not a chronicle.
- 1915. Reference publications write about a gold award for nínghóng at the Panama-Pacific Exposition. The award belongs to nínghóng in general, not specifically to the tea of Tonggu.
- 1950s. According to a local description, Tonggu tea was called the “ace export tea for the Soviet Union” (出口苏联王牌茶).
- 2005. The county made tea the first line of its agricultural restructuring under the policy “ecology — the foundation of the county, crafts — the prosperity of the peasants”.
- 2006–2017. Awards to the county’s brands. Silver at the provincial famous tea competition (2006), a special prize at the 7th “Zhonghua Bei” competition of the China Tea Society (2007), a special prize at the 12th “Zhongcha Bei” competition (2017) — all three according to a reference publication; the awards went to specific producers’ brands.
- 2019. According to a reference publication, on 17 January the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs entered Tónggǔ nínghóng into the register of agricultural product geographical indications; the register number is AGI02554.
- 2025. By announcement No. 640 of 16 July, CNIPA recognized 1409 names as geographical indication products; Tónggǔ nínghóng is among them.
- Name: “Tónggǔ” (铜鼓) means “copper drum”. According to the county government website, the name comes from a huge stone east of the town: copper in color, drum-like in shape, and it resounds when struck. “Ning” (宁) comes from the historical area of Ningzhou, “hong” (红) means red.
- Cultural significance: In the register two nínghóng teas stand side by side — Tónggǔ nínghóng and Xiushui Ninghong Cha (修水宁红茶) of the neighboring Jiujiang prefecture. Both inherit one historical name, but they are different protected products with different zones and numbers, and they must not be treated as the same.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety / Cultivar: No data in the sources consulted.
- Harvest: No data in the sources consulted.
- Harvest standard: No data in the sources consulted; the description of the appearance speaks of tender raw material with buds, but I have not seen harvest requirements.
- Raw material requirements: No data in the sources consulted.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
The description below is taken from the registration text, which reference works reprint together with the zone formula.
- Region: The mountains of northwestern Jiangxi, the eastern slope of the northern end of the Luoxiao range (罗霄山), the upper reaches of the Xiu River (修河). To the east the county borders Yifeng, to the south Wanzai, to the west Liuyang and Pingjiang in Hunan, to the north Xiushui.
- Topography: The terrain descends from southwest to northeast; hills and mountains run in a continuous ridge.
- Climate: Humid, the northern part of the middle subtropics. Winter without severe frosts, summer without severe heat, distinct seasons. The frost-free period is 265 days: the first frost around 27 November, the last around 9 March. Spring warms slowly, and the shoots stay tender longer. Much cloud and fog, diffused light, a large daily temperature range.
- Soils: Red earths, mountain yellow earths, mountain yellow-brown and mountain meadow soils; the layer is thick, rich in nutrients, and lets water and air through well.
- Area and output: According to the registration data — 7041 ha of protected area and 2548 t of tea a year.
- Growing altitude: No data in the sources consulted.
5. Production Technology
No document with the technology of Tónggǔ nínghóng was found in the sources consulted. Below is the general scheme of gongfu red tea, not a description of this tea specifically:
- Withering (萎凋, wěidiāo): The fresh leaf loses part of its moisture and becomes soft.
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn): The leaf is rolled into a tight twist, the cells break, and the sap comes to the surface.
- Oxidation (发酵, fājiào): The rolled leaf is kept in warmth and moisture until it turns red.
- Drying (干燥, gānzào): Heat stops oxidation and fixes the aroma.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
Below is the brief description from the registration text (产品特点). Reference works also give a second, expanded description; it follows the list.
- Dry leaf appearance: Fine, tightly rolled, with prominent golden buds, bluish-black with a sheen (条索紧细、金毫显露、色泽乌润).
- Dry leaf aroma: No data in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Sweet and rich (甜香馥郁).
- Taste: Full, soft and smooth (滋味浓醇爽滑).
- Liquor color: Bright red, clear (汤色红艳明亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Red and tender (叶底红嫩).
Expanded description: the twist is tight and elegant, the golden buds are prominent, there are many “sharp tips” (锋苗, fēngmiáo), the color is oily; the taste is fresh, tender and full, the aroma high and long-lasting, the spent leaf red, tender, with many buds.
7. Chemical Composition
No physicochemical data in the sources consulted.
8. Brewing
Class practice for gongfu red tea.
- Water temperature: 90–95 °C.
- Tea amount: 3 g per 150 ml.
- Teaware: A gaiwan or a porcelain teapot; in a white cup the red color of the liquor is clearly visible.
- Process:
- Warm the teaware.
- Put in the tea.
- Rinsing is optional.
- The first infusion — about a minute.
- Pour off completely, without leaving the tea in the water.
- Three or four further infusions, each a little longer.
9. Storage
Class practice. In a dry dark place at room temperature, in tight opaque packaging, away from odors and moisture. Red tea does not need a refrigerator.
10. Price and Counterfeits
No price data in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication mark and check that the producer is from Tonggu County.
- Do not confuse it with Xiushui Ninghong Cha: that is not a counterfeit but another protected name of the neighboring county.
- The leaf is fine, tight, bluish-black with golden buds; the liquor is bright red and clear, the aroma sweet.
11. Interesting Facts
- Four of the thirteen units of the zone are forestry farms, not townships. One of them, Chashan (茶山), is called “tea mountain”.
- The county is named after a stone that resembles a copper drum and resounds when struck.
- The frost-free period in the zone is 265 days, and the slow spring here is considered an advantage: the shoot stays tender longer.
12. Comparison with Other Red Teas
- Ninghong Gongfu (宁红工夫): The historical nínghóng centered in neighboring Xiushui County; the corpus article describes it and mentions Tonggu as one of the adjacent production areas.
- Qimen Hongcha (祁门红茶): A gongfu red tea of Qimen County, Anhui Province.
- Yihong Gongfu (宜红工夫): A gongfu red tea of Hubei Province.
- Jing’an Hongcha (靖安红茶): A red tea of Jing’an County in the same Yichun prefecture-level city.
In Conclusion:
Tónggǔ nínghóng is the county branch of the historical nínghóng: thirteen units in the zone, four of them forestry farms, a slow mountain spring and 265 frost-free days. Documents describe it as a fine bluish-black tea with golden buds, a sweet aroma and a bright red liquor. It shares its name with Xiushui but is protected separately — and for the taste it is better to go by the specific county named on the package.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page