---
title: "Tónglú xuěshuǐ yúnlǜ chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/tonglu-xueshui-yunlu-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Tónglú xuěshuǐ yúnlǜ chá (桐庐雪水云绿茶)

*Tónglú xuěshuǐ yúnlǜ chá* (桐庐雪水云绿茶) is a single-bud green tea from Tonglu County (桐庐县) of Hangzhou prefecture-level city, Zhejiang Province. The “snow water” in the name is a place name, the Xueshuiling ridge (雪水岭) in Xinhe Township; the “cloud green” is an image of mountains in fog. The tea was created in 1987. The product requirements describe it as a “single bud of needle shape”: at all stages the buds are kept in even rows, and in the glass they stand upright. The name is protected by an agricultural product geographical indication, and since 2025 also as a geographical indication product.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*). The class is established by the technology in the product requirements: fixation in a drum, drying and shaping, without smothering or oxidation. The character “绿” in the name does not prove the class: it is part of the figurative combination 云绿, “cloud green”.
* **Category:** Needle-shaped single-bud green tea; one of the named teas of Hangzhou prefecture.
* **Origin:** China, Zhejiang Province (浙江, *Zhèjiāng*), Hangzhou prefecture-level city (杭州, *Hángzhōu*), Tonglu County (桐庐, *Tónglú*). The main area is Xinhe Township (新合乡).
* **Protection zone:** Nine townships and towns of the county: Xinhe (新合), Zhongshan (钟山), Baijiang (百江), Hecun (合村), Fenshui (分水), Yaolin (瑶琳), Hengcun (横村), Fuchunjiang (富春江) and Fengchuan (written 风川 in the document), and within them 59 villages. The applicant is the Tonglu County Tea Industry Association (桐庐县茶叶产业协会).
* **Geographic coordinates:** The boundaries of the zone are 119°10′–119°58′ E and 29°35′–30°05′ N.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **Tang.** Lu Yu's *The Classic of Tea* (茶经, *Chájīng*) says that the tea of Muzhou prefecture grows in the mountain valleys of Tonglu County. This is evidence about the county's tea in general, not about today's *Xuěshuǐ yúnlǜ*.
    * **Song.** Local sources refer to the Ming-era *Notes from the Studio of Six Inkstones* (六研斋笔记) by Li Rihua: allegedly the local tea was already sent as tribute under the Song. Reference works also attribute to it a medal of the 1915 world exhibition. Sometimes this is written directly about “*Xuěshuǐ yúnlǜ*”, but the name appeared only in 1987, so it can only refer to the county's tea; I have not seen the primary sources.
    * **1987.** The tea was created in its present form.
    * **1991.** The “famous tea of culture” award (文化名茶) at the China International Tea Culture Festival in Hangzhou.
    * **2011–2012.** According to a reference description, on 20 December 2011 the Ministry of Agriculture approved the registration of the agricultural product geographical indication (number AGI00776); the certificate, according to an industry journal, was received in 2012. This is why both dates appear in the sources.
    * **2025.** The China National Intellectual Property Administration, by announcement No. 640, recognized *Tónglú xuěshuǐ yúnlǜ chá* as a geographical indication product and approved the requirements for it.
* **Name:**
    * “Tonglu” (桐庐) is the name of the county; “Xueshui” (雪水, *xuěshuǐ*) means “snow water”, from the Xueshuiling ridge.
    * “Yunlü” (云绿, *yúnlǜ*) means “cloud green”: according to local sources, the name was given because the gardens near Xueshuiling and Tiantangshan mountain lie high, in frequent fogs and coolness.
* **Cultural significance:** The named tea of Tonglu County; the local press calls it the “ancestor of needle-shaped teas” (针形茶鼻祖). The product requirements particularly note how spectacular it is: the brewed buds “stand gracefully in the cup” (婷婷玉立).

**3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:**

* **Varieties / Cultivars:** The requirements name as the main varieties Jiukeng (鸠坑, *Jiūkēng*), Zhenong 117 (浙农117, *Zhènóng 117*) and Longjing changye (龙井长叶, *Lóngjǐng chángyè*), with the proviso “and others”. Reference descriptions name other varieties as suitable too — Fuding dabaicha (福鼎大白茶), Yingshuang (迎霜), Wuniu zao ([乌牛早](https://thetea.app/article/wuniu-zao)), Longjing 43 (龙井43); the local press wrote in 2017 that in Xinhe Township it is made mainly from Wuniu zao and Zaofengchun (早逢春).
* **Harvest:** Spring. The local press wrote in 2017 that in Xinhe the harvest begins around the Qingming festival (early April) and ends around Lixia (early May); in some years the first harvest was reported as early as March.
* **Harvest standard:** Only a single bud — even, clean and fresh. It is plucked by “lifting the hand” (提手采) and placed in clean woven baskets. The requirements divide the fresh raw material into three grades: in all of them the buds are whole, without scales, “fish leaves” or signs of disease; in the first they are also sturdy, in the second purple buds are excluded, in the third slightly hollow ones are allowed.
* **Raw material requirements:** The description of the agricultural indication gives about one hundred thousand buds per kilogram of dry tea. The county press gives about four jin of fresh buds and about 26,000 buds per jin of dry tea — that is, roughly half as many buds per unit of weight. I have not resolved the discrepancy.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** According to the description of the agricultural indication, the county lies in the zone of low and middle mountains and hills of northwestern Zhejiang, along the banks of the Fuchunjiang and Fenshuijiang (分水江) rivers. The main gardens are in Xinhe Township, by the Huyuanxi stream (壶源溪), on the Xueshuiling ridge and Tiantangshan mountain (天堂山).
* **Growing altitude:** The requirements speak of mountain and foothill plots without figures. According to reference descriptions, the main peaks of the massif near Xinhe — Longxianding (龙涎顶) and Shansangjian (山桑尖) — are higher than 900 m. The altitudes of the gardens themselves are not found in the sources consulted.
* **Soils:** Yellow soils, sandy loams and medium loams — deep, fertile, rich in organic matter, holding water and air well. The layer is more than 70 cm thick, pH 4.5–6.5.
* **Climate:** According to the description of the agricultural indication — the southern edge of the subtropical monsoon belt: the county's mean annual temperature is 17 °C, about 1452 mm of precipitation, about 1990 hours of sunshine, 250 frost-free days, relative humidity 80%. For the mountainous Xinhe Township the local press gives a mean temperature of about 15 °C and frequent fogs.
* **Scale:** According to the description of the agricultural indication, in 2011 this tea occupied 3334 ha, with an output of 400 t.

**5. Production Technology:**

The main feature, according to the description of the agricultural indication, is “shaping the bud into a needle” (芽针做形, *yá zhēn zuò xíng*): during fixation the buds are kept in even rows without pressure, during the first drying and shaping — in even rows with light pressure, so that the dry leaf comes out straight as a needle. The product requirements set the sequence and the parameters:

1.  **Withering (摊青, *tānqīng*):** The buds are spread in a layer no thicker than 2 cm on clean round sieves for 6–12 hours and carefully turned. Readiness — the buds are soft, the sheen has dulled, a clean aroma has appeared.
2.  **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** In a drum heated to 250 °C, in batches of about 40 g, with air blowing at the outlet. The color changes from emerald to dark green, the grassy smell goes away. The requirements warn: the fixed leaf must not be left in a heap, otherwise it will “turn yellow from smothering” and spoil.
3.  **First drying with straightening (初焙理条, *chūbèi lǐtiáo*):** In a drying and straightening machine, with hot air at 125–150 °C, for 8–10 minutes; the leaf loses about 30% of its mass and becomes about six-tenths dry.
4.  **Shaping (整形, *zhěngxíng*):** In a trough machine at 90 °C, 50–70 g per trough, for 4–5 minutes, until the buds straighten; then cooling.
5.  **Second drying (复焙, *fùbèi*):** With hot air at 85–90 °C for about 20 minutes, to nine-tenths dryness.
6.  **Pan heating for aroma (辉锅提香, *huīguō tíxiāng*):** In portions of 250 g, at 60–70 °C for about 10 minutes; before unloading, the pan is heated to 85 °C so that the down shows and the aroma rises. The moisture of the finished tea is less than 6%.
7.  **Grading (分级, *fēnjí*).**

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

* **Dry leaf appearance:** A single bud of needle shape, tender green (外形单芽针形，色泽嫩绿). Reference descriptions add: straight, tight, slightly flattened, with a visible tip (紧直略扁、芽锋显露).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No descriptions in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** Clean and lasting (清香持久).
* **Taste:** Fresh and brisk, with a sweet aftertaste (鲜爽回甘).
* **Liquor color:** Clear and bright (清澈明亮).
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Tender green and whole (嫩绿完整); in the cup the buds stand gracefully, upright.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

The product requirements say that the tea is rich in polyphenols and amino acids, and set thresholds:

| Indicator | Requirement |
| :--- | :--- |
| Moisture | no more than 6.5% |
| Total ash | no more than 6.5% |
| Crude fiber | no more than 12% |
| Amino acids | no less than 2.0% |
| Extractives | no less than 36% |

These are acceptance thresholds, not measured composition. There are no data on catechins or caffeine.

**8. Health Properties:**

There are no verified data on the effects of this particular tea.

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice for tender green tea made from buds.

* **Water temperature:** 80 °C.
* **Tea amount:** 3 g per 150 ml.
* **Teaware:** A tall glass tumbler — in it you can see the buds rise upright.
* **Process:**
    1. Warm the glass.
    2. Pour in a little water, add the tea, let the buds get wet.
    3. Top up with water down the side to two-thirds of the glass.
    4. Drink after 1–2 minutes, when the buds have stood up.
    5. Leave a third of the infusion and top up with water; two or three further infusions.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and foreign odors. Before opening, let the package warm to room temperature. Best drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

No price data in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Check the geographical indication mark and that the producer is located in Tonglu County.
    * The dry leaf is only needle-shaped buds, tender green; opened leaves do not meet the requirements.
    * In the glass the buds stand upright, the liquor is clear and bright, the aroma clean.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The tea's name is a place name: “snow water” is the Xueshuiling ridge in Xinhe Township.
* Tonglu County is mentioned as early as Lu Yu's *The Classic of Tea* — as the place where the tea of Muzhou prefecture grows.
* The protection zone includes Fuchunjiang Town, on the Fuchunjiang River; its banks are depicted on Huang Gongwang's famous scroll *Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains* (富春山居图).
* Another town of the zone, Yaolin, is known for its karst cave.

**13. Comparison with Other Teas of Hangzhou Prefecture:**

* **Xi Hu Long Jing ([西湖龙井](https://thetea.app/article/xihu-longjing)):** A flat green tea of Hangzhou, the leaf pressed in the pan into a smooth blade; *Xuěshuǐ yúnlǜ* is a single bud of needle shape.
* **Jing Shan Cha ([径山茶](https://thetea.app/article/jing-shancha)):** A twisted green tea of Jingshan Mountain in the north of the prefecture, with a different school of shaping.
* **Qiandao Yu Ye ([千岛玉叶](https://thetea.app/article/qiandao-yu-ye)):** A green tea of neighboring Chun'an County, by the Qiandaohu reservoir.

**In Conclusion:**

*Tónglú xuěshuǐ yúnlǜ chá* is a young name on old tea land: the county was mentioned as early as Lu Yu, while the tea itself was created in 1987. The requirements for it are unusually detailed — from the layer thickness during withering to the pan temperature in the last minutes — and everything serves one goal: the single bud must remain a straight needle. In the cup this is visible at once: the tender green buds stand upright, the liquor is clear, the aroma clean and lasting, the taste fresh with a sweet aftertaste.