---
title: "Xiāngshuǐcūn yěchá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/xiangshuicun-yecha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Xiāngshuǐcūn yěchá (香水村野茶)

*Xiāngshuǐcūn yěchá* (香水村野茶) is the “wild tea of Xiangshui village” from Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County (五峰土家族自治县), Yichang prefecture, Hubei Province. According to the mark’s card published by the provincial intellectual property administration, the village lies in the west of the county, on a spur of the Wuling Mountains. The name is protected by a geographical indication certification mark registered in 2018 to a local tea association. The class is never named explicitly, but the processing described in the card — light withering, hand pan-firing in a wok and three cycles of “pan-firing — rolling” — is the green tea scheme.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Wok pan-fired green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*). The register designates the goods simply as “茶”, and the mark’s card does not name the class explicitly, but its processing scheme — withering, hand pan-firing, “pan-fire and roll” three times, no oxidation — and the dark green color of the dry tea point to green tea.
* **Category:** A local village tea; geographical indication certification mark (2018).
* **Origin:** China, Hubei Province (湖北, *Húběi*), Yichang prefecture (宜昌, *Yíchāng*), Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County (五峰, *Wǔfēng*), Xiangshui village (香水村) in the west of the county. Which town or township the village belongs to is not stated directly in the sources consulted; a 2025 publication about Wufeng town (五峰镇) lists the registration of the mark among the achievements of this town.
* **Protection zone:** The boundaries of the area as set in the rules for using the mark are not found in the sources consulted. The register gives only the administrative affiliation of the holder — Wufeng County.
* **Geographic coordinates:** Wufeng town, the county seat — about 30.2° N and 110.7° E; the position of the village itself has not been established.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **Tribute to the tusi.** The mark’s card states that the tea of Xiangshui village was historically always sent as tribute to the tusi (土司贡品, *tǔsī gòngpǐn*) — hereditary local rulers. The card gives neither dates nor the chronicle on which this rests.
    * **2018.** According to the list of the provincial intellectual property administration (data as of May 2020), the certification mark “香水村野茶”, No. 21456038, class 30, goods “茶”, is protected from 21 July 2018 to 20 July 2028. The holder is the Wufeng “Xiangshui” Tea Professional and Technical Association (五峰香水茶叶专业技术协会).
    * **2020.** The card names as the user of the mark the company 湖北五峰香水生态农业开发有限公司, with a license from 2 July 2020 to 1 July 2025. In June of the same year the consumer channel of *Renmin Wang* announced a livestream in support of rural producers, “百城百县”, held by the platform “人民优选” of *Renmin Ribao* and the China Advertising Association. Among the products of Wufeng County it named Tujia-style smoked pork belly, the “high-mountain, pristine ecological” (高山原生态) 香水村野茶, Chinese honeybee honey and two teas with the title of “old Hubei brand”: Caihua Maojian and the Wufeng Yihong of the “Caihua” brand (采花五峰宜红茶).
    * **2025.** A publication on the tea economy of Wufeng town notes that “香水村野茶” received a geographical indication certification mark — alongside the building of bases for export tea to European Union standards, for organic tea and for “old wild tea” (古野茶).
    * When and how the name itself appeared is not found in the sources consulted.
* **Name:** 香水 — “fragrant water”, the name of the village; 村 — village; 野茶 — “wild tea”. The card presents the business as a “local distinctive wild tea industry” (当地特有的[野生茶](https://thetea.app/article/ye-sheng-cha)产业), but does not describe from which plants the leaf is picked — wild, feral or a local population.
* **Cultural significance:** Apart from the formula about tribute to the tusi, there are no data in the sources consulted.

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

* **Variety / Cultivar:** Not named in the sources consulted; the origin of the plants hidden behind the word “野” is not described.
* **Leaf:** According to the card — leathery, thick and fleshy, large, hard to roll into a strand (叶片革质肥厚，个头大，不易揉捻成条索). This is a description of the raw material, not the name of a variety.
* **Harvest time and standard:** No data in the sources consulted.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The west of Wufeng County, a spur of the Wuling Mountains (武陵山) — according to the mark’s card. The Wuling Mountains are also mentioned in the 2025 publication about Wufeng town.
* **Altitude, climate, soils:** No data in the sources consulted. The phrase “高山原生态” is an advertising formula from the livestream announcement; it gives no specific altitude. The card limits itself to words about an excellent natural environment.
* **Farming:** According to the card — a base of more than 1,500 *mu*, annual sales steadily above 10 million yuan, a “company + cooperative + base” model. The card does not give the year of these figures.

**5. Production Technology:**

The mark’s card describes the processing briefly; it gives no temperatures, times or loads.

1.  **Spreading (摊放, *tānfàng*):** The picked leaf is withered briefly.
2.  **Hand pan-firing (手工炒制, *shǒugōng chǎozhì*):** The leaf is worked in a wok by hand; the card calls this work fine and meticulous.
3.  **Three pan-firings and three rollings (三炒三揉, *sān chǎo sān róu*):** Pan-firing and rolling are repeated three times.

Drying and sorting are not described separately.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

The only description is the mark’s card.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** A large thick leaf, poorly rolled into a strand; the dry tea is mostly dark green (毛茶颜色多呈墨绿色).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No separate description.
* **Liquor aroma:** Chestnut, deep and distinctive (栗香深沉而特异); the card does not specify whether of the leaf or of the liquor.
* **Taste:** Smooth, soft and weighty (茶性滑柔而质重); very little harshness, the liquor is sweet, with a long and stable sweet aftertaste (口感刺激性很低，但水甜回甘长且稳定).
* **Liquor color:** No descriptions in the sources consulted.
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** No descriptions in the sources consulted.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

The mark’s card gives “laboratory analysis data” per 100 g of dry tea: water extract 46.22%, tea polyphenols 26.76%, amino nitrogen 411.53 mg. A caveat: the first two figures coincide to the hundredth with the card of the same agency for another tea — Hongshan Cha ([洪山茶](https://thetea.app/article/hongshan-cha)) from Yidu county-level city, where only the amino nitrogen differs. Therefore they cannot be considered an independent measurement; the card names no year, laboratory or method.

**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, pour the water down the side.
    3. First infusion — 40–60 seconds.
    4. Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
    5. Top up with water.
    6. Two or three re-infusions.

No manufacturer recommendations are found in the sources consulted.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. Airtight packaging, a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors; drink within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

No price data in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Check the packaging for the special geographical indication mark and the mark number — No. 21456038.
    * Check the producer against the lists of users of the mark published by the Hubei intellectual property administration.
    * Remember that “wild” in the name is part of the protected name, not confirmation of the origin of the leaf.
    * The card describes appearance and taste, but the sources give no method for verifying authenticity by them.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The marks “[五峰毛尖](https://thetea.app/article/wufeng-mao-jian)” and “[五峰红茶](https://thetea.app/article/wufeng-hongcha)”, according to the same list, are held by the county tea association (五峰茶业协会); “香水村野茶” has its own holder — the “Xiangshui” association.
* The name is protected by a village-level mark: the name contains neither a county nor a mountain, but a village.
* The physico-chemical figures of the card repeat to the hundredth the card of Hongshan Cha from neighboring Yidu — a rare case where the coincidence is visible directly in official descriptions.
* The thick leathery leaf, according to the card, rolls poorly, and the processing provides for three cycles of “pan-firing — rolling”.

**13. Comparison with Other Teas:**

* **Caihua Maojian ([采花毛尖](https://thetea.app/article/caihua-mao-jian)):** A green tea of the same county; the 2020 announcement names it as a separate product with the title of “old Hubei brand”.
* **Wufeng Maojian (五峰[毛尖](https://thetea.app/article/mao-jian)):** A green tea of the county under the certification marks of the county tea association.
* **Wufeng Hongcha (五峰红茶):** A red tea of the same county, also under a certification mark.
* **Hongshan Cha (洪山茶):** A tea of neighboring Yidu; the cards of both marks give identical extract and polyphenols.

**In Conclusion:**

*Xiāngshuǐcūn yěchá* is a village name from the west of Wufeng, protected by a certification mark since 2018. The register gives the number, holder and term; the mark’s card gives the formula about tribute to the tusi, hand wok pan-firing in three rounds, a large leathery dark green leaf, a chestnut aroma and a soft sweet taste. The altitude, the variety, the origin of the plants behind the word “wild” and the exact position of the village are not disclosed in the sources consulted; only the text of the rules for using the mark can give them.