Xīyán wūlóngchá (西岩乌龙茶) is an oolong of the Xiyanshan mountains in Fenglang town, Dabu County (大埔县), Meizhou prefecture-level city, in the northeast of Guangdong Province. According to the county’s description, the gardens lie above 1,250 m, and the character of the tea is conveyed by five words: 清、香、甘、滑、醇 — clean, fragrant, sweet, smooth, mellow. In 2013 the tea received protection as a geographical indication product, and the document for it is detailed: soils, timing and harvest standard, technology with drying temperatures, appearance and physico-chemical norms.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Oolong (乌龙茶, wūlóngchá), semi-fermented. The class is stated in the name; the technology according to the document — sun withering, shaking alternated with resting, fixation, rolling, drying — is that of oolong.
- Category: High-mountain oolong of northeastern Guangdong; geographical indication product (2013).
- Origin: China, Guangdong Province (广东, Guǎngdōng), Meizhou prefecture-level city (梅州, Méizhōu), Dabu County (大埔县, Dàbù xiàn), Fenglang town (枫朗镇, Fēnglǎng zhèn), the Xiyanshan mountains (西岩山, Xīyán shān).
- Protection zone: The current administrative territory of Fenglang town in Dabu County.
- Geographic coordinates: Dabu County — about 24.4° N and 116.7° E.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- 1995. According to the county, Xīyán wūlóngchá received a silver award at the second China Agricultural Exposition.
- 2013. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), by announcement No. 81 (signed on 26 June, published on 3 July 2013), placed the tea under protection as a geographical indication product. This announcement protected five names — two kinds of duck eggs from Yuyao, chestnuts of Fengkai, mooncakes of Wuchuan and this tea; the tea is the only one among them.
- 2017. Guangdong Province approved the local standard DB44/T 1961-2017 “Geographical indication product. Xīyán wūlóngchá” (地理标志产品 西岩乌龙茶); it has been in force since 10 June 2017. The compilers are a local tea group and the county quality and agricultural services.
- Name:
- “Xīyán” (西岩) means “western rock”, the name of the mountain.
- “wūlóngchá” (乌龙茶, wūlóngchá) means “oolong”.
- Cultural significance: The county website puts Xīyán wūlóngchá on the list of Hakka special products of Dabu. Other oolongs are also made on the same slopes: next to it the site names “Xiyan Dancong” (西岩单丛), including in the form of balls, and the variety “Huangzhixiang” (黄枝香), which has been planted at an altitude of 1,250 m since 1993.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety / Cultivar: According to the document — medium- and small-leaf oolong varieties and the local population (中小叶乌龙茶品种及当地群体种); specific varieties are not named. The seedlings are vegetative, clonal (无性系).
- Harvest: Spring only, once a year — from the beginning of March to mid-May.
- Harvest standard: A shoot with a dormant bud and two or three leaves (驻芽两叶, 驻芽三叶). Best of all is the “medium open leaf” (中开面), when the shoot has formed a pair of leaves without growth of the bud (对夹叶).
- Raw material requirements: The leaf is not crushed and not scorched in the sun; there must be no dew or rainwater on it.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The Xiyanshan mountains in Fenglang town, Dabu County.
- Growing altitude: According to the county — above 1,250 m above sea level. The document adds that the yellow and red soils of the area lie at altitudes from 500 to 1,000 m and above.
- Soils: According to the document — four types: yellow soil, red soil, lateritic red soil and paddy soils. On Xiyanshan yellow-red soils predominate — loose, moist, fertile. pH 3.9–4.7, organic matter — 2.3–4.0 (the units are not given in the reprint).
- Climate: No data found in the sources consulted.
5. Production Technology
According to the document, the chain is as follows: picking → sun withering → shaking with resting → fixation → rolling → drying; then refining.
- Sun withering (晒青 — shàiqīng): In a thin layer, in gentle sun — best from 9 to 11 in the morning or between 16:00 and 17:00. The leaf loses about 15% of its moisture, darkens, and the upper leaves droop.
- Shaking (做青 — zuòqīng): Shaking (碰青, 摇青) is alternated with resting several times. The document calls this stage the key one for the aroma and taste of Xiyan. From round to round the shakings become more numerous and stronger, the resting longer, the layer of leaf thicker.
- Fixation (杀青 — shāqīng): At a high temperature, quickly, until fixation is even and complete.
- Rolling (揉捻 — róuniǎn): With pressure alternating with release, until tight twists form with moderate rupture of the cells.
- Drying (烘焙 — hōngbèi): In two stages. The first — at 150 °C for 20–30 minutes. The second — at 100 °C, longer, “on a low fire in a thin layer” (文火薄焙). The leaf is turned in good time so that it heats up and dries evenly.
- Refining (精制 — jīngzhì): Blending of lots, sieving, winnowing, hand sorting, repeated heating and packing.
The document does not set the degree of oxidation in figures.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
- Dry leaf appearance: According to the document — the twists are large, tight, full, smooth and even (条索肥壮紧结，饱满光滑匀整); the color is yellow-brown and glossy (黄褐油润).
- Dry leaf aroma: Not described separately; no data found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Floral-honey, clean and natural, rich and persistent (花蜜香味，清香天然，香浓持久).
- Taste: Full, mellow and sweet, rich and fresh, with a good sweet aftertaste (醇厚甘润、浓醇鲜爽、回甘性好).
- Liquor color: Orange-yellow, bright, with a golden tint (橙黄明亮、略显金黄).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender green, even, soft and bright (嫩绿，匀齐柔亮).
The county website describes the tea differently, in a greener manner: tight, curled twists, emerald green with an oily sheen (条索紧结卷曲，色泽翠绿油光), a greenish-yellow liquor (汤色绿黄明亮), a high floral aroma, a mellow and fresh taste. The sources do not explain the discrepancy with the document.
7. Chemical Composition
The document sets norms: water extract — not less than 36%, tea polyphenols — not less than 21%, moisture — not more than 6.0%, fines — not more than 1.0%, ash — not more than 6.0%. The caffeine norm in the reprint found is given with an obvious typo, so it is not cited here.
8. Brewing
Class practice for oolong. The document has no separate recommendations.
- Water temperature: 95–100 °C.
- Tea amount: 6–8 g per 110–150 ml.
- Teaware: A gaiwan or a small clay teapot.
- Process:
- Warm the teaware.
- Put in the tea.
- Quickly rinse it with hot water and pour the water off.
- The first infusions — 10–20 seconds.
- Pour out completely.
- Further infusions with a small increase in time; oolong withstands many infusions.
9. Storage
Class practice for oolong. In airtight packaging, in a cool, dark, dry place, away from foreign odors.
10. Price and Counterfeits
No price data were found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication product mark on the packaging.
- Check that the producer is located in Fenglang town of Dabu County: the protection zone is that town alone.
- The dry leaf — large, tight, yellow-brown twists with an oily sheen.
- The liquor — orange-yellow and bright, the aroma — floral-honey.
11. Interesting Facts
- Xīyán wūlóngchá is picked only in spring — one harvest a year, from March to mid-May.
- The document requires drying in two steps: 150 °C, then 100 °C “on a low fire”.
- The county describes the character of the tea in five words: clean, fragrant, sweet, smooth, mellow.
- In the 2013 announcement the tea was protected together with duck eggs, chestnuts and mooncakes.
12. Comparison with Other Oolong Teas
- Lingtou Dancong (岭头单丛): An oolong of Raoping County in neighboring Chaozhou prefecture, named after its variety. The Xiyan document names no varieties — only medium- and small-leaf oolong varieties and the local population.
- Xingning Dancong (兴宁单丛): An oolong of the same Meizhou prefecture, from another county.
- Dancong (单枞): The general name of Guangdong oolongs that are historically made from individual bushes; Xīyán wūlóngchá is a separate product with its own document and a zone of one town.
In Conclusion:
Xīyán wūlóngchá is an oolong of one mountain town in northeastern Guangdong, with gardens above 1,250 m and one spring harvest a year. Its document describes everything from soil to drying: a shoot with two or three leaves, sun withering, repeated shaking, two-stage drying at 150 and 100 °C. In the cup — a floral-honey aroma, an orange-yellow liquor and a long sweetness; the county reduces its character to five words — clean, fragrant, sweet, smooth, mellow.
Sources
Standards
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page