Yífēng yíngkēquán chá (宜丰盈科泉茶) is a green tea of the mountain townships of Yifeng County (宜丰县), Yichun prefecture-level city, in the northwest of Jiangxi Province, on the southern slope of the Jiuling range (九岭山脉). Yíngkēquán (盈科泉) is the name of a century-old Yifeng tea house, famed for its scented tea with chloranthus, but the indication does not protect a scented tea: the specification requires conformity with the national standard for green tea. It has been an agricultural product geographical indication since 2020, and has had the status of a geographical indication product since 2025.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá). The indication specification requires conformity with the standard GB/T 14456.1 “Green tea. Part 1: Basic requirements”; the technology is fixation, rolling and drying, without oxidation and without scenting.
- Name trap: The Yingkequan tea house is known for its scented tea (花茶, huāchá) “珠兰银针” (zhūlán yínzhēn) with chloranthus; the specification, however, describes a green tea with a clean (清香) aroma.
- Category: Agricultural product geographical indication (2020); geographical indication product (2025).
- Origin: China, Jiangxi Province (江西, Jiāngxī), Yichun prefecture-level city (宜春, Yíchūn), Yifeng County (宜丰, Yífēng).
- Protection zone: According to announcement No. 640 of the China National Intellectual Property Administration and to the specification — nine units of the county: the townships of Huaqiao (花桥乡), Tong’an (同安乡) and Tianbao (天宝乡), the towns of Tanshan (潭山镇) and Huanggang (黄岗镇), the Huanggangshan (黄岗山垦殖场) and Shihuajian (石花尖垦殖场) farms, the Cheshang (车上林场) and Shuangfeng (双峰林场) forest farms; in all, 32 administrative villages and divisions. The protected area under the specification is 667 ha, the annual output 750 t.
- Geographic coordinates: 114°30′26″–115°04′13″ E, 28°21′32″–28°40′38″ N.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- The Yingkequan tea house. According to a publication of the provincial portal “Dajiang” (April 2025), this is a century-old tea house (茶号) of Yifeng. In 1933 its scented tea “珠兰银针” received an honorary award at the Leipzig fair. Afterwards the house fell into decline and nearly disappeared.
- 2016. According to the same publication, in this year the head of the Yingkequan company returned to their native place to revive the brand. Together with a team from Huazhong Agricultural University, the company set up a science and technology station (科技小院), where the lost scenting of tea with chloranthus (窨制, xūnzhì) was restored.
- 2020. Registration of the agricultural product geographical indication — the year according to the database of agricultural indications; the holder is the county office for the development of “green foods” (宜丰县绿色食品发展办公室). The “Dajiang” portal publication dates the registration to 2021.
- 2021. According to the “Dajiang” portal publication, the brand was recognized as a “Jiangxi time-honored brand” (江西老字号).
- 2025. By announcement No. 640 (signed 16 July, published 13 August), the China National Intellectual Property Administration recognized 1409 names as geographical indication products; Yífēng yíngkēquán chá is line 709, the applicant is the people’s government of the county.
- 2026. The provincial standard “Quality requirements for geographical indication products. Yífēng yíngkēquán chá” was included in the first batch of the Jiangxi plan for drafting local standards for 2026 (a notice of the provincial market supervision administration).
- Name: Yífēng (宜丰) is the name of the county. According to a travel publication on the Sohu portal (2017), the county was founded in the Huangwu years (黄武, 222–229) under the ruler of the Wu kingdom, and the name is explained by the formula “炎凉适宜、物阜民丰” — “heat and cool in due measure, the land abundant, the people prosperous”; the indication specification explains the county’s name in almost the same way. Yíngkēquán (盈科泉) is the name of the tea house, where 泉 means “spring”; chá (茶) means tea. The specification says nothing about the tea house and does not explain the name Yíngkēquán.
- Cultural significance: According to the Sohu travel publication (2017), the county is the cradle of two schools of Chan Buddhism: the Caodong school was born on Mount Dongshan (洞山) in Tong’an township, and the Linji school regards Mount Huangbo (黄檗山) in Huanggang township (黄岗) as its cradle; the town of Huanggang is on the list of units of the indication zone. The same publication says that the Song official Ni Si called the tea of Mount Huangbo “peerless in the Central Lands” (中州绝品). The sources do not link this story to the protected product.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Varieties: The specification names two — 桃江种 (Táojiāng zhǒng) and 福鼎大白 (Fúdǐng dàbái). What population lies behind the name 桃江种 the specification does not explain.
- Company gardens: According to the “Dajiang” portal publication (2025), the Yingkequan company has 1,200 mu of gardens; among its products are “golden tea” (黄金茶) and scented tea with chloranthus. Which varieties grow in these gardens and whether their tea goes out under the indication mark is not stated in the sources consulted.
- Harvest standard and timing: Not found in the sources consulted.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The northwest of Jiangxi, the southern slope of the middle part of the Jiuling range; the county’s neighbors are Gao’an, Shanggao, Wanzai, Tonggu, Xiushui and Fengxin.
- Topography: Elevations from 45 to 1480 m: in the northwest, mountains with deep gorges; in the southeast, hills. The indication tea grows in the county’s mountain townships and farms.
- Forest: Forest cover is 71.9%; a zone of mountain subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests.
- Soils: Slightly acidic, pH 4.9–5.2, fertile, sandy or sandy loam, well drained, deeper than 60 cm; the 2025 protection requirements set a soil depth of no less than 50 cm. Gardens are laid out on slopes no steeper than 25°.
- Climate: Warm and humid mid-subtropical, with a distinct change of seasons. Mean annual temperature is 17.1 °C, precipitation 1697 mm a year, relative humidity 83%, sunshine 1634.8 hours a year, the frost-free period 260 days.
- Cultivation practices: In spring — loosening, in summer — hoeing, in autumn — deep digging, in winter — earthing up. Young bushes are shaped by pruning three years in a row; on slopes steeper than 15° the garden is built in terraces. Against pests — pheromone traps, yellow boards and light traps; chemical herbicides are prohibited.
5. Production Technology
The specification sets the following chain:
- Picking and spreading (摊放, tānfàng) of the fresh leaf.
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng), then resting (回潮, huícháo): the leaf rests and its moisture evens out.
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn).
- First drying (初烘, chūhōng) and the second resting.
- Second drying (二烘, èrhōng) and the third resting.
- Raising the aroma and the down (提香提毫, tíxiāng tíháo).
- Sorting (拣剔, jiǎntī) and packing: the cooled leaf is winnowed (风选), broken bits and yellow leaf flakes are removed, and the tea is sealed in foil bags.
The distinctive feature of the scheme is the three restings between stages. The specification gives no temperatures or durations.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
Requirements of the indication specification.
- Dry leaf appearance: Tightly rolled, with visible down (外形紧结显毫). The specification does not name the color of the dry leaf.
- Dry leaf aroma: No separate description in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Clean and lasting (香气清香持久).
- Taste: Fresh and brisk, with a sweet aftertaste (滋味鲜爽回甘).
- Liquor color: Bright and clear (汤色明亮清澈).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Yellow-green, even (叶底黄绿匀整).
7. Chemical Composition
Physicochemical requirements of the specification:
| Indicator | Norm |
|---|---|
| Moisture | no more than 7.0% |
| Total ash | no more than 7.0% |
| Extractives | no less than 35.0% |
| Tea polyphenols | no less than 15.0% |
| Free amino acids | no less than 3.0% |
These are norms, not measurements of a particular batch.
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:
- Warm the teaware.
- Put in the tea and pour the water down the side.
- First infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
- Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
- Top up with water.
- Two or three further infusions.
9. Storage
Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors; drink within a year. According to the specification, bulk tea is kept in a cold store.
10. Price and Counterfeits
No price data in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication mark: according to the specification, producers from the zone use it under an annual agreement with the holder.
- Since 2025 there has also been the geographical indication product mark: a producer from the zone applies to the county intellectual property authority, the application is checked by the Jiangxi provincial administration, and approved and published by the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
- Check that the producer is from one of the nine units of Yifeng County listed in section 1.
- The leaf is tightly rolled, with down; the aroma is clean and lasting (清香持久).
- Do not confuse it with the scented tea “珠兰银针” and the “golden tea” of the same brand: the indication specification does not describe them.
11. Interesting Facts
- The indication bears the name of a tea house famed for scented tea, yet protects a green tea.
- The zone includes not only townships and towns but also two agricultural farms and two forest farms.
- The processing chain of the specification separates the stages with three restings to even out moisture.
- Mount Dongshan, where, according to the travel guide, the Caodong school was born, lies in Tong’an township — one of the nine units of the indication zone.
12. Comparison with Other Teas
- Zhulan Huacha (珠兰花茶): A green tea with chloranthus — the type for which the Yingkequan tea house was famed.
- Shuangjing Lü (双井绿): A rolled green tea of Xiushui County, Yifeng’s northern neighbor.
- Tonggu Ninghong (铜鼓宁红): A red tea of neighboring Tonggu County in the same Yichun prefecture-level city.
- Lushan Yunwu (庐山云雾): A green tea of Mount Lushan in the north of Jiangxi.
In Conclusion:
Yífēng yíngkēquán chá is a mountain green tea of northwestern Jiangxi bearing the name of a century-old tea house known for scented tea. The 2020 specification describes it precisely: the varieties 桃江种 and 福鼎大白, two dryings with three restings, a tight downy leaf, a clean lasting aroma and yellow-green spent leaves. Since 2025 the name has been protected as a geographical indication product, and a provincial standard for it is already in the plan.
Sources
Standards
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page