---
title: "Yíméng lǜchá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/yimeng-lucha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-07
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Yíméng lǜchá (沂蒙绿茶)

**Yimeng Lücha** (*Yíméng lǜchá*, 沂蒙绿茶) is a green tea from the prefecture-level city of Linyi (临沂市) in the south of Shandong Province. At the end of 2013, China's Ministry of Agriculture registered this name as an agricultural geographical indication: the protected zone covers the entire prefecture, three districts and nine counties, and the applicant is the Linyi Tea Society (临沂市茶叶学会). The prefectural authorities promote the name also as a municipal regional brand. Within the same zone lie the counties of Junan and Yishui with their own indications: Junan Lücha ([莒南绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/junan-lucha)) and Yishui Lücha ([沂水绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/yishui-lucha)). Therefore, 沂蒙绿茶 is an umbrella name for the prefecture, not the tea of a single county. The sources found do not say whether the name is currently protected, and the technical specifications of the indication, which would describe appearance, cultivars and processing, have not been found.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*). The class is named in the designation and in the register. According to a notice about a 2026 municipal competition, the track “沂蒙绿茶炒制” (“making 沂蒙绿茶”) tests fixation of the fresh leaf (杀青, *shāqīng*), rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*), drying (烘干, *hōnggān*) and other operations; the list in the notice is open-ended.
* **Category:** Agricultural geographical indication (农产品地理标志, *nóngchǎnpǐn dìlǐ biāozhì*) for the entire prefecture and a municipal regional public brand; an umbrella name over two county-level indications.
* **Origin:** China, Shandong Province (山东, *Shāndōng*), Linyi prefecture-level city (临沂, *Línyí*).
* **Protected zone:** According to the 2013 announcement, the entire prefecture in its then administrative division: Lanshan District (兰山区), Hedong District (河东区) and Luozhuang District (罗庄区), and the counties of Fei (费县), Pingyi (平邑县), Cangshan (苍山县), Tancheng (郯城县), Linshu (临沭县), Junan (莒南县), Yishui (沂水县), Yinan (沂南县) and Mengyin (蒙阴县). Cangshan County was renamed Lanling in January 2014 (兰陵县, *Lánlíng xiàn*).
* **What is not in the zone:** Ju County (莒县, *Jǔ xiàn*): it belongs to the prefecture-level city of Rizhao (日照市, *Rìzhào shì*), not to Linyi.
* **Geographical coordinates:** 117°24′–119°11′ E, 34°22′–36°22′ N, according to the 2013 announcement.
* **Applicant and numbers:** Linyi Tea Society (*Línyí shì cháyè xuéhuì*). The certificate number in the Shandong agricultural management database is AGI01297 (on another page of the same database, “AGI1297”), and the quality control technical specification number is AGI2013-03-1297. The text of these specifications has not been found in open sources.
* **Where tea is grown:** According to the Linyi agricultural management authority (2024), tea is grown in ten counties and districts: Junan, Yishui, Linshu, Lanshan, Pingyi, Yinan, Fei, Lanling, Mengyin and Tancheng, and more than half of the garden area is in Junan County. Hedong and Luozhuang districts are not named among the tea areas: the protected zone is wider than actual tea cultivation.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **2013.** China's Ministry of Agriculture included 沂蒙绿茶 in the third batch of agricultural geographical indications of 2013, comprising 127 products. Announcement No. 2046 was signed on 30 December 2013 and published on the ministry's website on 6 January 2014; in the annex table, the name appears in row 48.
    * **2014.** On 8 January, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, with State Council approval, agreed to rename Cangshan County as Lanling; the Shandong provincial government formalised this with a notice of 17 January. The announcement on the indication was signed earlier, so the county's former name appears in its zone.
    * **2022.** A prefectural local standard for 沂蒙绿茶 appeared: DB3713/T 251-2022, “沂蒙绿茶质量分级与质量安全控制技术规程”, on quality grades and safety control. It was approved by the Linyi market regulation administration, published on 17 August and entered into force on 17 September 2022. According to the standards registry card, the developers include the municipal agrotechnology extension centre, the Linyi Tea Society and several enterprises, including tea companies.
    * **2025, June.** On 19 June, the standard was revoked on the same day as 78 other prefectural standards (79 of 150 with the DB3713 code), including a standard on “沂蒙白茶”. The registry does not state the reason and does not provide the text of the revoked standard; what replaced it is unknown.
    * **2025, autumn.** By Announcement No. 646, signed on 23 September, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) recognised 870 names as geographical indication products, including Yishui Lücha (position 159) and Junan Lücha (position 161). The name 沂蒙绿茶 is not on this list. This does not prove that protection has ended: the sources found do not say whether the name has been recognised by another act or whether the 2013 registration remains in force.
* **Brand:** The Linyi agricultural management authority calls 沂蒙绿茶 a municipal regional public brand (市级区域公用品牌) and reported in 2024 that the brand's packaging and logo had already been developed. The city holds competitions for making “沂蒙绿茶” (2024, 2026) and harvest opening ceremonies: according to an authority reply of July 2025, on 28 April in Zhubian township (洙边镇, *Zhūbiān zhèn*) the sixth such ceremony took place, alongside the second for 莒南白茶.
* **Name:** 沂蒙 (*Yíméng*) and 绿茶 (*lǜchá*), “green tea”. The authorities use the word “沂蒙” for all tea cultivation in the prefecture: the agricultural management authority's page is called “沂蒙茶”, and official replies to proposals speak of the “沂蒙茶产业” and “新质沂蒙茶乡”. On the basis of 沂蒙绿茶, the city plans to develop black, white and oolong teas under the same word: “沂蒙红茶、沂蒙白茶、沂蒙乌龙茶”; there was also a local standard on “沂蒙白茶”, likewise revoked. The indication, however, protects only green tea. The tonal reading of the name is the dictionary one: the sources found give it only in Chinese characters.
* **Cultural significance:** According to statistics for the end of 2023 cited by the Linyi agricultural management authority, green tea accounts for 96.10% of the prefecture's tea output; black and white are secondary, and yellow and oolong are made in small quantities. Official materials call 沂蒙绿茶 the foundation on which it is proposed to develop other tea classes under the word “沂蒙”.

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

* **Variety / Cultivar:** Not established by primary sources. The technical specifications of the indication have not been found, and retellings without a primary source were not included in the article.
* **Harvest:** The sources found do not state harvest times. Only the date of the 2025 harvest opening ceremony is known: 28 April.
* **Harvest standard:** No data. As for most Chinese green teas, a bud with one or two young leaves is usually considered the best raw material, but this is not fixed for 沂蒙绿茶 in the sources found.
* **Raw material requirements:** Unknown. The authorities' evaluative formula mentions thick leaf (叶片厚) as praise, not a requirement.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** South of Shandong, the entire Linyi prefecture-level city, from 34°22′ to 36°22′ N. The main tea area, according to the Linyi agricultural management authority, is Junan County. According to a 2025 authority report, tea is produced in 33 townships and 185 villages of the prefecture, and the largest tea township is Zhubian, with 30 tea villages.
* **Climate:** No primary data. A 2024 authority reply explains the tea's quality by “special climatic and geographical conditions” (独特的气候和地理条件), but does not elaborate.
* **Altitude:** No data in the sources found.
* **Soils:** No data in the sources found.
* **Scale:** Official 2024 reports differ by almost a factor of three. End-of-2023 statistics show 32,600 mu of gardens and 2,308.41 t of dry tea; reports of July, October and November 2024 range from 96,000 to 100,000 mu and from 4,300 to 5,000 t. All these figures cover all tea in the prefecture, not only 沂蒙绿茶, and the sources do not say which is correct.

**5. Production Technology:**

The sources found contain no processing regimes: the technical specifications AGI2013-03-1297 have not been found, and the registry does not provide the text of the revoked standard DB3713/T 251-2022. The notice about the 2026 competition names fixation, rolling and drying, “and other” operations: this is a list of stages, not a specification. The sources do not say what shapes are made under this name, twisted, flat or otherwise.

Below is a general scheme, as for most Chinese green teas, not a description of Yimeng Lücha specifically:

1.  **Withering of the fresh leaf (摊放, *tānfàng*):** The leaf lies in a thin layer and loses some moisture.
2.  **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** Heating in a wok or drum deactivates the leaf's enzymes, so green tea does not oxidise.
3.  **Rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*):** The leaf is rolled to rupture cell walls and shape it.
4.  **Drying (烘干, *hōnggān*):** Hot air brings the tea to dryness and fixes the aroma.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

The sources found contain no organoleptic requirements. At the 2024 municipal competition, judges evaluated finished green tea by appearance, liquor colour, aroma, taste, infused leaf and other indicators, but the notice gives no descriptions of the results. The only characteristic is the evaluative formula of the Linyi agricultural management authority (2024): “thick leaf, stands many infusions, good inner quality, rich taste, high aroma” (叶片厚、耐冲泡、内质好、滋味浓、香气高); in 2025, the same formula without “inner quality”. This is praise from an authority, not a standard requirement.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** No descriptions in the primary sources; the shape and colour of the dry tea are not established.
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No descriptions.
* **Infusion aroma:** According to the authorities' formula, “high” (香气高); the sources do not name specific notes.
* **Taste:** According to the same formula, “rich” (滋味浓), and the tea itself “stands many infusions” (耐冲泡).
* **Liquor colour:** No descriptions.
* **Infused leaf:** No descriptions; the authorities' formula mentions only thick leaf.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

No verified data on the composition of this tea exist: the technical specifications and standard that could contain physicochemical indicators are unavailable, and figures from retellings without a primary source do not add up arithmetically and were not included in the article.

As for most green teas, catechins predominate among the polyphenols; there are also amino acids, including L-theanine, and caffeine. Their proportion in 沂蒙绿茶 has not been measured in the sources found.

**8. Health Benefits:**

No verified data on the effects of this tea exist.

**9. Brewing:**

No data on brewing this tea specifically. Below is common practice for most Chinese green teas.

* **Water temperature:** 80–85 °C.
* **Amount of tea:** About 3 g per 150 ml.
* **Teaware:** A glass cup or gaiwan (盖碗, *gàiwǎn*).
* **Process:**
    1. Rinse the teaware with hot water.
    2. Add the tea and pour water along the side, not directly onto the leaf.
    3. First infusion: 40–60 seconds.
    4. Pour out or drink, leaving part of the infusion in the cup.
    5. Add water again, gradually lengthening the infusion.
    6. The sources do not say how many infusions the leaf will stand; the authorities' formula only praises the tea's resistance to infusions.

**10. Storage:**

No data on storing this tea specifically. As for most green teas: in airtight packaging, refrigerated at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and foreign odours; best drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

The sources found contain no price data.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Check the certificate number AGI01297 and the applicant, the Linyi Tea Society.
    * Check that the producer is from Linyi prefecture; Ju County and the whole of Rizhao are not in the zone.
    * Do not confuse the indication with a trademark: Yimeng Yu Ya ([沂蒙玉芽](https://thetea.app/article/yimeng-yu-ya)) is a trademark of one company in Junan County, not a name for the whole prefecture.
    * Remember that tea from Junan and Yishui counties may be sold under their own indications, 莒南绿茶 and 沂水绿茶; the sources do not describe how tea covered by two names at once is labelled.
    * The word “沂蒙” in a name does not yet mean 沂蒙绿茶: under the same word, the city is developing black, white and oolong teas.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The protected zone is recorded according to the prefecture's division at the end of 2013: it lists Cangshan County, which became Lanling less than three weeks after the announcement was signed.
* The zone is wider than tea cultivation: it includes the urban districts of Hedong and Luozhuang, which are absent from the prefecture's 2024 list of tea districts.
* The local standard for 沂蒙绿茶 lived less than three years: it entered into force in September 2022 and was revoked in June 2025, on the same day as 78 other prefectural standards.
* A similar formula, “thick leaf, stands many infusions, high aroma, rich taste”, appears also in descriptions of the county-level Junan Lücha, where it is linked to a 1970s assessment by a tea institute; the sources do not say where the formula for 沂蒙绿茶 comes from.
* In 2025, the harvest opening ceremony for 沂蒙绿茶 was held together with white tea: the sixth ceremony took place alongside the second for 莒南白茶.

**13. Comparison with Other Green Teas of Shandong:**

* **Junan Lücha (莒南绿茶):** Indication of Junan County within the 沂蒙绿茶 zone; since 2025, a CNIPA geographical indication product. According to the Linyi agricultural management authority (2024), this county holds more than half of the prefecture's gardens.
* **Yishui Lücha (沂水绿茶):** Indication of Yishui County, also within the zone and also recognised by CNIPA in 2025.
* **Yimeng Yu Ya (沂蒙玉芽):** Trademark of one company from Junan County; the word “Yimeng” is shared, but this is not an indication. The company 临沂市玉芽茶业有限公司 is listed among the developers of the revoked 2022 沂蒙绿茶 standard.
* **Fu Lai Qing ([浮来青](https://thetea.app/article/fu-lai-qing)):** Green tea of Ju County, which belongs to Rizhao prefecture and is not in the 沂蒙绿茶 zone.

**In conclusion:**

Yimeng Lücha is a prefectural name over county-level names: a 2013 agricultural indication for green tea from all of Linyi, with the local tea society as applicant, and with the role of a municipal brand under which tea-making competitions and harvest opening ceremonies are held. Within its zone live the county-level Junan Lücha and Yishui Lücha, while the neighbouring Fu Lai Qing from Ju County remains outside its border.

Confirmed are the name, the applicant, the zone and the class. Open questions remain: the current status of protection, the text of the technical specifications and the revoked standard, and with them the appearance, cultivars, processing and taste, which are so far known only from the authorities' short formula: thick leaf, high aroma, rich taste.