---
title: "Yúyáo pùbù xiānmíng"
url: https://thetea.app/article/yuyao-pubu-xianming
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Yúyáo pùbù xiānmíng (余姚瀑布仙茗)

*Yúyáo pùbù xiānmíng* (余姚瀑布仙茗), “the immortals' tea from the waterfall ridge of Yuyao”, is a green tea of the city of Yuyao (余姚市), Ningbo prefecture, Zhejiang Province, from the Siming Mountains (四明山). The name is taken from Lu Yu's *The Classic of Tea* (茶经). The old technology, according to reference works, was lost after the Ming; the present tea was revived in 1979. The name has been protected since 2010, and since 2025 as a geographical indication product, which has four series, from the needle-shaped one to curled teas from light-leaf varieties.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*). The protection requirements divide the products into green-leaf (绿叶茶), white-leaf and yellow-leaf tea; all the processing schemes in them begin with fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*) right after the leaf is spread, and there is no smothering (闷黄, *mènhuáng*) in them.
* **Name trap:** “White-leaf” and “yellow-leaf” tea (白叶茶, 黄叶茶) are light-leaf varieties (白化茶, *báihuàchá*) in green-tea processing.
* **Category:** A historical famous tea revived in the 20th century; reference works count it among the eight famous teas of Ningbo.
* **Origin:** China, Zhejiang Province (浙江, *Zhèjiāng*), Ningbo prefecture (宁波, *Níngbō*), county-level city of Yuyao (余姚, *Yúyáo*).
* **Protection zone:** According to the 2025 protection requirements — 21 townships, towns and urban subdistricts of Yuyao, 268 administrative villages; 120°52′–121°25′ E, 29°40′–30°23′ N. The applicant is the Yuyao Pubu Xianming Association (余姚市余姚瀑布仙茗协会). A reference description of the earlier zone named 17 townships and subdistrict committees and an eastern boundary of 121°54′ E.
* **Geographic coordinates:** About 29.7–30.4° N and 120.9–121.4° E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **The legend of Yu Hong.** In the seventh chapter of *The Classic of Tea*, Lu Yu gives a story from the *Records of the Divine and Strange* (神异记): Yu Hong (虞洪), a native of Yuyao, went into the mountains for tea and met a Taoist with three dark oxen. The Taoist called himself Danqiuzi (丹丘子), led him to Waterfall Mountain (瀑布山), showed him “great tea” (大茗) and asked in return for the leftovers from the bowls. In the chapter on utensils the episode is dated to the Yongjia years (永嘉中) — the early 4th century. This is a legend, not a chronicle.
    * **The line of the Classic.** Chapter eight: “浙东，以越州上，余姚县生瀑布泉岭曰仙茗，大者殊异，小者与襄州同” — in eastern Zhejiang the best tea is in Yuezhou; in Yuyao County, on the Waterfall Spring ridge, grows “*xiānmíng*”; its large leaf is extraordinary, its small leaf is like that of Xiangzhou.
    * **Song — Qing.** According to a reference work, the Song chronicle *Jiatai Kuaiji Zhi* (嘉泰会稽志) places Yuyao's waterfall tea right after the leading teas of the prefecture, and the thinker Huang Zongxi (黄宗羲) wrote the poem “Yuyao Waterfall Tea” (余姚瀑布茶). In it people hurry to market with the tea before Guyu (出市都争谷雨前), and it ends with the lines “炒青已到更阑后，犹试新分瀑布泉”: the pan-firing was finished by the end of the night, and the new tea is already being tried with water from the waterfall spring.
    * **1979–1980.** According to reference descriptions, the tea stopped being made after the Ming; in 1979 it was revived, and in 1980 it received the title of first-class famous tea of the province. According to the product description, production was mechanized in the 1990s.
    * **1998.** According to a 2024 interview in the local press, Yuyao previously made mainly “pearl” tea (珠茶), and since 1998 the city has promoted its tea under the single name *Yúyáo pùbù xiānmíng*.
    * **Around 2010.** According to the newspaper *Zhonghua Hezuo Shibao* of 19 January 2010, shortly before that the China International Tea Culture Research Association (中国国际茶文化研究会) awarded Yuyao the first plaque of “home of Chinese tea culture” (中国茶文化之乡), and gave *Yúyáo pùbù xiānmíng* the title of “famous tea of Chinese culture” (中国文化名茶).
    * **2010.** Agricultural product geographical indication (AGI) of the Ministry of Agriculture; the reference work gives the date as 24 December.
    * **2018.** According to the reference work, a gold award at the second China International Tea Expo; the reference work does not specify which of the producers received it.
    * **2025.** By announcement No. 640 of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) (signed 16 July, published 13 August), 1409 geographical indication products were recognized; *Yúyáo pùbù xiānmíng* is line 404, with its own protection requirements.
* **Name:** “Yuyao” (余姚) is the city; “*pùbù*” (瀑布) is waterfall, after the Pubuling ridge (瀑布岭); “*xiānmíng*” (仙茗) is “tea of the immortals”, where 茗 is an old literary word for tea. Reference works also record other names: 余姚瀑布茶, 余姚仙茗 and 香茗. “Immortal” refers to the Taoist of the legend, not to the processing.
* **Cultural significance:** The legend of Danqiuzi is also told in the Tiantai Mountains, but in the text of the Classic Yu Hong is directly named a native of Yuyao.

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

* **Varieties:** The protection requirements allow ordinary good varieties and light-leaf varieties of the white and yellow series, without naming them. The best known of the light-leaf ones, according to a 2024 interview in the local press, is Huangjinya (黄金芽); according to the newspaper *Ningbo Ribao* (2025), its yellow shoots were found in 1998 near the Tianluoshan site (田螺山遗址) outside Yuyao. A full list of varieties is not found in the sources consulted.
* **Harvest:** In gardens with a flat canopy, picking begins when 10–15 buds per square meter meet the standard. The bud with its leaf is bent with two fingers so that it breaks off by itself.
* **Harvest standard:** There is no separate norm; it is set by the series: for the “single bud” (单芽精品) the spent leaves are all buds, for the top grade — whole buds with leaves.
* **Harvest time:** Exact dates are not found in the sources consulted.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The Siming Mountains in eastern Zhejiang. Reference works name Mount Daoshi (道士山) on the slope of the Pubuling ridge, with gardens among forest, bamboo and streams, as the historical home of the tea.
* **Growing altitude:** Mount Daoshi — over 400 m, according to reference works. The protection requirements do not limit altitude.
* **Site:** Slope less than 25°, soil layer deeper than 80 cm, pH 4.5–6.5, organic matter more than 1.5%, groundwater deeper than 100 cm — according to the protection requirements.
* **Climate:** In the descriptions — clouds and mists for most of the year; figures are not found in the sources consulted.
* **Output:** Garden area is not found in the sources consulted. According to the 2010 newspaper, output in 2009 was 655 t; according to a 2024 interview in the local press — more than 800 t of named teas a year.

**5. Production Technology:**

The protection requirements give two process lines without temperatures or times. The current Ningbo local standard is DB3302/T 075-2018 on production technique (余姚瀑布仙茗生产技术规程), in force since 21 June 2018; its text is not found in the sources consulted.

* **Needle tea (针形茶):** single bud, early bud and top grade go through spreading (摊青, *tānqīng*), fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*), cooling, straightening (理条, *lǐtiáo*), resting (回潮, *huícháo*), shaping (整形, *zhěngxíng*), heating for aroma (提香, *tíxiāng*) and sorting on sieves. For the first and second grades, resting, rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*) and a first drying are added after fixation, followed by cooling, straightening and the same finishing steps.

* **Curled tea (蟠曲茶):** white-leaf and yellow-leaf raw material, after fixation and cooling, goes through “color development” (催色, *cuīsè*) — the document does not explain what this operation is — then resting, rolling, a first drying, forming (做形, *zuòxíng*), heating for aroma (焙香, *bèixiāng*) and sorting. Green-leaf curled tea of the first and second grades is rested and rolled after fixation, then finished in a small and a large pan (小锅, 大锅) and heated for aroma.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

Below — following the series in the protection requirements; smoke, scorching, mustiness, red stalks and cloudy liquor are not allowed.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** “Pine needle” (松针, *sōngzhēn*) — tight straight leaf, like a needle. The “golden” series (金韵, *jīnyùn*) — strands curled like a “snail”, green with gold or golden. The “snowy” series (雪韵, *xuěyùn*) — strands curled like a “hook” with varying shares of golden leaf. “Dragon pearl” (龙珠, *lóngzhū*) — tight rolled strands.
* **Dry leaf aroma:** A separate description is not found in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** In “pine needle” — tender or high, lasting; in the “golden” — high and rich; in the “snowy” — rich and fresh.
* **Taste:** In “pine needle” — fresh, mellow, refreshing (鲜醇爽口); in the “golden” and “snowy” — fresh and mellow, in the higher grades with a sweet aftertaste (回甘).
* **Liquor color:** In “pine needle” — tender green, bright; in the “golden” — yellow, soft; in the “snowy” — emerald.
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** In the “golden” — “jade-yellow” (玉黄), opening like a flower; in the “snowy” of grade 700 — “jade-white” (玉白) with sparse veins; in the single bud — all buds.

The reference description of the revived tea: the leaf is tight, the buds elegant, slightly flat (外形紧密，苗秀略扁), green with a sheen (色泽绿润); the aroma fresh and clean (香气清鲜), the taste fresh and mellow (滋味鲜醇), the spent leaves tender, even, opening like a flower (叶底嫩匀成朵).

**7. Chemical Composition:**

The protection requirements for the finished tea:

| Indicator | Norm |
| :--- | :--- |
| Moisture | not more than 6.5% |
| Fines | not more than 5.5% |
| Total ash | not more than 6.0% |
| Crude fiber | not more than 14.0% |
| Extractives | not less than 36.0% |

These are quality indicators, not a chemical profile. Data on polyphenols, amino acids and caffeine for this particular tea are not found in the sources consulted.

**8. Health Properties:**

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

**9. Brewing:**

General practice for green tea as a class: the sources give no recommendations of their own.

* **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. Add the tea and pour the water down the side.
    3. First infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
    4. Drink, leaving part of the liquor, and top up with water.
    5. Two or three further infusions.

**10. Storage:**

General practice for the class. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5°C, away from light, moisture and odors. Best drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Price data are not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the geographical indication product mark and a producer from Yuyao.
    * Do not judge by shape: both needles and curls are legitimate.
    * A reference to the legend of Yu Hong does not prove origin: it is also told in other places.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The tea's name is taken from the eighth chapter of *The Classic of Tea*.
* Lu Yu gives the episode with Yu Hong twice: among the stories about tea and in the chapter on utensils, next to the ladle.
* Huang Zongxi dedicated verses to this tea: in them the new tea is tried with water from the waterfall spring.
* The “golden” series is divided into grades 24K and 18K, the “snowy” into 700, 500 and 300.

**13. Comparison with Other Zhejiang Teas:**

* **Wanghai Cha ([望海茶](https://thetea.app/article/wanghai-cha)):** A mountain green tea of Ninghai County in the same prefecture, created in 1980.
* **Tiantaishan Yunwu Cha ([天台山云雾茶](https://thetea.app/article/tiantaishan-yunwucha)):** A mountain green tea of Tiantai, where the same legend of Danqiuzi is told.
* **Anji Baicha ([安吉白茶](https://thetea.app/article/anji-baicha)):** A green tea from a white-leaf variety — a counterpart to the “snowy” series.
* **Jinyun Huangcha ([缙云黄茶](https://thetea.app/article/jinyun-huangcha)):** A green tea from a yellow-leaf variety — a counterpart to the “golden” series.

**In Conclusion:**

*Yúyáo pùbù xiānmíng* is a tea named by Lu Yu. The present tea is a 1979 revival that has grown into four series, from the needle-shaped “pine needle” to the curled “golden” and “snowy” from light-leaf varieties. All of them are green, and the protection secures the name for Yuyao.