Zhāngjiājiè chá (张家界茶) is the prefecture-wide tea name of Zhangjiajie prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan Province. It is neither a variety nor a class but a geographical indication certification mark registered on April 7, 2021 together with “张家界莓茶”; the prefecture authorities manage both as the pair “两茶” — “two teas”. The geographical indications reference database describes two classes under this name — green and red tea — and calls the entire territory of the prefecture its zone. The second mark of the pair does not concern tea: 莓茶 is made from the plant Ampelopsis grossedentata, not from the tea bush. By the end of 2023, 11 companies had obtained the right to put the “张家界茶” mark on their packaging.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: There is no single class. The reference database gives, under one mark, a description of green (绿茶, lǜchá) and red (红茶, hóngchá) tea. Assigning a single class to the name would misrepresent it.
- Category: Prefecture-wide geographical indication certification mark; the pair “两茶” together with “张家界莓茶”.
- Origin: China, Hunan Province (湖南, Húnán), Zhangjiajie prefecture-level city (张家界, Zhāngjiājiè).
- Zone: The reference database calls the entire present territory of the prefecture-level city the zone. I have not seen the mark’s document listing the townships.
- Protection regime: Geographical indication certification mark; the reference database gives the number 43177452. It is listed in the 2024 Hunan government reference book among the province’s geographical collective and certification marks.
- Holder: According to Hunan Ribao (2021), the “两茶” marks were registered, on the instructions of the prefecture government, and are managed by the Zhangjiajie Municipal Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (张家界市农业科学技术研究所), which is subordinate to the municipal bureau of agriculture.
- Geographic coordinates: Exact coordinates of the zone are not found in the sources consulted.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- 2019. In May, according to Hunan Ribao, preparation of the application for the “两茶” marks began.
- 2021 — registration. On April 7 the Trademark Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration registered “张家界茶” and “张家界莓茶” as geographical indication certification marks.
- 2021 — first admissions. On December 24 the municipal bureau of agriculture admitted the first batch to the marks: 9 tea companies to “张家界茶” and 18 companies to “张家界莓茶”.
- 2023 — third batch. On December 26, according to Red Net, one more company was admitted to “张家界茶”, and 31 to “张家界莓茶”; in total 11 companies have been admitted to the “tea” mark and 62 to the “berry” mark.
- Rules of the mark. Rules of use have been approved for “两茶”: quality characteristics, scope of application, requirements for cultivation and processing, supervision. I have not seen the text of the rules; according to the newspaper, a company is required to have a certain scale and its own brand, its own plantations of no less than 100 mu, SC production certification, connection to the quality traceability platform of the Ministry of Agriculture, safety and quality inspections and a clean credit history.
- Name:
- “Zhangjiajie” (张家界) is the name of the prefecture-level city.
- “Cha” (茶, chá) means “tea”.
- Cultural significance: The prefecture-wide name gathers the tea of the prefecture under one mark. In the “两茶” pair the tea mark is for now the junior one: by the end of 2023 more than five times as many companies had been admitted to the “berry” mark as to the “tea” mark.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Varieties / Cultivars: Not named in the sources consulted.
- Raw material: Tea leaf (Camellia sinensis) from the zone of the mark. The rules of the mark set requirements for cultivation, but I have not seen their text.
- Not to be confused with 莓茶: The second mark of the pair protects a drink made from the plant 显齿蛇葡萄 (Ampelopsis grossedentata) — not tea in the botanical sense.
- Harvest standard: No data in the sources consulted.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The northwest of Hunan Province, Zhangjiajie prefecture-level city.
- Altitude, climate, soils: No data in the sources consulted.
- Scale: The area of gardens and the output of tea under the mark are not found in the sources consulted. The admission threshold is no less than 100 mu of the company’s own plantations.
5. Production Technology
The rules of the mark set requirements for processing, but I have not seen their text. The reference database describes the appearance of the two classes, which shows that both green tea — with fixation — and red tea — with full fermentation — go under the mark. Processing parameters are not found in the sources consulted.
Below are the general schemes of the classes, not a description of the technology of this tea:
- Green: spreading (摊放, tānfàng) → fixation (杀青, shāqīng) → rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn) → drying (干燥, gānzào).
- Red: withering (萎凋, wěidiāo) → rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn) → fermentation (发酵, fājiào) → drying (干燥, gānzào).
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
Teas of two classes go under the mark, so the description is given separately — according to the geographical indications reference database.
- Dry leaf appearance: Green — green, tight, rounded strands (条索紧实圆润). Red — tight strands, the color described as 浑红, “dull red”.
- Dry leaf aroma: No separate description.
- Liquor aroma: Green — clean (清香) or chestnut (栗香), dense and long-lasting. Red — honey (蜜香) or clean and long-lasting; the floral and sweet aroma is high and persistent (花香、甜香高锐持久).
- Taste: Green — fresh, brisk, mellow, with a sweet return (鲜爽而回甘，鲜醇回甘); the aroma, in the database’s formula, “stays under the tongue”. Red — mellow, fresh and sweet (醇爽甘甜), full (醇厚鲜爽).
- Liquor color: Green — tender green, clear (嫩绿明澈). Red — golden yellow and bright, with a “golden ring” at the edge of the cup (汤色金黄明亮，有金圈).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Green — yellow-green, soft, even (黄绿软润均匀). Red — even, tender, red and bright (均匀嫩润红亮).
7. Chemical Composition
No physico-chemical data on the tea under the mark are found in the sources consulted. The figures the press gives about 莓茶 do not apply to tea.
8. Brewing
Class practice — the parameters depend on which tea under the mark is in hand.
- Green: 80–85 °C, 3 g per 150 ml, first infusion 40–60 seconds, a glass tumbler or a gaiwan, two or three repeat infusions.
- Red: 90–95 °C, 3–5 g per 150 ml, first infusion 15–30 seconds in a gaiwan, then four or five infusions, adding 10–15 seconds each time. The “golden ring” at the edge is easier to see in a white cup.
9. Storage
Class practice. Green tea — in airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors, drink within a year. Red — in a dry dark place at room temperature, in tight packaging, away from odors.
10. Price and Counterfeits
Price data are not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication certification mark “张家界茶” on the packaging.
- Check that the producer is from Zhangjiajie prefecture and is admitted to the mark: by the end of 2023 there were 11 such companies.
- Look for the class of tea on the label: both green and red are released under one mark.
- Do not confuse with “张家界莓茶”: it is a drink not made from tea leaf.
11. Interesting Facts
- The two marks of the prefecture were registered on the same day, April 7, 2021, but only one of them concerns tea.
- The mark is held not by a producers’ association but by a municipal agricultural science institute, on the instructions of the prefecture government.
- To be admitted to the mark, a company needs no less than 100 mu of its own plantations.
- The description of the red tea under the mark mentions a “golden ring” at the edge of the liquor.
12. Comparison with Other Teas
- Sangzhi Bai Cha (桑植白茶): The white tea of Sangzhi County in the same Zhangjiajie prefecture, with its own mark.
- Jin Mao Hou Hong Cha (金毛猴红茶): A Hunan signature red tea from Tianzi Mountain in Zhangjiajie.
- Shimen Hongcha (石门红茶): The county red tea of Changde prefecture, also in the northwest of Hunan — a single-class name, for contrast with the umbrella.
- Enshi Xicha (恩施硒茶): A Hubei prefecture-wide mark over teas of different classes — the same kind of umbrella over a prefecture.
In Conclusion:
Zhāngjiājiè chá is a prefecture-wide mark, neither a variety nor a class: green and red tea of the prefecture are released under it, and it is held by a municipal scientific institute on the instructions of the government. The documents about it describe administration — the 2021 registration, the admission rules and the eleven admitted companies — while the appearance of the tea is known from a short reference formula: the green has a clean or chestnut aroma and a tender green liquor, the red has a honey aroma and a golden liquor with a “golden ring”.