Zhōngxiáng yúnwù chá (钟祥云雾茶) is a mountain green tea of the county-level city of Zhongxiang (钟祥市), Jingmen prefecture-level city, in the center of Hubei Province. Descriptions link it to the town of Kedian (客店镇): the county’s tourist guide places the tea factory above the Huangxiandong cave (黄仙洞) at an altitude of 965 m, and the provincial intellectual property administration gives the average altitude of the area as 750 m. The tea, with a fine straight strand, a clean, lasting aroma and a fresh taste with a sweet aftertaste, received the top prize of the first all-China competition “中茶杯” in 1994, and since 2015 its name has been a geographical indication certification mark.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá). The county’s tourist guide classes it as a strip-shaped tea with pan fixation (条形炒青茶); the description by the provincial intellectual property administration — emerald leaf and tender green spent leaves — is consistent with this. I have not seen a mark document with requirements for the technology.
- Category: Mountain green tea of central Hubei; geographical indication certification mark (2015).
- Origin: China, Hubei Province (湖北, Húběi), Jingmen prefecture-level city (荆门, Jīngmén), Zhongxiang county-level city (钟祥, Zhōngxiáng).
- Mark zone: The provincial register gives Zhongxiang as the administrative affiliation of the mark holder, not as the legal boundary of the zone. The SINOGI geographical indication reference database names the entire current territory of the county-level city as the area of origin (钟祥市现辖行政区域). I have not seen a document with the boundary.
- Geographic coordinates: The county-level city lies between 30°42′ and 31°36′ N and between 112°07′ and 113°00′ E.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- After 1985, according to the county’s tourist guide, the tea was repeatedly recognized as a quality product of Hubei Province.
- 1987. The writer Yao Xueyin (姚雪垠), according to the same guide, tasted the tea at the factory and wrote its name — “云雾茶” — in his own hand. The provincial intellectual property administration also mentions this inscription, but without a year.
- 1994. The yúnwù chá “娘娘碧簪” (Niángniang bìzān) received the top prize of the first all-China competition of famous and quality teas “中茶杯” (Zhōng chá bēi) — so writes the Hubei intellectual property administration.
- 1995 and 1997. The tourist guide names two more gold awards: from the second China Agricultural Expo and from the Beijing International Tea Expo.
- 2015. Geographical indication certification mark “钟祥云雾茶”, No. 13988403, class 30, goods — tea (茶). Holder — the Zhongxiang Tea Association (钟祥市茶叶协会). According to the provincial register (data as of May 2020), the exclusive right was valid from January 7, 2015 to January 6, 2025.
- 2020. The Hubei intellectual property administration in 2022 named one food company as the lawful user of the mark, with a license from January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023.
- Current status. The first ten-year term of the mark expired in January 2025. Whether the mark has been renewed is not stated in the sources consulted; this has to be checked in the register.
- Name: “Zhongxiang” (钟祥) — the name of the county-level city. According to a reference on the city, this name was given to the county by the Ming Jiajing Emperor, who grew up here, in the sense of “a place where good omens gather”. Yúnwù (云雾) — “clouds and mist”, an image of mountain gardens in mist, not a class of tea.
- Cultural significance: The county has the Ming tomb Xianling (显陵), on the World Heritage list, and the Huangxiandong cave. The tourist guide places yúnwù chá among the “longevity foods” (长寿食品): since 2000 Zhongxiang has officially been listed as one of China’s lands of longevity.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety / Cultivar: Varieties are not named in the sources consulted.
- Harvest standard: No exact standard found in the sources consulted; the description by the intellectual property administration speaks of abundant white down on the dry tea (白毫满披).
- Harvest time: No data found in the sources consulted.
- Raw material requirements: No data found in the sources consulted.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The center of Hubei Province, the north of the Jianghan Plain, the middle reaches of the Hanshui. The county has the Dahongshan (大洪山) scenic area of national importance and the Huangxiandong cave. The tourist guide names Niangniangzhai (娘娘寨) on the southern slope of Dahongshan as the place of the tea, and the factory in the town of Kedian; the sources name no other garden locations.
- Growing altitude: The average altitude is 750 m: the Hubei intellectual property administration attributes it to the tea area, the tourist guide to Niangniangzhai. The factory in Kedian, according to the same guide, stands at an altitude of 965 m.
- Climate: According to the administration’s description: mild, “no severe cold in winter, no exhausting heat in summer”, plenty of rain, diffused light, a large daily temperature range, clouds and mist all year round. For the county as a whole, the reference on the city gives a subtropical monsoon climate.
- Soils: No data found in the sources consulted.
5. Production Technology
The county’s tourist guide calls the tea a strip-shaped tea with pan fixation (条形炒青茶). Detailed technology and parameters are not found in the sources consulted.
Below is the general scheme of strip-shaped green tea with pan fixation, not a description of the technology of Zhōngxiáng yúnwù chá:
- Spreading of the fresh leaf (摊放, tānfàng): The leaf is spread in a thin layer so that it gives off part of its moisture.
- Pan fixation (杀青, shāqīng): Heating stops oxidation and preserves the green color.
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn): Gives the leaf the shape of a strand.
- Pan-firing to dryness (炒干, chǎogān): Sets the shape and aroma.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
There are two descriptions. The first was given by the Hubei intellectual property administration (2022):
- Dry leaf appearance: The strand is straight, elegant, natural (条索挺秀自然), entirely covered with white down (白毫满披), the color emerald (色泽翠绿).
- Dry leaf aroma: No separate description; the aroma is called chestnut and lasting (栗香持久), without specifying whether of the dry leaf or of the liquor.
- Liquor aroma: Chestnut, lasting (栗香持久).
- Taste: Fresh, brisk, with a sweet aftertaste (滋味鲜爽回甘).
- Liquor color: Clear and bright (汤色清澈明亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender green, even (叶底嫩绿匀齐).
The county’s tourist guide describes the tea differently: the color “moist green” (色泽润绿), the aroma clean and lasting (清香持久), the taste fresh and mellow with a sweet aftertaste (鲜醇回甘), the liquor emerald and bright (汤色翠绿明亮); it says nothing about down. Both descriptions call the appearance “a typical style of high-mountain tea” (典型的高山茶风格). Which description is closer to the norm of the mark, I cannot say: I have not seen the mark document.
7. Chemical Composition
No numerical data found in the sources consulted. The SINOGI reference database only lists proteins, amino acids, vitamins and polyphenols, without quantities.
8. Brewing
Class practice for green tea.
- Water temperature: 80–85 °C.
- Tea amount: 3 g per 150 ml.
- Teaware: A glass tumbler, in which the strand and the down are visible, 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. Best drunk within a year.
10. Price and Counterfeits
No price data found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the certification mark “钟祥云雾茶” No. 13988403; its first term expired in January 2025, so whether it is in force has to be verified.
- Check that the producer is from the county-level city of Zhongxiang.
- Do not confuse it with other yúnwù teas: the words “clouds and mist” appear in the names of many teas from different provinces.
- The leaf is a straight strand with white down, the liquor is clear, the spent leaves are tender green.
11. Interesting Facts
- The name of the tea was written in his own hand by the writer Yao Xueyin.
- In the same provincial register, Zhongxiang has another mark with the word “tea” — “钟祥米茶”; the goods in it are rice tea (糙米茶, 米茶), and it should not be confused with yúnwù chá.
- The top prize of the first “中茶杯” competition in 1994 went to a yúnwù chá named “娘娘碧簪”. The tourist guide relates a legend: an empress (娘娘) lived in Niangniangzhai and drank this tea — hence the name “娘娘寨云雾茶”.
12. Comparison with Other “Clouds and Mist” Teas
- Yingshan Yunwucha (英山云雾茶): A green tea of Yingshan County in the east of Hubei; in the same provincial register it is protected by collective marks.
- Lushan Yun Wu (庐山云雾): One of the best-known “cloud” teas — a green tea of Mount Lushan in Jiangxi.
- Nanyue Yunwucha (南岳云雾茶): A green tea of Mount Hengshan in Hunan.
- Yunwu Lücha (云雾绿茶): A collective name for mountain green teas of “clouds and mist”.
In Conclusion:
Zhōngxiáng yúnwù chá is a mountain green tea of central Hubei: a straight, elegant strand in white down, a lasting chestnut or clean aroma, a fresh taste with a sweet aftertaste. Behind it are the top prize of the first “中茶杯”, a name written in a writer’s hand and a 2015 certification mark whose first term expired in January 2025.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page