Zhūtáng cháyè · thetea.app

Zhūtáng cháyè (朱堂茶叶) is “the tea of Zhutang”: a name that Luoshan County (罗山县), Xinyang prefecture-level city, Henan Province, is preparing to register as a geographical indication certification mark for the tea of Zhutang Township (朱堂乡). It is not a registered indication and, as far as can be seen from the sources, not even a filed application: in the report of the Luoshan market supervision administration (2025), the name appears in a list of marks that the county is “cultivating” (培育), and, unlike two of the names listed next to it, nothing is said about an application for it. The tea itself — its class, technology, appearance — is not described in the sources consulted.

1. Classification and Origin

Type: Not established. “茶叶” (cháyè) is simply “tea leaf”; the word names no class. There is no document that would name the class — just as there is no mark itself.
Category: A proposed name for a geographical indication certification mark. The 2026 register treats it as a proposal without a filed application.
Origin: China, Henan Province (河南, Hénán), Xinyang prefecture-level city (信阳, Xìnyáng), Luoshan County (罗山, Luóshān), Zhutang Township (朱堂乡, Zhūtáng xiāng).
Zone: Not declared and not approved. The name points to Zhutang Township, but the boundaries of the future mark were not found in the sources consulted.
Geographic coordinates: Zhutang Township — about 32.0° N and 114.2° E.

2. History and Cultural Significance

History:
- 2025 — the county report. The market supervision administration of Luoshan County, in a report on creating a pilot county of “strong intellectual property”, writes that the county is cultivating a group of geographical indication certification marks: “浉河萝卜” (radish), “罗山大肠汤” (intestine soup), “罗山板栗” (chestnuts) and “朱堂茶叶”. According to the same report, the application for the collective mark “罗山大肠汤” has already been accepted, and the application for “罗山板栗” has passed preliminary examination by the state agency. There is no such information about “朱堂茶叶”.
- Date. The report was published on the website of the Xinyang market supervision administration; the page header gives 7 February 2025, while its address gives 16 January. Which date is more accurate cannot be determined from the page.
- Status. According to the 2026 register — a proposal, application not filed. I have found no later reports of a filing or registration.
Name: 朱堂 — the name of the township; 茶叶 — “tea leaf”, in everyday use simply “tea”.
Cultural significance: No data on a tea tradition specific to Zhutang were found in the sources consulted. The protected tea of the county is Xinyang Maojian: the same 2025 report states that the county administration, together with the court, the procuratorate and a local tea company, set up a base for the judicial protection of the national geographical indication “信阳毛尖”. According to our encyclopedia’s article on Xinyang Maojian, Luoshan County is within the zone of this indication.

3. Botanical Description and Raw Material

Variety / Cultivar: No data were found in the sources consulted.
Harvest and harvest standard: No data were found in the sources consulted.
Raw material requirements: No data were found in the sources consulted — requirements will appear only if an application with a quality description is filed.

4. Terroir and Cultivation Features

Region: According to a reference description, Luoshan County lies in the southeast of Henan, at the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains (大别山), and borders Dawu County in Hubei. Zhutang is one of the county’s townships; reference works give different numbers of townships and towns, because the division has changed.
Altitude, climate, soils: No data were found in the sources consulted.

5. Production Technology

There is no technology of Zhūtáng cháyè: there is no mark, no standard, no description of the tea. What tea the name will protect, if an application is filed, cannot be established from the sources consulted. The protected tea of the county is the green Xinyang Maojian; its technology is described in a separate article of the encyclopedia and does not automatically apply to Zhūtáng cháyè.

6. Organoleptic Characteristics

No descriptions of a tea with this name were found in the sources consulted.

Dry leaf appearance: No data were found in the sources consulted.
Dry leaf aroma: No data were found in the sources consulted.
Liquor aroma: No data were found in the sources consulted.
Taste: No data were found in the sources consulted.
Liquor color: No data were found in the sources consulted.
Spent leaves (wet leaves): No data were found in the sources consulted.

7. Chemical Composition

Physico-chemical data were not found in the sources consulted.

8. Brewing

Class practice. The class is not established; the guidelines below are for green tea, to which Xinyang Maojian, the protected tea of the county, belongs.

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. Put in the tea and pour the water down the side.
3. The first infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
4. Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
5. Top up with water.
6. Two or three further infusions.

9. Storage

Class practice for green tea. 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

There are no price data in the sources consulted.

How to avoid counterfeits:
- Remember that as of the date of the 2025 report, “朱堂茶叶” is not registered as a geographical mark: the inscription on the packaging is a trade name, not a protected name.
- If tea from Luoshan is sold as Xinyang Maojian, look for the mark of that indication: it is precisely “信阳毛尖” that is protected.
- Ask for the specific place of origin — Zhutang Township — rather than settling for the word “tea”.

11. Interesting Facts

Alongside “朱堂茶叶”, the county is preparing marks for chestnuts, radish and intestine soup; it is the only tea on this list.
Of the four names, the chestnuts have advanced furthest: their application has passed preliminary examination.
The soup “罗山大肠汤” is going forward not as a certification mark but as a collective mark.
Luoshan and Dawu County in Hubei lie on opposite sides of the Dabie Mountains: Luoshan at the northern foot, Dawu at the southern.

12. Comparison with Other Teas

Xinyang Maojian (信阳毛尖): The main green tea of Xinyang prefecture with a geographical indication; Luoshan County is within its zone.
Xinyang Hong (信阳红): A red tea of the same prefecture; Luoshan County is also part of its production zone, according to the encyclopedia article.
Gushi Yunwu (固始云雾): A mark of Gushi County in the same prefecture — also a name without a described class, but one already entered in the list of registered indications as of the end of 2009.
Dawu Lücha (大悟绿茶): A green tea with an indication from Dawu County, Hubei Province, on the other side of the Dabie Mountains.

In Conclusion:

Zhūtáng cháyè is not yet a tea with an indication but a line in a county report: a name that Luoshan intends to make a geographical mark for Zhutang Township. The sources are silent on the application, the zone, the class and the appearance of the tea, and the encyclopedia honestly records only this. The protected tea of the county today is Xinyang Maojian, under whose protection Luoshan already operates.