Basic Introduction to Yaoxi Mountain White Tip
Yaoxi Mountain White Tip is a specialty of Lechang City, Guangdong Province, and is protected under China's national geographical indication. The protected geographical indication area for Yaoxi Mountain White Tip is within the Jiufeng Mountains in Lechang City, Guangdong Province.
Yaoxi Mountain White Tip belongs to the category of baked Green Tea and is characterized by its robust appearance, green and lustrous color, revealed downy hairs, fresh and fragrant aroma, bright green infusion, and fresh, sweet aftertaste.
The origin of Yaoxi Mountain White Tip, the Jiufeng Mountains, is a region of towering peaks, with the Wu River to the west and Tian Tou Water to the north. It is part of the Nanling Mountains, featuring dense vegetation, abundant springs, steam rising, and clouds shrouding the mountains year-round. This creates a unique climate in the Jiufeng Mountains, with frequent cloud cover, high humidity, ample rainfall, and significant day-to-night temperature differences. These conditions provide an excellent natural environment for the production of Yaoxi Mountain White Tip, promoting the accumulation of internal substances and the synthesis of aromatic compounds in the Tea leaves, ensuring the formation of its distinctive quality.
Yaoxi Mountain White Tip is a renowned tea that has been carefully refined over generations. Its unique qualities are closely linked to stringent production requirements. The fresh leaves used must be the first unfurled leaf set or the first to third unfurled leaf sets, with complete, fresh, and uniform leaves, free from stalks, tea fruit, or old leaves. The production process involves spreading the fresh leaves, fixing, rolling, preliminary drying, cooling and rehumidifying, final drying, packaging, and finishing.
The specific impacts of the origin on the tea quality include:
First, there are many clouds, which reduce direct sunlight exposure during the spring tea production period (March to April). Cloud cover occurs nearly every day, with more than 100 days of fog per year. This unique microclimate meets the preference of tea plants for diffused light and humid conditions, which is not found in other nearby production areas. Clouds reflect long-wave light while allowing short-wave light to pass through, promoting the formation of amino acids and aromatic compounds in the tea leaves, contributing to the robust appearance, downy hairs, bright green infusion, bright leaf base, fragrant aroma, and fresh, sweet aftertaste of Yaoxi Mountain White Tip.
Second, there is abundant rainfall and high relative humidity. The average annual rainfall in the Jiufeng Mountains is 1,596.5 millimeters, with an average annual relative humidity of 80%. Tea growth primarily relies on natural rainfall, with 80% of the annual rainfall occurring during the tea production season (March to September), which is highly conducive to the growth of new shoots.
Third, there is a significant difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures, reaching up to 10°C. This, combined with scientifically managed field cultivation, results in thick and robust buds and leaves, a high content of water-soluble substances, and abundant amino acids.
Fourth, the average annual temperature is relatively low, as the Jiufeng Mountains are located in the high-altitude, cold northern part of Guangdong Province, with an average annual temperature of 16.6°C. Early spring temperature rises slowly, preserving the tenderness of the tea and enhancing its quality.
Fifth, the Jiufeng Mountains feature rugged terrain and deep valleys, with tea plants growing at altitudes ranging from 400 to 800 meters, resulting in high amino acid content and a fresh, pleasant taste.
Sixth, the Jiufeng Mountains are situated north of the Tropic of Cancer, within a subtropical monsoon climate zone. There are 99 mountain peaks above 1,000 meters in altitude, and the forest coverage rate reaches 80%, with well-protected ecological conditions. There are no sources of pollution within the tea-growing areas, and the air is exceptionally fresh. The soil is mainly red and yellow, with a 20-centimeter-thick organic matter layer and an 80-centimeter-thick soil layer. The topsoil organic matter content exceeds 3%, total nitrogen content is greater than 0.1%, and the average pH value is 5.1. The deep, fertile, loose, and moist soil contributes to robust new shoots, green leaves, and thick leaf texture. The slow development and strong tenderness of the buds and leaves give Yaoxi Mountain White Tip its robust appearance, revealed downy hairs, bright green infusion, bright leaf base, fragrant aroma, and fresh, sweet aftertaste. Grown in such a pristine environment, Yaoxi Mountain White Tip possesses unique quality characteristics.
Nutritional Value
Yaoxi Mountain White Tip contains abundant proteins, amino acids, alkaloids, tea polyphenols, sugars, organic acids, aromatic compounds, and other beneficial substances for the body. These substances can inhibit atherosclerosis, prevent cancer, treat scurvy, and protect against radiation. Regular consumption of Yaoxi Mountain White Tip can lower blood pressure and provide various Health benefits.
Product Characteristics
Yaoxi Mountain White Tip is characterized by its robust appearance, green and lustrous color, revealed downy hairs, fresh and fragrant aroma, bright green infusion, and fresh, sweet aftertaste. According to product quality standards, it is divided into Special Grade, First Grade, and Second Grade.
Special Grade: Robust appearance with revealed downy hairs, fresh and fragrant aroma that lasts, fresh taste, bright green infusion, and bright green leaf base.
First Grade: Green and lustrous appearance with visible downy hairs, chestnut-like aroma that lasts, fresh and mellow taste, green and bright infusion, and green and bright leaf base.
Second Grade: Yellow-green and tender appearance, pure aroma, mellow taste, yellow-green and bright infusion, and yellow-green leaf base.
The contents of various indicators are: tea polyphenols 25% to 37%, catechins 18% to 22%, caffeine 3% to 5%, amino acids ≥2%, and water-soluble substances ≥38%.
History and Folklore
The cultivation history of Yaoxi Mountain White Tip dates back over 1,200 years. Lu Yu, revered as the “Tea God” of the Tang Dynasty, had a connection with Lechang and its tea. Around 789 AD, during his tenure in Guangzhou, Lu Yu was impressed by the tea from Shaoguan (at that time, Shaoguan's main tea-producing area was Lechang) and came to Shaoguan's Lechang County specifically to study white hair tea. He personally went up the mountain to pick tea and visited various tea mountains. His inscription of the words “Shi Shi” on the cave walls of Xishi Rock in Lechang serves as evidence (according to the “Annals of Shaoguan Prefecture,” “Lu Yu inscribed his name and carved ‘Shi Shi' two characters, with a record by Yu Xianggong.” Also, the “Annals of Lechang County” states, “There are Lu Yu's calligraphic works on it.”). Lu Yu recorded in “The Classic of Tea” that “Lingnan tea grows in Shaoguan, and its flavor is extremely good. Shaoguan produces Yellow Tea, produced in various counties of Shaoguan, with Lechang being the most valuable.” Thus, Lechang white hair tea secured a place in “The Classic of Tea” and subsequently became a tribute to the emperor.
The “New Discourses of Guangdong” by Qu Dajun during the Ming Dynasty records, “Lechang has white hair tea, with slightly white hair on the leaves, and its taste is cool and refreshing.”
In 1927 (sixteenth year of the Republic of China), Tao Zhu participated in the Guangzhou Uprising and later passed through Lechang's Yaoxi Mountain on his way to Hunan for military operations. After drinking several bowls of white hair tea made by local residents, he did not experience thirst even after traveling 30 kilometers over mountains and rivers. This left a deep impression and fond memories of Yaoxi Mountain White Tip on him.
The “Annals of Lechang County,” revised in 1933 (twenty-second year of the Republic of China), records, “Tea, also known as ‘ming,' Guo Pu said, ‘Early-picked is tea, late-picked is ming.' There are various colors, including white hair tea, ancient tea, and fruit tea. White hair tea grows in the