“Among teas, Haimagong is the finest, Guowa comes second. The first infusion is still a bit astringent, but after two or three infusions, its fragrance emerges, hence it is highly sought after far and wide, with constant praise.” (1925 Dading County Annals). Legend has it that during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, a man named Jian Guichao from Dading Prefecture (present-day Dafang County), Guizhou, served as a county magistrate in Wendeng County, Shandong. He took an interest in tea, finding that drinking tea refreshed the mind and relieved fatigue. When he returned to his hometown to bury his father, he brought tea seeds back to settle and plant in Haimagong, Dading (now Dafang County). Processed into tea, it had a rich aroma, a mellow, sweet taste, and a liquor color resembling bamboo green, so he named it “Zhuyeqing (Bamboo Leaf Green).” Presented to the Dading Prefecture for evaluation, it received high praise from the authorities. It was then successively sent upward until it reached the imperial court, becoming an annual tribute. Thus, Haimagong Tea was listed as a tribute as early as the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, renowned throughout the country.

Haimagong Tea is produced in Haimagong Township, at the foot of Youying Rock in Dafang County, Guizhou Province. The tea garden is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with one side opening to a river valley, at an altitude of about 1500 meters. The area features high mountains, dense clouds, and crisscrossing streams, with an average annual temperature of around 13°C, an annual effective accumulated temperature of 4670°C, a frost-free period of 260 days, annual rainfall of 1000–1200 mm, and a monthly average relative humidity above 80%, making it a relatively cold and high-humidity tea region in Guizhou. However, the mountains on three sides form a natural barrier, blocking the invasion of cold air. Coupled with dense local vegetation, unique microclimate conditions are created. Moreover, the parent material of the tea garden soil is sandy shale, loose in texture, rich in potassium (up to 127 ppm), with a pH of 4.6–4.9, suitable for tea plant growth.

Haimagong Tea is picked from local medium and small group varieties, characterized by abundant fine hairs and strong tenderness retention. Picking begins around Grain Rain. The picking standard is: first-grade tea is one bud with one leaf just unfolding; second-grade tea is one bud with two leaves; third-grade tea is one bud with three leaves. This aligns with the record in the 1890 Tongren Prefecture Annals of the Guangxu era: “Tea with white hairs on the back is considered excellent, best picked a few days before Grain Rain.”

The processing of Haimagong Tea involves the steps of pan-firing (kill-green), initial rolling, pile-wrapping (wò duī), re-rolling, re-pan-firing, re-rolling again, drying, and sorting. The specific methods are:

Pan-firing is carried out in a new flat-bottom wok with a diameter of 35–50 cm, at a temperature of about 140°C, with around 700 grams of leaves per batch. It requires thorough and even pan-firing. When the leaf surface loses its gloss and tea fragrance emerges, the leaves are removed from the wok and rolled while hot. Once the buds and leaves form strips, pile-wrapping is performed: the tea is kneaded into small balls, wrapped in clean white cloth, placed in a basin, and tightly piled for 24 hours. Under the warm, humid conditions of pile-wrapping, the rolled leaves develop the unique quality style of Haimagong Tea. The piled tea then undergoes two more rounds of rolling and pan-drying to tighten the strips, evaporate moisture, and enhance aroma. The final drying step is done over a stove using a slow, gentle heat for over 10 hours to achieve a high fragrance, mellow taste, and sufficient dryness.

The fully dried leaves are sorted and sieved to remove coarse leaves and impurities, sift out broken bits, then graded, packaged, and stored. The entire processing of Haimagong Tea takes over 30 hours.

Haimagong Tea belongs to the famous yellow tea category. It features tightly curled strips with visible fine hairs, a high aroma and mellow taste, a sweet aftertaste, a bright yellow-green liquor, and an even, bright yellowish brew.