Basic Introduction to Tonglu Xue Shui Yun Green Tea
The Chinese cultural tea “Xue Shui Yun” is a type of needle-shaped green tea, renowned for its unique raw materials, which pioneered the history of needle-shaped teas in the province and even the nation. “Xue Shui Yun” tea is distinguished by its “color, aroma, taste, and shape.” It resembles a lotus core, with a jade-like appearance that shines emerald green, standing upright and uniform, earning the favor of consumers.
Xue Shui Yun Green Tea originates from the mountains of Tonglu, mainly wild tea. The production area features lush peaks, misty clouds, beautiful scenery, and scattered tea plants among the forest, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth and the vitality of all things, emitting a delicate fragrance. This product combines traditional techniques with modern high-quality tea processing methods, selecting materials carefully, emphasizing processing, and focusing on characteristics. It uses full buds that are yet to bloom as raw materials, going through eight processes with meticulous craftsmanship to become a fine tea. The finished product has a tight, straight, slightly flattened shape, a tender green color, a clear and high aroma, a fresh and mellow taste, and a clear broth with upright sprouts. Its high quality and unique visual appeal make it a precious tea.
“Xue Shui Yun” has always been loved by the public for its excellent aroma, flavor, and appearance, winning gold awards many times at international, national, provincial, and municipal tea evaluation meetings and tea expos. The official launch of the original place protection for the “Tonglu Xue Shui Yun Green Tea” certification trademark marks a new level in the development of the “Xue Shui Yun” tea brand in our county.
Currently, Tonglu County has established a famous tea production base covering 53,000 mu (approx. 3,533 hectares), with 43,500 mu (approx. 2,900 hectares) dedicated to pesticide-free tea production, 1,000 mu (approx. 67 hectares) for green food tea, and 1,960 mu (approx. 131 hectares) for organic tea. In 2007, the output of the famous tea “Xue Shui Yun” reached 350 tons, with a value of 120 million yuan. “Xue Shui Yun” tea is a Zhejiang brand-name product, “Xue Shui Yun” is a well-known trademark in Zhejiang Province, and it has passed the registration for a national geographical indication certification trademark.
Geographical Range
Tonglu County is located in the northwest of Zhejiang Province, situated along the middle reaches of the Qiantang River and the beautiful Fuchun River, 75 kilometers away from the provincial capital Hangzhou. Administratively part of Hangzhou City, it belongs to the Shanghai Economic Zone in the Yangtze River Delta. National Highway 320 and the Hangqian Expressway pass through the region. The county spans approximately 77 kilometers east-west and 55 kilometers north-south, covering a total area of 1,825 square kilometers. The protected geographical area for Tonglu Xue Shui Yun Green Tea agricultural products includes 59 villages across 9 towns within the administrative boundaries of Tonglu County, Zhejiang Province, including Xinhe Township, Zhongshan Township, Baijiang Town, He Village Township, Fenshui Town, Yaolin Town, Hengcun Town, Fuchunjiang Town, and Fengchuan Town. To the east is Yin Pit Village in Xinhe Township, to the south is Xiaotang Village in Zhongshan Township, to the west is Hanban Village in Baijiang Town, and to the north is Yaoxi Village in He Village Township. The geographical coordinates are between 29°35′ and 30°05′ N latitude and 119°10′ and 119°58′ E longitude. The area covers 3,334 hectares, with an annual yield of 400 tons.
Nutritional Value
Xue Shui Yun Green Tea is made from high-quality single buds grown in pollution-free high mountains, excluding fish leaves, tea stems, purple buds, tea fruits, and frost-damaged buds. After the fresh leaves are spread out, sorted, and then undergo fixation and shaping, cooling and moisture recovery, initial drying, reshaping, final firing to enhance aroma, sorting, and grading, experienced tea masters meticulously craft the tea. The finished Xue Shui Yun Green Tea has a shape reminiscent of a lotus core, a tender green color, a clear broth, and a delicate and fresh aroma. To enjoy Xue Shui Yun Green Tea, use a transparent glass cup, add 3-5 grams of tea, and pour 80°C water to fill one-third of the cup. After a brief pause for appreciation, add more water. Watch as the tea buds float up and down, gracefully dancing; savor the lingering sweetness and clear, long-lasting fragrance. Its superior color, aroma, taste, and appearance can delight both mouth and eyes, invigorating the body and nurturing the spirit.
Product Characteristics
(1) External Sensory Features: The tea is tightly straight and slightly flattened, with visible bud tips, a tender green color, a sharp and clear aroma, a fresh and mellow taste, a clear and bright broth, and tender, uniform, intact leaves that are green and glossy. When brewed in a transparent, colorless glass cup, Xue Shui Yun Green Tea presents buds that rise and fall, initially resembling sparrow beaks playing with pearls and later appearing like thousands of peaks under water, with jade-like tea sprouts standing upright against a backdrop of a clear broth and green shadows, and wisps of white mist, releasing a delicate fragrance. Holding the cup and taking a sip gradually brings about a feeling of clarity and freshness, with a surge of saliva, captivating the heart.
(2) Internal Quality Indicators: Tonglu Xue Shui Yun Green Tea is rich in tea polyphenols and amino acid compounds. Chemical analysis indicators: moisture content ≤6.5%, total ash content ≤6.5%, crude fiber content ≤12%, amino acid content ≥2.0%, water-soluble extract content ≥36%.
(3) Quality and Safety: The quality and safety of Xue Shui Yun Green Tea are ensured through the detection and monitoring of physical samples for chemical and sanitary indicators. The chemical and sanitary standards for Xue Shui Yun Green Tea follow GB2762 and GB2763, with reference to NY/T 5244.
Historical and Folklore
The tea named “Xue Shui Yun” comes from Tonglu, by the Fuchun River. Its packaging may not be particularly distinctive or even somewhat rough, but it naturally evokes the poem “Jiukeng Tea” by Fan Zhongyan: “The elegant Tonglu prefecture, half of its spring mountains are covered in tea. Gentle thunder, what a good deed, awakens the tender shoots before the rain.” “Jiukeng Tea” is one of the ancient famous teas, mentioned in Lu Yu's “Tea Classic” as “Muzhou tea is produced in the valleys of Tonglu.” According to the contemporary tea scholar Zhuang Wanfang in his book “Scattered Essays on the History of Chinese Tea,” “According to the Qing Dynasty ‘Haiji' records, in the early Qing Dynasty, there were twelve pounds of tribute tea from Tonglu.” This shows that Tonglu has long been a land of precious tea, and today's “Xue Shui Yun” has a significant history.
Mr. Lu Xinji is the namer of this fine tea, “Xue Shui Yun.” Over two decades ago, he secluded himself in the lush mountains of Tonglu to develop premium tea, achieving success. Mr. Lu Xinji explains that each character in “Xue Shui Yun” has a source, not only reflecting the nature of tea as a plant but also infusing the essence of Chinese tea culture and the origins and essence of the universe. It may sound a bit mysterious, but profound things often concentrate in a subtle point, gathering the essence of heaven and earth, utilizing natural transformation, and imbued with the profound meaning of “harmony.” Thus, these green buds are extraordinary. Without a doubt, “Xue Shui Yun,” produced in Tonglu where “mountains are covered with tea” and “villages pick new buds,” and as the essence of the essence of bud-shaped teas, holds great value, which is now clear.
“An ordinary moonlight before the window, yet different when there are plum bloss