Basic Introduction to Jiande Baocha
Jiande Baocha, also known as Yanzhou Baocha, is produced in the mountainous valleys around Meicheng and Sandu in Jiande City, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province (formerly known as Yanzhou). It has been repeatedly rated as a high-quality, famous tea in Zhejiang Province. Jiande City is a key tea production base in China with a long history of tea production. Among the eight major tea regions recorded in The Classic of Tea during the Tang Dynasty, one included Muzhou (present-day Jiande and its surroundings). Jiande Baocha has a yellow-green appearance that is short and robust, with a high aroma and leaves that are green with a yellow hue. The tea liquor is clear and bright, renowned for its unique shape, superior quality, and delicate fragrance. In May 2008, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine approved geographical indication product protection for Jiande Baocha.
Nutritional Value
Caffeine (purine alkaloids), amino acids, chlorophyll, carotenoids, xanthophylls (flavonoids, anthocyanins), alcohols, vitamin C, and includes potassium, phosphates, manganese, among other inorganic components and carbohydrates, waxes, resins, enzymes, etc. The tea's benefits include increased stamina, enhanced memory, prevention of scurvy, detoxification of alcohol and nicotine, invigoration and mental clarity, expectorant and blood thinning properties, and vision improvement and cholesterol reduction.
Product Characteristics
Jiande Baocha has a yellow-green appearance that is short and robust, with a fine layer of downy hair on the leaves; it has a high inner aroma. The leaves are green with a yellow hue, and the tea liquor is clear and bright. When brewed, due to the center of gravity being away from the tip of the bud, which is heavier at the base, the buds point upwards, resembling a budding orchid floating in the clear, bright tea liquor. This is visually appealing, like a jade pen dancing in the wind. It is renowned for its unique shape, superior quality, and delicate fragrance.
Historical and Folklore
Jiande Baocha was created in 1870, originally produced in Xiaolibu, Sandu, and Dongguan, Meicheng in Jiande. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, ancient Yanzhou attracted merchants from all directions, with merchant and pleasure boats sailing or moored on the river, and teahouses and taverns lining the shore. At that time, despite its high price, Huangshan Maofeng from southern Anhui was very popular, leading to a shortage of supply. Shrewd tea merchants began imitating Huangshan Maofeng in Xiaolibu, Sandu, producing a tea with distinct characteristics: buds and leaves attached to the stem and petiole, shaped like an unopened orchid, but differing in appearance and quality from Huangshan Maofeng, hence named “Xiaoli Baocha”. This tea had intact, robust buds and leaves, with visible down and golden-yellow scales. Once brewed, it resembled an unopened orchid with a fragrant aroma, quickly gaining popularity and increasing sales, expanding production rapidly. The merchants felt that “Xiaoli” was too obscure a name, so they prefixed “Yanzhou” before “Baocha,” renaming it “Yanzhou Baocha.”
“Yanzhou Baocha” was most prolific from the late Qing Dynasty to the eve of the War of Resistance Against Japan, with an annual output reaching 20 tons, sold in Hangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, and elsewhere. Over 90 years ago, it was also exported to the former Soviet Union and Southeast Asia. After the war, the tea market declined, and production sharply decreased. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, tea production revived, and the output of Baocha recovered. However, due to adjustments in product structure, output gradually declined again, nearly disappearing by the 1970s.
In the 1980s, our city restored and innovated Baocha, renaming it “Jiande Baocha.” After restoration and innovation, Jiande Baocha not only developed along the three rivers of its original habitat but also extended into high-altitude tea areas with superior ecological conditions such as Dazhou and Luocun. By 1995, the picking area for Jiande Baocha reached over 200 hectares. The restored Jiande Baocha had distinctive features, including a robust shape, tender green color, fresh and sweet taste, and clear green tea liquor, and was rated as a provincial first-class tea for three consecutive years.
Production Method of Jiande Baocha
The production process consists of five steps: fixation, rolling, shaping, refining, and scenting. The temperature for fixation is between 120°C and 140°C, and when it drops to 90°C to 100°C, the fixed leaves are not removed from the pot but begin rolling. The shaping takes place in the same pot, with temperatures controlled between 80°C and 100°C. Refining occurs at 50°C to 65°C, and after the leaves cool down, they are scented. For scenting, the pot temperature is increased to 80°C, and once the leaves are heated through, the temperature is raised to 110°C until a rich tea aroma is detected, then the leaves are removed from the pot. All these processes can be mechanized.
Awards and Honors
In May 1991, at the International Tea Culture Festival in Hangzhou, China, Jiande Baocha won the highest award and certificate of honor for “Chinese Cultural Famous Tea.” In October of the same year, “Hangzhou Famous Tea” won the gold medal at the National Seventh Five-Year Starfire Achievements Exhibition, and Jiande Baocha was among the recipients. In 2006, the output of Jiande Baocha reached 200,000 kilograms, with a value exceeding 100 million yuan, and the products were also sold in Hong Kong, Macau, and Europe and America.