Basic Introduction to Qingchi Tea
Qingchi Tea is a specialty product of Qingchi Town, Jinsha County, Bijie City, Guizhou Province. It has a flat, straight, smooth and uniform shape; a lustrous emerald green color; a high and lasting aroma; a bright yellow-green infusion; a fresh and pleasant taste; and tender, bright, even and complete leaves at the bottom of the cup.
The tea tree varieties in Qingchi are relatively abundant, including wild large-leaved trees, as well as large, medium, and small-leaved types. These varieties are of excellent quality, sprout early, and have a higher yield than other varieties by 10-15 days. The leaves are long and supple, making them ideal for producing premium green tea. Around the Qingming Festival, the Yangque tea is picked with one bud and one leaf. Each pan uses 1-1.5 kilograms of fresh leaves. When the leaves turn green, become soft, and emit a tea fragrance, they are removed from the pan and dried in a 50°C wok until they form a shape resembling a “fishhook.” The resulting tea is dense, emerald green, fragrant, rich in flavor, sweet aftertaste, and has a bright infusion. According to an analysis of Qingchi Maojian tea in 1981, its content of tea polyphenols, caffeine, water-soluble substances, and other quality components ranks among the best of over a dozen famous teas in Guizhou Province.
Jinsha County is still a less developed county in China, with minimal pollution, fresh air, good water quality, and low pest damage, making it highly suitable for the production of natural, pollution-free, green food, and organic teas.
Product Characteristics
Qingchi Tea, classified according to different shapes, also has different characteristics, specifically:
Flat-shaped Qingchi Tea: Flat, straight, smooth, and uniform shape; lustrous emerald green color; high and lasting aroma; bright yellow-green infusion; fresh and pleasant taste; tender, bright, even, and complete leaves at the bottom of the cup.
Curl-shaped Qingchi Tea: Tight, green, and curly with visible downy tips; bright yellow-green infusion; pure aroma; mellow taste; yellow-green leaves at the bottom of the cup.
Pellet-shaped Qingchi Tea: Uniform, dense, green, and downy pellets; fragrant and long-lasting aroma; bright green infusion; fresh, smooth, and pleasant taste; tender, bright, and lively leaves at the bottom of the cup.
Historical Folklore
Qingchi Tea has a long history and is one of the renowned specialties of Jinsha County, produced in Qingchi Town. Since ancient times, Qingchi Town has been an ancient post station for “Guizhou tea going out and Sichuan salt coming in.” It preserves more than 40 ancient tea trees that were cultivated over a thousand years ago. Its tribute tea tradition dates back to the Ming and Qing dynasties, reaching its peak during those periods. During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, local farmers paid their taxes in tea, and Qingchi Tea was specially sent to the capital as a tribute, thus earning the reputation of “tribute tea.”
According to legend, when the fifth-rank official Luo Zizhou of Dading Prefecture passed through here, local officials had him taste Qingchi Tea. Impressed by its excellent appearance, inner quality, aroma, and infusion color, he designated the tea from Qingchi's Hui Long Bay as a tribute from local officials and citizens to the imperial court, which became highly favored by imperial officials. As a result, Qingchi was granted special permission to “pay taxes in tea.” Qingchi Tea thus became one of the tribute teas of Guizhou.
In Qingchi Town, there remains a Jiangxi Guildhall built during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. It is confirmed that this guildhall was once bustling with merchants primarily engaged in tea and salt trade. Besides salt transactions, the Jiangxi Guildhall was also an important venue for tea economy and tea culture dissemination, leaving behind various tea utensils and a rich history of tea culture from that era. At the ancient ferry crossing where Jinsha and Gulin counties meet, three tribute tea steles dating back to the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty are preserved, one of which records: “The tea from Clear Water Pond is transported by boat through Gulin and sold widely, taxed annually due to its limited production.”
Before 1949, the tea made by farmers in Qingchi was sold to out-of-province tea merchants and shipped via the Yutang River to ports like Chongqing and Shanghai, with some exchanged for necessities such as salt and cloth. After 1949, the production of Qingchi Maojian Tea received significant attention and development, becoming a rural economic industry in Qingchi Town and one of the main export goods of Jinsha.
Jinsha County's long ethnic history and unique ethnic culture have fostered distinctive tea-drinking cultures, such as the Jinsha oil tea and pot tea.
Awards and Honors
In 1988, Qingchi Maojian Tea was recognized as a “Historic Famous Tea of Guizhou” and included in the “Compendium of Chinese Foods – Guizhou Volume.”
On August 30, 2013, at the China-Guizhou International Green Tea Expo, Qingchi Town successfully won the title of the “Most Beautiful Tea Village in Guizhou” for the second time.
On December 29, 2017, the original General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine approved geographical indication protection for “Qingchi Tea.”