Basic Introduction to Zoucheng Green Tea
Zoucheng Green Tea has a planting history of over 800 years and is known as the “Northernmost Tea of China.” It is a specialty product of Zoucheng City, Shandong Province, and is protected under China's Geographical Indication. The protected geographical indication area covers the current administrative regions of Taolin Township, Huanghua Town, and Linjiazhen Town in Zoucheng City, Shandong Province.
Zoucheng Green Tea is renowned for its “fresh green infusion, fresh and mellow taste, rich chestnut aroma that is refreshing, and thick leaves that are durable for multiple infusions.” During the cultivation of Zoucheng Green Tea, strict control is maintained over pesticide residues and heavy metals like lead and cadmium, which have very low or even negligible leaching rates into the tea infusion, making the tea dregs edible. Fresh leaves of Zoucheng Green Tea can be used to stir-fry eggs, fry shrimp, make tea dumplings, and other culinary uses.
In 2010, Zoucheng City established demonstration gardens covering over 1,730 hectares for organic, green, and pollution-free green tea production, with an annual output of over 1,400 tons. There were 136 tea research and standardized production enterprises. By 2017, the tea plantation area in Zoucheng City had reached 1,733 hectares. Two tea products had passed national organic food certification, and six tea bases had passed provincial pollution-free base certification. The per capita income of tea farmers exceeded 10,000 yuan. By 2011, Zoucheng Green Tea had won one famous trademark in China, two Shandong Provincial Famous Brands, and three Shandong Provincial Well-Known Trademarks. Its products were sold in 11 provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Zhejiang. The “Yingqing Green Tea,” “Bilongchun Green Tea,” “Yiming Green Tea,” and others from the Zoucheng Green Tea production area have passed the organic food, green food, and pollution-free agricultural product certifications issued by the Ministry of Agriculture of China.
The territory of Zoucheng City is located on the eastern side of the Yishui-Shandong fault zone, spanning the Jiaolai Basin and the southern uplift of Jiaonan, two secondary tectonic units. The stratigraphy is incomplete, and the geological structure is mainly characterized by fault structures, with granites being primarily of Yanshan late period. Alunite, potassium feldspar, rutile, and zeolite rock are abundant and unique to Shandong Province, with more than 20 types of resources within the territory, making it an important mineral deposit production area. The region receives abundant annual precipitation, and the maritime climate causes frequent mists, conducive to the formation of brown forest soil with abundant humus, a reasonable sand-clay ratio, strong water and nutrient retention capabilities, and good air permeability suitable for tea tree growth. The bedrock of the tea tree planting area in Zoucheng City is mainly medium-acid intrusive rocks, such as biotite monzogranite from the Archean Aolai Mountain superunit, gneissic monzogranite from the Neoproterozoic Rongcheng superunit, and monzogranite from the Sinian Linglong superunit. The bedrock contains metamorphic rock xenoliths such as biotite granulite and magnetite quartzite, which are rich in minerals. Due to the influence of later magmatic hydrothermal structures, they have generally undergone greenschist facies metamorphism, with large mineral grains, strong metamorphic deformation, and well-developed gneissic and foliated structures. Therefore, the minerals are easily decomposed, and the bedrock weathering is intense. The brown forest soil and brown soil formed from this type of bedrock lay the foundation for producing high-quality green tea.
Nutritional Value
Zoucheng Green Tea is rich in amino acids, catechins, and various minerals and inorganic elements. It has high contents of potassium, magnesium, and iron, which are beneficial for hypertension, diabetes, and cancer prevention; the selenium content is more than six times higher than that of the selenium-rich tea from western Hubei Province, earning it the title of “miracle element of life.”
Product Characteristics
The leaves of Zoucheng Green Tea are thick and tender, containing multiple trace elements, with a green infusion, high chestnut aroma, rich taste, and durability for multiple infusions.
Sensory Characteristics:
(1) Curled Shape: Appearance: thin, tight, curled, uniform, and thick leaves; different grades of tea range in color from bright green to dark green but should not be withered or broken; Inner quality: a rich and refreshing chestnut aroma, ranging from fresh and tender to relatively pure; Infusion color ranges from bright green to yellowish green but should not be turbid; Taste is mellow; The infused leaves range from bright to relatively bright but should not be mottled.
(2) Flat Shape: Appearance: flat, thick leaves, ranging from smooth to relatively flat; Color ranges from tender green to dark green; Uniform and clean. Inner quality: a rich and refreshing chestnut aroma, ranging from chestnut to fresh; Infusion color ranges from bright yellow-green to somewhat bright yellow-green.
Historical Folklore
The cultivation of Zoucheng Green Tea has a history of over 800 years.
According to historical records in the “History of Jin: Food and Goods Chapter,” during the first year of the Taihe era (1201 AD), the Jin dynasty encouraged tea production in areas capable of growing and processing tea, establishing tea-making centers in Zibo (present-day Zichuan, Shandong), Mi Prefecture (present-day Zoucheng, Shandong), and Hai Prefecture (present-day Lianyungang, Jiangsu). As history progressed, social developments, and living standards improved, the cultivation of green tea in Zoucheng gradually expanded. Particularly since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the tea plants evolved from arborescent to shrub forms.
According to the Weifang Annals, in the winter of 1958, the Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture conducted mass experiments to plant tea seeds from Anhui and Zhejiang throughout the province. Zoucheng also participated, experimenting with planting in places like the original Taolin Commune, Haoge Village Commune, and Taoyuan Commune. The planted area continued to expand. Under the guidance of the local government, drought-resistant, cold-tolerant, high-yielding, and high-quality new tea varieties such as the Anhui Huangshan population, Longjing 43, Jiukeng, Zhejiang Agricultural University 113, Fuding Dabai, and others were cultivated and widely promoted, achieving good economic benefits.
Awards and Honors for Zoucheng Green Tea
On January 30, 2011, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine approved the implementation of geographical indication protection for “Zoucheng Green Tea.”
In 2016, it was approved for national agricultural product geographical indication protection.
In March 2022, the “Zoucheng Green Tea” geographical indication trademark was included in the key geographical indication protection list of Shandong Province.