Xuan'en Tribute Tea

Xuan'en Tribute Tea

　　Xuan'en Tribute Tea -- 2015 National Famous, Special, and New Agricultural Product

　　"Western Hubei's Xuan'en has tribute tea, the treasure of teas under heaven; in days of old, tea was offered to the emperor, and the tale of 'Imperial Grace Bestowed' was passed down. Now the fragrance of the tea wafts across the four seas, its color, aroma, and taste so rich that none fail to praise it; dear friends and honored guests from afar, please have a cup of Xuan'en tea." The place where this tribute tea originates is Wujia Terrace, located 15 kilometers east of Xuan'en County.

　　Wujia Terrace got its name because it was inhabited by people surnamed Wu. The Wu family originally came from Changsha Prefecture in Hunan and had migrated to Xuan'en over two hundred years ago. The founding ancestor of the Wu family was known as Old Qi. When Old Qi was nearly eighty, he married a young wife in Xuan'en and at the age of eighty-one, joyfully had a son named Zhiliang. Wu Zhiliang had three sons, the eldest being Wenhai, who had a son named Changchen. Wu Changchen was the founder of Wujia Terrace Tribute Tea.

　　In the beginning, Wu Changchen’s family was poor. He cleared six small fields beside his house and made a living by growing indigo and selling it. The land where he grew indigo was originally covered with tea oak trees. While clearing the land, he discovered dozens of wild tea seedlings. To him, they were treasures, so he carefully cultivated them, and eventually they became a tea garden.

　　This tea is truly unique, with distinctive characteristics. It tastes sweet, the tea liquor is clear and bright green, and it gives off an aroma reminiscent of roasted chestnuts. When brewed for the first cup, the liquor is clear and green, with a hint of mellow sweetness emerging. The second cup reveals a slightly yellowish tint beneath the deep green, with a rich aroma of roasted chestnuts. By the third cup, the liquor is emerald tinged with blue, and the fragrance overflows. If this tea is sealed in a jar, it can be consumed the following year without any change in its color, aroma, taste, or appearance, yet it still retains the freshness of new tea—hence the saying, "The verdant green of one year remains in the next, a single cup of tribute tea fills the hall with fragrance." For a time, it became widely renowned, attracting officials and gentry who competed to purchase it.

　　In the forty-ninth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1784), Liu Shu, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations from Changle, Shandong, was appointed magistrate of Xuan'en. After tasting Wujia Terrace tea, he was overjoyed and presented it as a gift to Xining Prefect Qian Yu. Qian Yu also found the tea’s liquor clear and cool, with an overflowing fragrance, and thus offered it to Emperor Qianlong, who loved tea. After drinking it, the emperor was full of praise and personally bestowed upon it the title “Imperial Grace Bestowed.” From then on, Wujia Terrace tea gained fame both at home and abroad as “emerald tips vying for brilliance, presented at the imperial court and winning favor.”

　　The Wujia Terrace area is a purple-soil mountainous region, covering a total area of about 5,000 mu, with an elevation of 700–800 meters. It lies within a selenium-rich zone, with a selenium content of 0.305 ppm. The Xuan'en County government is currently developing a ten-thousand-mu tribute tea ecological sightseeing site in the areas of Wujia Terrace, Dabagou, Xiangshulin, and Ma’an. It won’t be long before the once-exclusive tribute tea becomes accessible to everyone.