Lai Feng Vine Tea

Lai Feng Vine Tea

Lai Feng Vine Tea is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Lai Feng Specialty ---- Vine Tea has a mild, sweet taste and cool nature. It offers various health benefits such as clearing heat and detoxifying, resisting bacteria and inflammation, dispelling wind and dampness, strengthening bones and muscles, lowering blood pressure and blood lipids, and protecting the liver. As a valuable plant resource for both food and medicine, it is commonly used in folk remedies to prevent and treat conditions such as high blood pressure, colds and fevers, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, eczema, and dermatitis. It played an irreplaceable role in times of limited medical resources. Research by scientific institutions such as China Pharmaceutical University on its extracts found that its active ingredients are flavonoid compounds such as ampelopsin and dihydromyricetin, with minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations equivalent to the same amount of berberine.

　　Vine tea exhibits a wide range of pharmacological activities, and no toxic or side effects have been found to date. The vine tea products, refined through traditional techniques and modern processes, can be directly steeped in boiling water for drinking. They offer a sweet, fragrant taste with a long-lasting aftertaste.

　　I. Varieties

　　Ampelopsis grossedentata (Hand-Mazz) W.T.Wang, a species of the genus Ampelopsis in the grape family.

　　II. Growing Conditions

　　Planted on sloping land or mountainous terrain within the production area at altitudes of 400 to 800 meters, with slopes under 45 degrees, sandy loam soil, soil pH value between 5.5 and 6.5, and organic matter content of 1.5% to 2.0%.

　　III. Cultivation Management

　　1. Seedling Propagation: Select fertile sandy soil and use 1 to 2-year-old healthy Ampelopsis grossedentata branches with stem diameters of 0.2 to 0.4 cm as cuttings. The cutting period is from early December to early January.

　　2. Transplanting: Transplant in mid to late November, with a density of 1,000 to 1,100 plants per 667 m² (mu).

　　3. Soil, Fertilizer, and Water Management: Till and weed when sprouts emerge until sprout branches reach 10 cm in length. Till and weed every 30 days to preserve moisture. Stop weeding in mid-July. In October, apply over 2,000 kg of well-rotted farmyard manure per 667 m² (mu) in furrows.

　　4. Trellising: Set up supports promptly when plants grow to 30 to 50 cm.

　　5. Topping: Begin topping when tender stems reach 20 cm, and then top every 10 days thereafter.

　　6. Environmental and Safety Requirements: The use of pesticides, fertilizers, and other substances must comply with national regulations, and environmental pollution must be avoided.

　　IV. Harvesting

　　1. Harvesting Time: From April to September each year.

　　2. Harvesting Standards: Premium-grade tea requires one sprout with two leaves; first-grade tea requires one bud with one to two leaves; second-grade tea requires one bud with two leaves to slightly unfolded two leaves.

　　3. Harvesting Method: Hand-pick using the “pinching” method. Do not strip or grab the leaves. Keep buds and leaves intact, fresh, uniform, and clean. Harvest by grade.

　　V. Processing Techniques

　　1. Process Flow: Fresh leaf picking → withering → fixation → rolling → natural stacking → drying → redrying → sorting and grading → sterilization → packaging and storage.

　　2. Key Processes:

　　(1) Withering: Fresh leaves must be spread out to cool. The spreading thickness should not exceed 5 cm, and the moisture loss rate of fresh leaves should be controlled between 15% and 20%.

　　(2) Fixation: Fixation temperature is 180°C to 200°C, and fixation time is 20 minutes to 1 hour.

　　(3) Natural Stacking: Cover with film and allow natural stacking for 6 to 12 hours.

　　VI. Quality Characteristics

　　1. Sensory Characteristics:

　　(1) Sprouts: Fluffy, grayish in color, with a white frost-like surface. The liquor is yellow-green, with a fragrant aroma, mildly bitter taste, and a sweet aftertaste that lingers.

　　(2) Sprout-leaf: Strip-shaped, with a grayish-white and faintly green surface; the infusion is yellow-green, with a delicate aroma, a slightly bitter taste that turns sweet, and a lingering aftertaste.

　　(3) Bead: Spherical, with a yellowish-green surface, 1.5 mm to 2 mm in diameter; the infusion is yellow-green, with a delicate aroma, a slightly bitter taste that turns sweet, and a lingering aftertaste.

　　(4) Twist: Spindle-shaped, with a dark green surface; the infusion is yellow-green, with a delicate aroma, a slightly bitter taste that turns sweet, and a lingering aftertaste.

　　(5) Dew: Curled, with a grayish-white and faintly green surface; the infusion is yellow-green, with a delicate aroma, a slightly bitter taste that turns sweet, and a lingering aftertaste.

　　2. Physicochemical indicators: Water extract ≥28.0%, total flavonoids (calculated as dihydromyricetin) ≥20.0%, selenium (calculated as Se) 5–100 μg/100g.

　　3. Safety and other quality technical requirements: The product’s safety and other quality technical requirements must comply with relevant national regulations.