Qipai Tea

Qipai Tea

Qipai Tea is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision   Qipai Tea   Administrative regions under the jurisdiction of eight townships in Xuanhan County, Sichuan Province: Tuhuang Town, Fanxiao Town, Qipai Township, Shitie Township, Dukou Tujia Ethnic Township, Sandun Tujia Ethnic Township, Qishu Tujia Ethnic Township, and Longquan Tujia Ethnic Township.   "Xuanhan County People's Government Report on Submitting the Proposed Protection Area for the Geographical Indication Product Qipai Tea", Xuan County Gov [2013] No. 19   Sichuan Local Standards: DB511722/T023, 025, 032-2010 "Qipai Tea"

　　Quality and Technical Requirements for Qipai Tea

　　I. Varieties

　　Certified and approved tea cultivars suitable for making Qipai Tea, such as Fuding Dabai Tea and Mingshan 131 Tea.

　　II. Growing Conditions

　　Altitude above 600m within the production area, soil pH value between 4.5 and 6.5, soil layer thickness ≥80cm, soil organic matter content ≥1.5%, selenium content between 0.25 mg/kg and 0.38 mg/kg.

　　III. Cultivation Management

　　1. Orchard Establishment: Gentle slopes with a gradient of less than 15°, fertile soil, deep soil layer, with cultivation depth of over 60cm.

　　2. Planting: Time from early November to late March of the following year. Planted in single or double rows, with 60,000 to 65,000 plants per hectare.

　　3. Fertilization: Primarily farmyard manure supplemented with organic fertilizer, with timely topdressing based on soil characteristics and tea plant growth.

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

　　IV. Harvesting

　　1. Harvesting Time: Spring tea from early March to late May; autumn tea from early August to mid-October.

　　2. Harvesting Method: Hand-picking.

　　3. Harvesting Standard: Single buds to one bud and two leaves; strictly prohibit picking buds and leaves with rain or dew, purple buds and leaves, or diseased and pest-infested buds and leaves.

　　V. Processing Techniques

　　1. Processing Procedures:

　　(1) Baked Green: Fresh leaves spread out → Fixation → Cooling and Moistening → Rolling → Second Baking → Straightening → Sieving → Third Baking → Final Drying.

　　(2) Pan-fired Green: Fresh leaves spread out → Fixation → Cooling and Moistening → Rolling → Second Pan-firing → Third Pan-firing → Final Drying.

　　2. Processing Requirements:

　　(1) Spreading: Spread in a cool place, thickness of 1cm to 4cm, for 4 to 6 hours until leaves become soft and moisture loss reaches 25% to 35%.

　　(2) Fixation: Temperature around 150°C to 180°C, until moisture content is 55% to 65%.

　　(3) Rolling: Performed manually or by using a rolling machine.

　　(4) Final Drying: Temperature 60°C to 80°C, for 1 to 1.5 hours, dried until moisture content ≤6.5%.

　　VI. Quality Characteristics

　　1. Sensory Characteristics:

　　(1) Dried Green Tea:

　　Grade

　　 Appearance

　　 Inner Quality

　　Shape

　　 Color

　　 Evenness

　　 Cleanliness

　　 Aroma

　　 Liquor Color

　　 Taste

　　 Leaf Bottom

　　Special Grade

　　 Fine and tender with downy tips

　　 Dark green and glossy

　　 Uniform

　　 Clean

　　 High and clear fragrance

　　 Bright yellow-green liquor

　　 Mellow and refreshing taste

　　 Yellow-green, fine, tender with buds

　　First Grade

　　 Tight and fine with downy tips

　　 Dark green and glossy

　　 Uniform

　　 Clean

　　 Fresh fragrance

　　 Bright yellow-green liquor

　　 Fairly mellow and refreshing

　　 Yellow-green, fine and tender with buds

　　Second grade

　　 Tight and relatively straight

　　 Dark green

　　 Even and neat

　　 Fairly clean

　　 Fresh and clean

　　 Yellowish-green and fairly bright

　　 Fairly mellow and refreshing

　　 Yellowish-green and fairly tender

　　 　（2）Pan-fired green tea:

　　Grade

　　 Appearance

　　 Inner quality

　　Shape

　　 Color and luster

　　 Evenness

　　 Cleanliness

　　 Aroma

　　 Liquor color

　　 Taste

　　 Leaf bottom

　　Special grade

　　 Tight and fine with obvious tips

　　 Grayish-green and oily

　　 Even and neat

　　 Clean

　　 With chestnut aroma

　　 Yellowish-green and bright

　　 Rich and refreshing

　　 Yellowish-green, fine, tender, and with buds

　　First Grade

　　 Tight, slender, solid

　　 Greyish-green, fairly moist

　　 Even and neat

　　 Clean

　　 Highly fragrant

　　 Yellowish-green, fairly bright

　　 Fairly strong and refreshing

　　 Yellowish-green, fine and tender with buds

　　Second Grade

　　 Compact

　　 Greyish-green, slightly moist

　　 Even and neat

　　 Fairly clean

　　 Fairly high fragrance

　　 Yellowish-green, fairly bright

　　 Strong, fairly refreshing

　　 Yellowish-green, tender and even

　　2. Physicochemical indicators: moisture ≤6.5%, total ash ≤7.5%, broken tea ≤2.0%, non-tea extraneous matter ≤1.0%, water extract ≥38.0%.

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