Hongya Green Tea

Hongya Green Tea

Hongya Green Tea is a product with a geographical indication.

　　Hongya County is one of the first national ecological advanced counties, located in the southwest of the Chengdu Plain. The area features towering mountains, dense streams, crisscrossing valleys, and a mild climate. Mount Wawu stands like an exquisite painted screen between the Chengdu Plain and Mount Gongga. According to Jiang Bangfu, Chief Agronomist of the Hongya County Agriculture Bureau, Hongya’s unique geographical location gives Hongya Green Tea its distinctive quality. Coupled with the county government’s decision since 1999 to prohibit high-pollution enterprises from entering Hongya, this has helped preserve and maintain a sound ecological environment, making Hongya an ideal land for tea cultivation.

　　According to officials from the Hongya County Agriculture Bureau, “Hongya Green Tea” has just been awarded a national geographical indication. Meanwhile, two of Hongya County’s new rural construction demonstration areas have also become Sichuan’s modern agricultural industry bases producing tens of thousands of mu yielding hundreds of millions in value. Currently, Hongya’s organic tea cultivation has reached 25,000 mu, nearly one-third of the province’s total.

　　Officials from the Hongya County Agriculture Bureau stated that the 12th Five-Year Plan period was very important for the county’s agriculture bureau. During this time, the bureau plans to enhance the tea industry base through cultivation innovation, build planting and low-carbon cycle technology demonstration gardens via integrated technologies, and create distinctive regional brand products through brand integration. Breaking through in brand development will be the top priority.

　　During their time in Hongya, reporters visited Pingqiang Company, a model enterprise in the region’s ecological agriculture. Insiders revealed that the company’s boss, Fei Li, is an unusually “quirky” character. He gave up a stable public sector job to come to the mountains of Hongya and grow tea — and he is often seen engaging in strange behavior that puzzles many. His tea farm never uses chemical fertilizer or pesticides, and he raises white geese and the fungus Beauveria bassiana. There are yellow sticky boards, solar-powered lights, and even some insects released on the farm... all of this is part of his dream — to establish the “Hongya Green Tea” brand.

　　At Pingqiang Company, General Manager Fei treated us to fresh tea leaves picked from his own tea mountain — Pingqiang Organic Tea. In hand, it felt warm; upon closer inspection, the tea had sharp pointed buds, flat and smooth leaves, a valley-yellow hue, and a uniquely fragrant aroma. When brewed, the tea was full of aroma and richly flavorful, while the leaves themselves were soft and slightly bitter to the taste.

　　According to Fei Li, in 2004, after rigorous air, water, and soil analysis and testing, Pingqiang Company established its own planting and breeding base along the Qingyi River. Especially during the process of producing premium tea, guided by the philosophy of “if we’re going to do it, let’s do it best,” they chose the highest grade of organic food among the national standards of pollution-free, green, and organic food as their goal. To this end, he selected Yu’gou Village in Huaxi Town, Hongya, at an altitude of 800–1000 meters, free from any pollution and suitable for high-quality tea cultivation, as their tea base.

　　According to Fei Li, to ensure there are no pesticide residues or heavy metal exceedances in the tea, the company not only emphasizes traditional and primitive production techniques but also widely promotes the use of biotechnology to ensure quality. Utilizing the herbivorous nature of geese, they graze the geese among the tea rows; the geese weed the fields and their droppings fertilize the tea plants. For pest control in the tea gardens, physical and biological methods are used. For instance: predatory mites are used to control mites; Beauveria bassiana is used against the tea green leafhopper; yellow sticky boards trap aphids; and solar insect traps attract moths. These methods eliminate pests without leaving pesticide residues. As Hongya is a major dairy cow farming county with abundant cow manure, the company turns waste into treasure, using the manure to breed earthworms. The resulting earthworm castings, after fermentation and sterilization, become high-quality organic fertilizer for the tea garden. Therefore, the use of any chemical fertilizer is strictly prohibited in the company’s tea base. The earthworms also serve as a source of protein nutrition for poultry on the breeding base.

　　Hongya Green Tea

　　Geographic Scope

　　Hongya Green Tea is produced in fifteen townships (towns) within the jurisdiction of Hongya County, located at the southwestern edge of the Sichuan Basin. These include Zhige Town, Zhongshan Township, Jiangjun Township, Sanbao Town, Liujian Town, Caoiyutan Town, Hanwang Township, Hongchuan Town, Gaomiao Town, Yuping Town, Dongyue Town, Zhongbao Town, Wawushan Town, Huaxi Town, and Taoyuan Township. Its geographical coordinates are: longitude 102°49′–103°32′, latitude 29°24′–30°00′, covering a protected area of 14,378 hectares, with an annual yield of 13,000 tons.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　(1) External sensory quality: Hongya Green Tea features elegant buds, flat and straight shape, uniform appearance, glossy green color, lasting and fragrant aroma, bright yellow-green infusion, fresh and mellow taste, and tender green and even leaf base. (2) Internal quality indicators: water extract ≥40%, tea polyphenols ≥16%, rich in amino acids. (3) Safety requirements: Hongya Green Tea meets the safety standards of the “Pollution-Free Tea” (NY5244-2004).