Puan Four-Ball Tea

Puan Four-Ball Tea

Puan Four-Ball Tea is a protected geographical indication product.

　　The Four-Ball Tea (Camellia tetracocca Zhang) is a rare ancient tea tree species found in the lush forests and mountains at altitudes of 1,700 to 1,950 meters within the territory of Puan County, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. In 1981, Professor Zhang Hongda from Sun Yat-sen University named it based on the characteristics of the large tea trees in Puan, Guizhou.

　　According to Professor Zhang Hongda’s classification of the genus Camellia, the Four-Ball Tea belongs to the species in the Section Thea, Subgenus Thea, Series Quinquelocularis of the tea group. This plant is a small tree, with young branches and terminal buds both glabrous; leaves are leathery, 12–16 cm long and 4–5 cm wide, with an acute apex and cuneate base, glabrous abaxially, having 10–12 pairs of lateral veins, finely serrated margins, petioles 4–6 mm long and glabrous; flowers are axillary, with pedicels 0.6–1.4 cm long; bracts 2–3, caducous; sepals 5–6, 4–6 mm long, glabrous; petals 4.1–6.0 cm, white and glabrous; ovary glabrous, style glabrous, stigma 5-lobed; capsule is flattened-globose or globose, 3.0–3.5 cm in diameter and 1.5–1.7 cm in height, with 4 locules, each containing one seed, pericarp 2–3 mm thick; seeds are globose, 1.4–1.7 cm in diameter, with a light brown seed coat.

　　In 1980, over a million-year-old fossilized seeds of the Four-Ball Tea from the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era were discovered in Sunjiaqing, Yun tou Dashan, at the junction of the western parts of Puan and Qinglong counties. This indicates that the Four-Ball Tea has endured millions of years of history in Qiannan Prefecture, earning Puan the title of “Hometown of Ancient Tea Trees in China.”

　　In fact, the Four-Ball Tea has been used as a healthy beverage by local people since ancient times. Especially since it was named by Professor Zhang Hongda in 1981, the people of Puan have adhered to the principle of “developing through protection and protecting through development,” developing ancient tea products and promoting the tea industry. Today, the "Golden Ark" black tea series made from the new shoots and tender leaves of this plant not only yields a golden-yellow infusion, rich taste, fragrant smoothness, and sweet aftertaste, but also offers a variety of health benefits.

　　Drinking tea is healthy, a passion, and a culture. Over tea, people share stories about life—because “life is as bitter as tea tasting, with all its warmth and chill in the cup,” and “gatherings and partings drift like smoke, while life is best lived plain and open…” The people of Puan hope that the “Golden Ark” will carry the ancient Four-Ball Tea, along with their heartfelt sentiments, out of Qiannan and into the world.

　　The production area of Puan Four-Ball Tea includes the following 12 towns and subdistricts under the jurisdiction of Puan County, Guizhou Province: Louxia Town, Qingshan Town, Xindian Town, Luohan Town, Digua Town, Jiangxiupo Town, Gaomian Township, Longyin Town, Xingzhong Town, Baisha Township, Nanhu Subdistrict, and Panshui Subdistrict.