Suiyang Honeysuckle Tea

Suiyang Honeysuckle Tea

Suiyang Honeysuckle Tea is a protected geographical indication product.

Suiyang Honeysuckle Tea is a certified geographical indication trademark.

　　The wild honeysuckle, which boasts particularly high active ingredient content and is unique to Guizhou, grows in the captivating Suiyang County — known as China’s Poetry Town and China’s Chili Town. This area features a beautiful environment, pleasant climate, and an average altitude of around 1,300 meters, which is the optimal elevation for honeysuckle cultivation. Grown in pristine, pollution-free conditions, it is of high quality with chlorogenic acid content reaching up to 7.44%, far exceeding the national standard of 1.5%. It is considered a premium variety nationwide and is an excellent choice for medicinal and health supplement use. Suiyang has over 30 years of experience in transplanting and cultivating wild honeysuckle. Currently, the county has nearly 20,000 acres under cultivation, with an annual output of nearly 2 million jin (approximately 1,000 metric tons).

　　　　Honeysuckle is one of the 70 renowned traditional Chinese medicinal herbs identified by the State Council. It has effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting blood circulation, as well as anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Over 70% of cold medicines and anti-inflammatory herbal remedies contain honeysuckle, earning it the titles "herbal antibiotic" and "green antibiotic." It is a plant that can be used both as medicine and food. Honeysuckle tea offers a fragrant taste, sweet and cooling flavor, and is highly favored by consumers, selling well in both domestic and international markets. Benefits: Honeysuckle tea helps relieve summer heat, sober up, refresh the mind, quench thirst, remove toxins from the body, reduce fat, aid in weight loss, beautify and cleanse skin, prevent cancerous changes, delay aging, and promote longevity. It also helps lower blood pressure, reduce serum cholesterol, increase coronary blood flow, prevent coronary heart disease and angina pectoris, inhibit the formation of cerebral thrombosis, improve microcirculation, clear peroxidized fat deposits, enhance the body's tolerance to hypoxia, promote metabolism, regulate bodily functions, and boost immunity.

　　 Suiyang honeysuckle is characterized by long flower stems, hard woody bases, excellent color, pure texture, no stray twigs, and a rich, fragrant aroma. It is rich in over 20 effective components including chlorogenic acid and luteoloside, and has high medicinal value. Its chlorogenic acid content reaches up to 7.44%, the highest in the country. To date, the honeysuckle planting area in Suiyang County has exceeded 110,000 acres, with an annual production of 2,840 tons and a comprehensive output value of 68.16 million yuan. Suiyang County has developed and launched over 40 honeysuckle tea brands, including Jinbang Honeysuckle Tea. Products such as Langxiaoxiao and Shixinren canned herbal teas are already on the market.

　　　　Among the more well-known brands is the “Cixiang” brand honeysuckle tea, produced by Guizhou Yinhua Ecological Agriculture Comprehensive Development Co., Ltd. The company currently oversees two honeysuckle (locally referred to as shanyinhua) professional cooperatives, and owns over 10,000 acres of transplanted honeysuckle planting bases, with an annual output of more than 1 million jin (approximately 500 metric tons). This tea is made from high-quality honeysuckle buds grown at altitudes of 1,300–1,400 meters in Yinhuavillage, Xiaoguan Township, Suiyang County. It undergoes scientific processing and is completely natural and unpolluted, making it an excellent choice for health preservation, gifting, and enjoyment.

　　Quality Technical Requirements for Suiyang Honeysuckle

　　I. Varietal Source

　　Lonicera japonica Thunb. (Japanese honeysuckle).

　　II. Growing Conditions

　　Plantations are located within mountainous plateaus and hilly areas at elevations of 600m to 1,800m within the defined production zone. The soil types are loose, moist sandy loam and yellow earth, with organic matter content ≥1% and soil pH values between 5.0 and 7.5.

　　III. Cultivation Management

　　1. Propagation methods: Seed propagation or hardwood cutting propagation is used.

　　2. Transplanting: Conducted from November to February of the following year. Spacing is 1m between plants and 1.5m between rows, with holes 25–30cm deep. One plant is planted per hole, with 400–450 plants per 667㎡ (approximately 1 acre).

　　3. Fertilization: Each 667㎡ (acre) is applied with ≥450kg of well-rotted organic fertilizer annually.

　　4. Pruning: Divided into winter pruning and summer pruning. Summer pruning is done during the growth period, while winter pruning takes place from winter to March of the following year.

　　5. Environmental and safety requirements: The use of pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals must comply with national regulations, and must not pollute the environment.

　　IV. Harvesting and Processing

　　1. Harvesting time: From mid-June to mid-July, with adjustments made for higher altitudes where harvesting may be delayed accordingly.

　　2. Harvesting method: Harvest unopened pale greenish-white flower buds or just-opened white flowers, picking the entire flower stem.

　　3. Processing methods:

　　(1) Sun-drying method: Spread harvested flower buds thinly and sun-dry them, turning them frequently until fully dried.

　　(2) Air-drying method: Place the harvested flower buds on trays and dry them indoors in a cool, ventilated, and dry place.

　　(3) Stir-frying method: Place freshly picked flower buds in a clean hot pan and stir-fry them gently and evenly until the flower buds uniformly wilt, then take them out and sun-dry.

　　(4) Steaming and drying method: Loosely spread the harvested flower buds on a steaming tray, layer them in a steamer, and steam them in boiling water. Timing begins when steam emerges from the steamer lid — steam for 3–5 minutes, then take them out and sun-dry.

　　(5) Baking method: Spread the harvested flower buds in a baking oven. First bake at 35°C for 24 hours, then increase to 40°C for 5–10 hours, continue raising the temperature to 45–50°C and bake for another 10 hours, then increase the oven temperature to 55–60°C to quickly dry the flowers thoroughly.

　　V. Quality Characteristics

　　1. Sensory characteristics: It has a delicate fragrance, with a surface color ranging from greenish-brown to yellowish-white. The texture is slightly hard, and it has moderate elasticity when squeezed by hand. The taste is mild, with slight bitterness. The main stems are clustered together, and the open flowers have petals that do not exceed half of their full length. The flower buds are long and slender, stick-like, thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom, slightly curved.

　　2. Physicochemical indicators: Moisture content ≤12.0%, total ash content ≤10.0%, acid-insoluble ash content ≤3.0%, chlorogenic acid content ≥5.0%, luteoloside content ≥0.1%.

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