Chishui Insect Tea

Chishui Insect Tea

　　Chishui Insect Tea is a specialty of Chishui City, Zunyi, Guizhou Province. Rich in nutrients, this delicious and refreshing tea is pleasing to both the eye and the palate, and offers medicinal benefits such as refreshing the mind, relieving hangovers, detoxifying, clearing heat, and lowering blood pressure.

　　Insect tea is a unique forest-resource insect product in China and a traditional specialty tea for export. Among these, Chishui Insect Tea is the most famous. It is considered the finest tea, rarely found on the market, and is highly priced. Produced only near the Sidonggou Scenic Area in Chishui, its yield is limited to just over 200 pounds per year.

　　Around the Sidonggou area, in the deep mountains, grow some century-old Da Bai tea trees. The locals pick tender leaves from wild white tea plants and process them through fermentation, which attracts a type of insect called the “Chinese tallow moth.” These insects breed larvae that feed on the fermented leaves and then excrete tiny pellets, smaller than rapeseed. These pellets are collected and dried to produce insect tea. Chishui Insect Tea is rich in nutrients, delicious, refreshing, and offers medicinal benefits such as refreshing the mind, relieving hangovers, detoxifying, clearing heat, and lowering blood pressure. During the Qing Dynasty, Chishui Insect Tea was an imperial tribute, and today it remains the designated tea served at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and the Great Hall of the People. Traditional Chishui insect tea is mainly derived from the Chinese tallow tree, so in the region, it is also known as “Chinese Tallow Moth Golden Tea.”

　　The production process of insect tea is quite unique. Locals use wild bitter tea leaves harvested around Grain Rain season, or fresh young leaves from wild plants such as the Chinese tallow tree, glutinous rice vine, tung tree, wild hawthorn, and Uncaria, which are lightly steamed to remove bitterness. Once dried to about 80% dryness, they are piled in wooden barrels, layered evenly with water used to rinse rice, then covered and kept moist. The leaves gradually ferment and decompose naturally, emitting a strong, fragrant aroma. Many types of insects can be involved in producing insect tea, but the Chinese tallow night moth is the most widespread. Attracted by the fragrance, these moths swarm in and lay their eggs. About ten days later, dark gray night moth larvae emerge from the eggs, covering the leaf surfaces. While feeding on the fragrant, decomposed leaves, they also excrete small “golden granules.” These larvae have enormous appetites and can consume the pile of decomposed leaves in no time. At this point, the farmers collect the “golden granules,” remove leftover stems and leaves, dry them, and sift them to obtain small, round, glossy, golden pellets — the “Chinese Tallow Moth Golden Tea,” or “insect tea.” For even higher quality, after sun-drying, the pellets are stir-fried in an iron pan at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, then mixed with honey and tea leaves to become premium-grade insect tea.