Yizheng Lüliuyang Tea

Yizheng Lüliuyang Tea

Yizheng Lüliuyang Tea is a product with a geographical indication for agricultural products.

　　Yangzhou’s Fine Tea Brewed in “Sealed Pots”

　　West Lake Longjing and Suzhou Biluochun’s “first-pick” teas are as expensive as gold, compared to them, Yangzhou’s renowned Lüliuyang tea is no less in quality, yet its price is significantly lower. The reason? Its market promotion has been far too “shy.”

　　Due to climatic factors, this year the “first-pick” of local Yangzhou tea was ten days earlier than usual, with the earliest new tea from Yizheng starting to be picked as early as March 28. These past few days, tea houses across Yangzhou have successively put up signs announcing the arrival of “Lüliuyang” new tea. But the launch of the new tea has been extremely low-key, with only a few tea houses setting up woks in front of their shops, sticking to the old tradition of “frying and selling new tea on the spot.”

　　In contrast, famous teas such as West Lake Longjing, Suzhou Biluochun, and Anhui Maofeng all heavily promote their “first-pick” offerings, sparing no effort in advertising and hype. Kilograms of new tea have fetched auction prices as high as gold, and the “first-pick” sky-high prices rise year after year. The “shy” approach of local new tea is extremely out of sync with Yangzhou’s tea culture, which celebrates “soaking in the morning with a tea in hand.”

　　Unsung Good Tea

　　“Objectively speaking, Yangzhou’s famous tea ‘Lüliuyang’ is in no way inferior in quality to out-of-town teas such as West Lake Longjing and Suzhou Biluochun — you could say each has its own unique characteristics,” said Zhang Chun, Chairman of Yangzhou Juchunyuan Tea Co., Ltd., who has been engaged in tea production and management for over a decade, offering his view on Yangzhou tea.

　　But a tea that wins praise but not sales can hardly be called a good tea. Zhang Chun gave the example of Fujian black tea “Da Hong Pao,” which is absolutely a premium tea, yet it hasn’t gained much acceptance in Yangzhou.

　　Although Yangzhou’s “Lüliuyang” has only been produced for just over 20 years, its production techniques have been continuously innovated, and the quality of the tea has been constantly improved, developing its own distinctive features. Especially the new tea, with its tempting green color in both the infusion and the leaves. Today, Yangzhou’s “Lüliuyang” has gained recognition among urban consumers and is gradually being accepted by tea drinkers in surrounding counties and cities such as Jiangdu and Taizhou. In national “China Tea Cup” tea evaluations, “Lüliuyang” has won the Grand Prize multiple times. It can be said that Yangzhou tea, represented by “Lüliuyang,” is becoming a rising star among teas, and Yangzhou tea is fully equipped with the confidence to promote itself just as loudly as other famous teas.

　　“However, compared to those famous teas, Yangzhou tea still has a significant gap — nothing else, just in name recognition. Aside from historical reasons, the biggest issue is that Yangzhou tea is not good at promoting itself,” Zhang Chun believes.

　　Quality Characteristics of Lüliuyang Tea: Its shape resembles new willow (leaves), verdant and graceful. Its internal qualities include an elegant aroma, clear infusion, fresh and mellow taste, and tender, even leaf bottoms.

　　Yizheng Lüliuyang Tea

　　Geographic Scope

　　Yizheng City is under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou, a famous historical and cultural city in China. It is located at the very top of the Yangtze River Delta and in the center of the silver triangle area of Nanjing, Zhenjiang, and Yangzhou. The planting area for “Yizheng Lüliuyang” is selected within nine towns and one subdistrict office under Yizheng City, including Xiejixiang, Yuétángxiāng, Qīngshānzhèn, Liújízhèn, Tóngshān Office, Xīnchéngzhèn, Xīnjízhèn, Mǎjízhèn, Zhēnzhōuzhèn, and Chénjízhèn. The planting region spans between 119°02′–119°22′ east longitude and 32°14′–32°36′ north latitude, covering a current planting area of 2,666.6 hectares and a protected area of 70,013.6 hectares. It yields 3,200 tons of tea annually, with 800 tons of dried tea, generating sales revenue of 224 million yuan.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　1. External Sensory: Yizheng Lüliuyang Tea resembles new willow in shape, is verdant and graceful. The raw materials are carefully selected, using high-quality medium-leaf, low-downy tea tree varieties, with around 90,000 buds per kilogram for top-grade Lüliuyang. 2. Internal Quality: Yizheng is located on the Jianghuai watershed, featuring distinct seasons and large day-night temperature differences. Tea gardens start harvesting late and close early, allowing a longer growth period for the tea trees, resulting in rich accumulation of internal components and naturally well-formed quality. It features a fresh and mellow taste, clear infusion, elegant aroma, and tender, even leaf bottoms. Some quantified indicators of internal quality are specified as follows: moisture ≤7.0%; total ash ≤7.5%; broken and powdered ≤6.0%; water extract ≥34.0%; crude fiber ≤16.0%; acid-insoluble ash ≤1.0%; water-soluble ash as a percentage of total ash ≥45.0%; water-soluble ash alkalinity (calculated as KOH) 1.0%–3.0%; lead (as Pb) ≤5.0 mg/kg; copper (as Cu) ≤60 mg/kg; tea polyphenols ≥300 mg/kg. 3. Safety Requirements: The growing environment of “Yizheng Lüliuyang” complies with the “Pollution-Free Food Tea Growing Environment Conditions” (NY5020-2001); product quality meets the “Pollution-Free Food Tea” (NY5244-2004) quality standards.