Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea

Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea

Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea is a geographical indication certification trademark.

Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea is an agricultural geographical indication product.

　　  Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea is a specialty of Pingyang County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. The tea is characterized by its slender, tight, and delicate strips; yellowish-green color with abundant fuzz; bright orange-yellow liquor; fragrant, high-aroma, and sharp scent; fresh, mellow, and refreshing taste; and an even, bud-and-leaf set leaf base. Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea is a nationally protected geographical indication agricultural product.

　　  Pingyang Yellow Soup, also known as Wenzhou Yellow Soup, belongs to the small-leaf yellow tea category within the six major types of tea, standing alongside well-known yellow teas such as Mengding Yellow Buds and Huoshan Yellow Buds. Originally produced in areas such as Pingyang, Taishun, and Ruian, the highest quality comes from Beigang in Pingyang (within the Nan Yandang Mountain area).

　　  Pingyang Yellow Soup is harvested before the Qingming Festival, with picking standards focusing on tender, fuzz-covered one-bud-one-leaf and early one-bud-two-leaf shoots. Uniform size is required. The production process of Pingyang Yellow Soup includes five steps: fixation, rolling, pile-fermenting, initial drying, and pile-drying. Overall characteristics of the final product include a yellow appearance with visible white fuzz, commonly referred to as “white heart yellow leaves.” Specific traits are: slender, tight, and uniform strips; yellowish-green color with visible fuzz; bright apricot-yellow liquor; sweet, mellow, and refreshing taste; long-lasting, high aroma; and bright, tender yellow, even leaf base.

　　  Pingyang Yellow Soup is a traditional famous tea of Zhejiang, long favored by consumers for its “yellow leaves and yellow soup,” as well as its “rich yet not astringent, thick yet sweet and mellow” flavor. In 2010, the “Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea Processing Technology” developed jointly by Lin Ping, Lu Lihuan, and Chen Jizhu was granted a national invention patent.

　　  In 2014, the “Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea” application submitted by the Pingyang County Tea Industry Association passed the review by the Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and expert evaluation, resulting in its registration and protection as a national geographical indication agricultural product.

　　  Geographical Scope

　　  The protected geographical indication area for Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea agricultural product includes eight towns and 42 villages: Shuitou Town, Aojiang Town, Shanmen Town, Tengjiao Town, Kunyang Town, Wantian Town, Nan'yan Town, and Shunxi Town. It spans north to Ruian City, west to Wencheng and Taishun Counties, and south to Cangnan County. The geographical coordinates are between 120°24′ to 121°08′ east longitude and 27°21′ to 27°46′ north latitude. The county’s land area is 1,051.17 square kilometers, with the protected area covering 971.5 square kilometers. In 2012, the tea planting area was 20,000 mu, with a yield of 50 tons.

　　  Product Quality Characteristics

　　  (1) Sensory Quality Characteristics: Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea is a premium local product made from high-quality fresh leaves of early cultivars such as Pingyang Tezao Tea or local cultivar groups, processed using specific techniques. It boasts distinctive regional qualities, excellent overall quality, and a unique flavor. The dry tea has a tender yellow color, the liquor is bright apricot-yellow, the aroma is rich and long-lasting, the taste is sweet and mellow, and the leaf base consists of tender, uniform, bud-and-leaf sets. Its hallmark feature is the bright apricot-yellow liquor. (2) Physicochemical Quality Indicators: Unique components of Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea include: dry tea moisture ≤6%, total ash ≤6.5%, broken tea ≤2%, crude fiber ≤14%, and water extract ≥38%. (3) Safety Requirements: The safety requirements for Pingyang Yellow Soup Tea comply with the regulations specified in GB 2762 and GB 2763.