UNESCO-Listed Xinyang Maojian: Why It’s So Special

Xinyang has a long history of tea production, as early as the Tang Dynasty, the Huainan tea area is one of the eight major tea-producing areas in the country, and is also the northernmost tea area in China. Lu Yu in the “Tea Classic” praised “Huainan tea, to the light state for the upper”, the light state that today’s Henan Ducheon, Guangshan, Shangcheng and other places. Song Dynasty writer Su Dongpo also praised “Huainan tea, Xinyang first”.

Xinyang Mao Jian is China’s famous green tea, known for its “fine, round, tight, straight”, needle-like shape, emerald green color, and obvious white hair. Because of its long-lasting fragrance, freshness and sweetness, it won the gold medal at the Panama World’s Fair in 1915, making its debut in the international arena. Since then, it has won many awards:

• In 1958, it was honored as one of the top ten famous teas in China.
• In 1982 and 1986, it was honored as a ministerial quality product
• In 1990, it was honored with the Gold Medal of the National Quality Award
• Golden Medal of Kunming World Horticultural Expo in 1999
• In 2002, it was awarded the National Geographical Indication Product Protection
• In 2014, Xinyang Mao Jian production technology was listed in the national intangible cultural heritage
• In 2022, Xinyang Mao Jian production techniques were selected as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

How does the natural environment affect the quality of Xinyang Mao Jian?

Xinyang is located at the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains and the upper reaches of the Huai River, with a mild climate, abundant rainfall and fertile soil, which is ideal for the growth of tea trees. Due to its location in the northern tea region, the shorter sunshine hours are conducive to the accumulation of amino acids, making Xinyang Mao Jian tea soup more refreshing.

Studies have found that Xinyang Mao Jian’s amino acid content (4.15%) is higher than many other green teas (4.04% on average). Higher altitude teas contain more theanine, citric acid and sucrose, while lower altitude teas contain more tea polyphenols. Although Xinyang does not have high mountains, the temperature difference brought by high latitude is similar to that of high mountains in the south, so Xinyang Mao Jian is of excellent quality, and there is the saying of “latitude for altitude”.

The influence of tea tree varieties on Xinyang Mao Jian

Xinyang Mao Jian mainly adopts two tea tree varieties:

Xinyang group species (old dry tea)

• Local traditional varieties, adaptable, cold-resistant
• High amino acid content (3.3%), fresh and mellow tea soup
• Good cold resistance, suitable for Xinyang climate

Xinyang 10

• Improved from the group variety, high yield, resistant to pests and diseases
• Higher caffeine (4.41%) and tea polyphenol (22.46%) content.
• Late germination, limited popularization

The two varieties have their own advantages and jointly support the development of Xinyang tea industry.

Picking and production process

Xinyang Mao Jian is a delicate raw material, usually picked “single bud” or “one bud and one leaf”. Early spring tea has a high amino acid content, and late tea polyphenols increase, affecting the freshness of the tea soup.

The traditional production process includes:

• Sieving and spreading
• Killing in the raw pot, shaping in the cooked pot
• Initial drying, cooling and re-drying

Modern process combines mechanical and manual, such as roller killing, kneading machine kneading and so on. Research has found that greening has the greatest impact on the composition of tea leaves, determining the aroma and flavor of Xinyang Mao Jian.

Nutritional Composition of Xinyang Mao Jian

• Amino acids (especially theanine) make the tea fresh and refreshing.
• Tea polyphenols (24.13%) give the tea an astringent flavor, but in a moderate proportion.
• Caffeine gives the tea a bitter flavor, but when combined with other ingredients, it creates a freshness.

All these ingredients together create Xinyang Mao Jian’s characteristics of “freshness, richness, crispness, resistance to steeping and sweetness”.

How to brew Xinyang Mao Jian?

The quality of water affects the quality of the tea broth:

• Best choice: Pure water (pH 6.5-7.0)
• Avoid: more alkaline water (e.g. some mineral water)
• Tap water: let it sit overnight before use

When brewing, the water temperature is recommended to be 80-85℃ to avoid high temperature destroying the fresh and refreshing taste.