霜降Frost's Descent
云南大叶种雲南大葉種
Yúnnán dàyèzhǒng

Yunnan large-leaf

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idyunnan-da-ye
yunnan-da-ye

The broad group of large-leaf tea plants of Yunnan; the pu'er standard requires sun-dried maocha made from this material.

Botanical
Camellia sinensis var. assamica
Kind
landrace
Origin
Yunnan

Also sold or written as 7#

Chinese variants
  • 大叶种DàyèzhǒngDa Ye Zhong — large-leaf type
  • 云南大叶种晒青毛茶Yúnnán dàyèzhǒng shàiqīng máocháYunnan — large-leaf sun-dried maochaStandard phrase for sun-dried large-leaf raw material.
Translations and trade names
  • Yunnan big leaf
  • da ye zhong
  • Assamica
  • Camellia sinensis assamica
  • Camellia sinensis var. assamica (Mast.) Kitam.Full botanical name.

Names and ambiguities#

'Assamica' is a botanical umbrella, not 'Assam tea'

Yunnan large-leaf tea is classed as var. assamica, but SNP studies find several distinct assamica lineages. Southwest Yunnan (e.g. Jingmai) is closer to Indian Assam, and southeast Yunnan populations are more divergent, possibly from a separate domestication. Calling Yunnan pu'er material 'Assam' therefore implies a closer identity than the genetics support. 'Da ye zhong' in Chinese is a horticultural group, not a single cultivar.

5

Notes#

This is a population group, not one cultivar. Menghai large-leaf, Mengku large-leaf and Fengqing large-leaf have separate population entries; Yunkang 10 is a selected clone. Old-tree (gushu) describes plant age, not a cultivar.

Teas made from it#

普洱茶
Pu'er Pǔ'ěr chá
Umbrella entry for Yunnan tea made from large-leaf sun-dried maocha within the geographical-indication area, in two main styles — sheng (raw, aged naturally) and shou (ripe, wet-piled).
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生普
Sheng pu'er shēng pǔ
Pu-er made from sun-dried maocha without the accelerated wet-piling used for shou; its character changes with manufacture and storage.
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熟普
Shou pu'er shú pǔ
Pu-er whose sun-dried maocha undergoes controlled wet-piling, producing a distinct ripe style through microbial, moisture and heat-driven changes.
sourced
老班章生茶
Lao Banzhang sheng pu'er Lǎo Bānzhāng shēngchá
Sheng Pu-er identified with Lao Banzhang village in Menghai; a precise village-origin claim that needs lot-level provenance.
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易武生茶
Yiwu sheng pu'er Yìwǔ shēngchá
Sheng Pu-er associated with the Yiwu area of Mengla, an important historical tea-trading centre with multiple village origins.
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南糯山生茶
Nannuo sheng pu'er Nánnuòshān shēngchá
Sheng Pu-er from Nannuo Mountain in Menghai, where named village gardens offer more precise origins than the mountain label alone.
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景迈生茶
Jingmai sheng pu'er Jǐngmài shēngchá
Sheng Pu-er from the Jingmai area, whose old tea forests form a living cultural landscape of tea cultivation and community stewardship.
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88青饼
88 Qingbing
A collector name associated with Menghai 7542 cakes selected and stored by Hong Kong merchant Vesper Chan; the name alone does not establish a 1988 harvest.
sourced
白茶
White tea báichá
Tea chiefly made by withering, drying and sorting, without green-tea fixation. Traditional forms are unrolled; Fuding new-craft white tea adds light rolling.
sourced
月光白
Moonlight White Yuèguāngbái
Yunnan white tea associated especially with Jinggu, with contrasting pale down and darker leaf surfaces. A local specification defines Moonlight White; wider trade use is less precise.
sourced

Sources#

  1. Standards

    Catalogue record; this source does not establish the wording of the full standard.

  2. Research reportsaccessed 2026-10-19
  3. Research reportsaccessed 2026-10-19
  4. Government and public institutionsaccessed 2026-10-19