春茶 (明前 / 雨前)
Mar 28 – May 5
Spring flush accounts for premium Xinyang Maojian and spring Xinyang Hong.
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
河南
Henan
Central province whose southern Dabie and Tongbai mountain borderland in Xinyang forms one of China's premier northern green-tea regions, known for Xinyang Maojian.
- Level
- Province
At a glance#
Garden elevation
150–850 m
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Rainfall
1,120 mm a year
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Mean temperature
15.3 °C
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Mean relative humidity
75 %
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Fog days
110 a year
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Location
- Garden elevation
- Core Xinyang mountain gardens ("Five Clouds, Two Ponds, One Village", 五云两潭一寨) sit between 300 and 800 m in the Dabie and Tongbai ranges.
Where it lies#
Tea places nearby, plotted by their coordinates. Only physical positions are shown, no boundaries.
137 places shown Across the view · 1,760 km
22 places shown Across the view · 578 km
Altitude#
Garden elevations here and in neighbouring places, as sourced.
Picking calendar#
秋茶 (白露茶)
Aug 25 – Oct 5
Early autumn Bailu picking prized for sweet roasted aroma.
Terroir#
- Rock
- Metamorphic gneiss, granite, and quartz schist along the northern slopes of the Dabie and Tongbai Mountains.
- Soil
- Deep, gravelly yellow-brown mountain loam (黄棕壤) with high organic matter and pH 4.5–6.0.
- Slope and light
- Northern margin of China's subtropical tea belt (~31°–32° N); longer winter dormancy and wide diurnal temperature swings yield high amino acid and soluble sugar accumulation in spring buds.
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Cultivation#
- Cultivars grown
- 信阳群体种 (Xinyang landrace)BaihaozaoShuchazao
- Landraces
- Xinyang seed population (信阳群体种, historically introduced from the Huainan/Dabie belt and selected for cold hardiness).
- Practice
- Winter soil banking for frost protection; spring buds pan-fired and brushed into tight, white-downed needles.
Local words#
| Local words | Dialect | |
|---|---|---|
| 熟锅与生锅 shúguō yǔ shēngguō | Central Plains / Jianghuai transition Mandarin (Xinyang) | initial fixation wok and shaping wok Core workshop terminology among Xinyang Maojian hand-roasters for the paired slanted iron woks in which fresh shoots are first fixed and rolled (shengguo) and then swept into tight,pekoe-tipped needles (shuguo). |
People#
- Dabie and Tongbai Mountain tea-farming communities 大别山与桐柏山茶农
- Smallholders and hand-processing masters across Xinyang's Shihe and Pingqiao hill villages who founded early-twentieth-century tea societies and maintain Henan's high-latitude green and black tea craft.
Market#
- Primary trade channel
- Mountain village workshops in Shihe and Pingqiao districts sell finished spring Maojian through Xinyang's specialised tea markets to northern and central Chinese retail buyers.
- Trading towns
- Xinyang (Shihe / Pingqiao) · Dongjiahe · Tanhe
- Output
- Henan's tea output is overwhelmingly concentrated in Xinyang along the northern slope of the Dabie Mountains, weighted toward spring Xinyang Maojian green tea and supplemented since the late 2000s by Xinyang Hong black tea.
- Prices of teas claiming this origin
- Prices peak for pre-Qingming and pre-Guyu hand-worked shoots from the historic Five Clouds, Two Pools, and One Stockade core mountain villages.
History#
- 760Lu Yu's Classic of Tea ranks Guangzhou (modern Xinyang) first among the Huainan tea prefectures.
- 1915Xinyang Maojian wins recognition at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition.
- 2009Xinyang Hong black tea craft developed using Xinyang green-tea gardens to extend seasonal utilization.
Notes#
Identity and history#
Lying along the subtropical-to-warm-temperate transition line formed by the Tongbai and Dabie mountains and the upper Huai River, southern Henan represents one of China's highest-latitude major green-tea zones. Pronounced diurnal temperature swings and prolonged winter dormancy in Xinyang yield thick, nutrient-dense spring buds with brisk umami and chestnut aromatics. Geographical-indication regulations distinguish high-elevation Five Cloud, Two Tarns, and One Zhai core mountain villages from surrounding hill gardens, prescribing wok-sweeping fixation and final charcoal baking.
Prices of teas claiming this origin#
International retail
Show as table
| Product | Vendor | Channel | per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xin Yang Mao Jian Green Tea | TeaVivre | International retail | $22.92 |
| Wu Hu Xin Jian Zi Xinyang Maojian | Dragon Tea House | International retail | $24.50 |
Listings claiming this origin 2#
Price ranks compare recorded retail offers for the same tea, including offers outside the current delivery filter. Shipping and import charges are excluded.
Prices compared in the selected currency; unknown values appear last.
| Product | Vendor | Price | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
Xin Yang Mao Jian Green Tea
DetailsCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
|
TeaVivreWorldwide |
$25.90 / 113 g | $22.92 |
Wu Hu Xin Jian Zi Xinyang Maojian
Details and price notesCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
200 g pack at USD 48.99 |
Dragon Tea HouseWorldwide |
$48.99 / 200 g | $24.50 |
Prices recorded on the dates checked. Conversions use ECB rates dated 2026-10-20; original prices appear alongside. Origin, age and cultivar are stated by the vendor.
Places within#
Teas associated with this place#
信阳毛尖
Xinyang Maojian Xìnyáng Máojiān
Fine, straight green tea from Xinyang in Henan, traditionally shaped through successive pan-working and drying stages.
reviewed
信阳红
Xinyang Hong Xìnyáng hóng
Modern regional black tea from Xinyang, Henan, developed as a counterpart to the area’s green tea.
reviewed
Sources#
- GB/T 22737-2008 地理标志产品 信阳毛尖茶 (Product of geographical indication — Xinyang Maojian tea)
- 陈宗懋、杨亚军主编. 中国茶经 (2011修订版) (The Classic of Chinese Tea, 2011 rev. ed.). 上海文化出版社, 2011. ISBN 978-7-80740-664-8.