明前仙毫春茶
Mar 20 – Apr 25
Spring single-bud and one-bud-one-leaf harvest in Hanzhong.
陕西陝西
Shaanxi
Northwestern province whose southern Qinba mountain counties around Hanzhong form a high-latitude green-tea zone known for Hanzhong Xianhao.
- Level
- Province
At a glance#
Location
- Garden elevation
- Southern Shaanxi (Hanzhong, Ankang, Shangluo) tea gardens lie at 600–1,300 m between the Qinling and Daba ranges; Jingyang sits at ~400 m in the Wei River valley.
Where it lies#
Tea places nearby, plotted by their coordinates. Only physical positions are shown, no boundaries.
139 places shown Across the view · 1,760 km
22 places shown Across the view · 384 km
Altitude#
Garden elevations here and in neighbouring places, as sourced.
Picking calendar#
Terroir#
- Rock
- Granite, metamorphic schist, and limestone in the Qinba Mountains; loess and alluvial terraces in the Jinghe/Weihe basin at Jingyang.
- Soil
- Yellow-brown and yellow-cinnamon mountain soils (黄棕壤、黄褐土) in Hanzhong, naturally enriched in zinc and selenium, pH 5.0–6.2.
- Slope and light
- The Qinling range blocks Siberian winter winds, allowing Hanzhong (~32°–33° N) to sustain high-latitude subtropical tea gardens, while drier continental air in Jingyang favours Fuzhuan golden-flower curing.
Cultivation#
- Cultivars grown
- Longjing 43Yingshuang紫阳群体种 (Ziyang landrace)
- Landraces
- Hanzhong and Ziyang northern small-to-medium-leaf seed populations.
- Practice
- High-latitude spring green tea production in Hanzhong alongside historical brick compression and Eurotium cristatum flowering (发花) in Jingyang.
Local words#
| Local words | Dialect | |
|---|---|---|
| 金花 jīnhuā | Central Plains Mandarin (Guanzhong / Jingyang) | golden-flower Eurotium cristatum colonies Essential trade and curing term in Jingyang for the bright yellow fungal cleistothecia encouraged inside pressed Fuzhuan dark-tea bricks during summer curing. |
People#
- Qinba Mountain tea growers and Jingyang brick-curing masters 秦巴山区茶农与泾阳茯砖茶匠人
- High-latitude mountain farmers in Hanzhong, Ankang, and Shangluo who cultivate spring green tea, alongside Guanzhong master brick-pressers in Jingyang who cure golden-flower Fuzhuan bricks.
Market#
- Primary trade channel
- Hanzhong mountain cooperatives ship spring Xianhao to Xi'an and northwestern urban markets, while Jingyang workshops press and cure Fuzhuan bricks for Silk Road and northwestern pastoral markets.
- Trading towns
- Hanzhong (Xixiang / Nanzheng) · Jingyang · Xi'an
- Output
- Shaanxi's tea sector is divided between southern Qinba Mountain spring green teas (centred on Hanzhong Xianhao) and Guanzhong plain Fuzhuan dark brick-tea curing in Jingyang.
- Prices of teas claiming this origin
- In Hanzhong, pre-Qingming single-bud and one-bud-one-leaf mountain pickings drive prices; in Jingyang, dense golden-flower colonisation and multi-year dry aging determine brick value.
History#
- 1068Northern Song Xining-era Tea and Horse trade routes channel Sichuan and southern Shaanxi tea northward through Guanzhong.
- 1368Jingyang emerges during the early Ming as the premier inland compression and curing hub for Fuzhuan brick tea.
Notes#
Identity and history#
Positioned along the northern ecological boundary of Chinese tea cultivation in the Qinba mountain system, Shaanxi combines high-latitude upland green-tea production with a historic plains hub for dark-tea brick curing. In the southern Hanzhong basin, long winters and clean mountain watersheds yield selenium-enriched spring shoots crafted into Hanzhong Xianhao, whereas north of the Wei River in Jingyang, dry continental breezes and alkaline well water historically governed the golden-flower fermentation of Fuzhuan tea bricks. Modern regional standards protect both the southern mountain origin zones and the northern microbial brick-pressing craft.
Places within#
Teas associated with this place#
茯砖茶
Fu brick tea Fúzhuān chá
Compressed dark tea defined by brick making and a managed flowering stage, with documented traditions in Hunan and Shaanxi.
reviewed
泾阳茯砖茶
Jingyang Fu brick tea Jīngyáng Fúzhuān chá
The Jingyang tradition of Fu brick tea in Shaanxi, distinguished by its place of processing rather than a claim that the leaves grow there.
reviewed
汉中仙毫
Hanzhong Xianhao Hànzhōng Xiānháo
Slightly flattened, downy green tea associated with Hanzhong, Shaanxi.
reviewed
Sources#
- 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.