Zhenghe Gongfu

County and cultivar#

The provincial agriculture department’s certification letter defines its production area as Zhenghe County. Zhenghe Dabai is a cultivar; making black tea from it does not turn this style into white tea.

Different leaf conditions, different handling#

Initial manufacture involves withering, rolling, enzymatic oxidation and drying. Refining includes screening, winnowing, sorting, blending and refiring.

The agriculture department's 2007 certification letter specifies separate handling of early and later leaf, wet and dry leaf, and different cultivars. This is a practical clue to the craft: the condition of the incoming leaf changes how withering and oxidation should be managed. It is more informative than assigning one universal manufacturing schedule to every Zhenghe tea.

Separating and blending finished grades#

The same document describes refining a comparatively uniform feed into several graded outputs through separation and blending. Thus the finished grade and leaf selection belong in a product description alongside the county name. The letter's processing detail is historical technical evidence; it is not a substitute for checking a current product's applicable standard.

Two raw-material streams#

The 2000 monograph describes a two-stream approach: Zhenghe Dabai supplied the main large-leaf component, while selected small-leaf population material contributed floral character. The two were manufactured and refined separately, then graded and blended. It also describes varying rolling pressure to form tight strips while limiting breakage and retaining visible bud hairs (pp. 385–386). This is a documented historical route to Zhenghe Gongfu’s appearance and flavour, not a requirement that every contemporary tea bearing the name contain both components.