Hunan has been home to a variety of renowned tea since ancient times, such as Anhua dark tea, Guzhang Maojian, Baojing golden tea, Shimen Yinfeng, Yuanling Jietan tea, Taoyuan daye tea, and Jianghua kucha. Spring is the very season to savor tea. Let's embark on a tea journey through Hunan.

Shao Shan Hong Tea

More than a tea brand, "Shao Shan Hong" is a carrier of red or revolutionary culture and Huxiang culture. The brand has cultivated over 20 categories of tea products. 

You may stroll around the ecological tea gardens around Shaoshanchong Village, picking a handful of tea leaves embedded with revolutionary culture. You may also visit a modernized tea plant, to explore the stories of these tea leaves.

Recommended tea plantations: Ecological tea gardens around Shaoshanchong Village.

Best harvest period: Late March – Mid-April.

Hands-on activities: Picking tea leaves and learning about intelligent tea production lines.

Nearby attractions: Former Residence of Mao Zedong, Dripping Water Cave, and Shaofeng Peak.

Local delicacies: Mao's braised pork in brown sauce and Shaoshan fried and baked fish.

Xinhua Black Tea

Boasting 1,500 years of tea-planting history, Xinhua County is a core production area of black tea in Hunan Province, known as the "source of Hunan black tea." Xinhua black tea plants grow on the Xuefeng Mountain, being rich in theaflavin which makes this tea competitive among other black tea varieties. 

The tea gardens are situated in misty mountains at altitude above 800 meters. You may pick tea leaves in a tea garden, and then visit the Ziquejie Terraced Fields to appreciate a magnificent view of water cascading down the mountainside while enjoying a cup of Xinhua black tea.

Recommended tea plantations: Alpine tea gardens in Fengjia Town and Tianmen Township.

Best harvest period: Early April – Early May.

Hands-on activities: Picking tea leaves in the alpine tea gardens and exploring the source of theaflavin.

Nearby attractions: Ziquejie Terraced Fields, Meishan Cave, and Daxiong Mountain National Forest Park.

Local delicacies: Xinhua "Three-in-One" Soup and Canzi Baba (glutinous rice cakes made with Can plants).

Jianghua Kucha Tea

Jianghua Kucha tea integrates the flavor of both green tea and Kuding tea, a bitter-tasting herbal tea. Compared to Kuding tea, it offers a lingering aroma without bitter harshness; and compared to green tea, it offers an initial bitterness that gives way to a sweet aftertaste. The rich theacrine and a novel type of theaflavin are what give Kucha tea its unique flavor and quality. 

You may visit an ecological tea garden in remote mountains, picking tea leaves while listening to folk songs of Yao girls. After that, you may take a stroll through a one-thousand-year-old Yao village, and savor the "bitter first, then sweet" taste of this Yao-style rea.

Recommended tea plantations: Tea gardens in Daxu Town and Mashi Town.

Best harvest period: Around Qingming Festival, which falls on April 5 this year.

Hands-on activities: Picking tea leaves, listening to folk songs by Yao girls, and experiencing national custom in a Yao village.

Nearby attractions: ancient Yao villages, Centian River Reservoir, and Qinyan Karst Cave.

Local delicacies: 18 stuffed delicacies of Yao ethnic people, Yao-style youcha (oil tea), and cured meat.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunantoday