Basic Introduction to Xiashan Stack Green Tea
Xiashan Stack Green is a high-altitude tea and organic tea from the high-cold region of the southwestern mountains of Gu County in the Qinba Mountains of Northwest Hubei. It grows on the Selenium-rich belt between 800 and 1,000 meters above sea level in the Daxianshan area, which is located in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province.
The Xiashan Stack Green has a tight, fine shape with prominent tips and a lustrous emerald green color; its Infusion is bright green and clear, with a lasting chestnut aroma, a fresh, pure, and refreshing taste, and an even, bright green leaf base. Currently, the tea garden area in Gu County has reached 126,000 mu (approximately 84 square kilometers), with an annual production of 1,000 tons, ranking it among the top 100 tea-producing counties in China. The tea industry has become the leading sector of the four major agricultural industries in Gu County.
Product Characteristics
1. Sensory Features:
(1) Shape: Tight and fine with prominent tips and a lustrous emerald green color.
(2) Infusion: Bright green and clear. Aroma: Lasting chestnut fragrance.
(3) Taste: Fresh, pure, and refreshing.
(4) Leaf base: Even, bright green.
2. Chemical-Physical Indicators: Water-soluble extracts ≥ 38.0%.
Historical Folklore
In his “Tea Classic,” Lu Yu wrote, “The drinking of tea began with the divine farmer Shen Nong.” Emperor Yan, also known as Shen Nong, once cultivated grains and tea trees on this land in Gu County. According to the Chinese “Nine Regions Gazetteer,” “Gu County was named for the fact that Shen Nong cultivated grains here,” and “Shen Nong tasted a hundred Herbs and was poisoned seventy-two times in one day, but he found tea to cure himself.” Emperor Yan, also known as Shen Nong, once cultivated grains and tea trees on this land in Gu County.
According to the “Gu County Annals,” in the eighth year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty (1858), the tea production in Gu County ranked 13th in Hubei Province. The Viceroy of Huguang, Zhang Zhidong, recommended the “Methods of Planting and Drying Tea” by the county magistrate of Gu County, Qu Yuancan, for dissemination throughout Hubei and Hunan provinces. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the poet An Tingsong visited the scenic beauty of Daxianshan and composed a poem titled “Xiashan Stack Green,” praising the tea produced there as Xiashan Stack Green, which led to the rapid development of the tea industry in Gu County.
From the Qing Dynasty through the founding of the People's Republic of China, the scale of tea cultivation, tea-making skills, tea varieties, and quality in Gu County matured over time. In the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, Gu County tea was sold via the ancient tea-horse trade routes to southern China and abroad.
Awards and Honors
In 2009, Gu County was designated by the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China in its “Regional Planning for Key Tea-Producing Counties in China” (2009–2015) as a base county for specialty and export green teas in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and was identified by the China Tea Marketing Association as one of the top 100 tea-producing counties in China, ranking 26th nationally and 3rd in Hubei Province.
On March 28, 2011, the original State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine approved geographical indication product protection for “Xiashan Stack Green Tea.”