Lóngjǐ Hóng Chá

Longji Hong Cha is a red tea (black tea) from the mountainous Lóngjí region (龙脊, “Dragon’s Backbone”) in Longsheng County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The raw material consists of leaves from wild and semi-wild ancient tree-form tea trees aged 100 to 500 years, growing on the slopes of the famous Longji rice terraces — one of China’s most photogenic landscapes. This tea is a rare example of “ancient tree mountain tea” (古树红茶, gǔshù hóngchá), where the terroir of high-altitude misty forests combined with large-leaf cultivars creates a red tea with deep, velvety flavor and subtle light smokiness.

1. Classification and Origin:

• Type: Red tea (black tea) (红茶, hóngchá) — fully fermented/oxidized.
• Category: Regional Chinese red teas; ancient tree tea (古树红茶, gǔshù hóngchá).
• Origin: China, Guǎngxī Zhuāng Autonomous Region (广西壮族自治区, Guǎngxī Zhuàngzú Zìzhìqū); Guilin Prefecture-level City (桂林市, Guìlín Shì); Longsheng Multi-ethnic Autonomous County (龙胜各族自治县, Lóngshèng Gèzú Zìzhìxiàn). Main production area — Lóngjǐ Town (龙脊镇, Lóngjǐ Zhèn) and adjacent townships Jiangdijiang (江底乡, Jiāngdǐ Xiāng), Lóngshèng (龙胜镇, Lóngshèng Zhèn).
• Geographic coordinates: ≈ 25.8° N, 110.1° E (reference point at Longji Town).

2. History and Cultural Significance:

• History: The history of tea cultivation in the Longji Mountains spans over a thousand years. According to Baidu Baike and local chronicles, tea trees began to be cultivated by local Zhuāng (壮族, Zhuàngzú) and Yáo (瑶族, Yáozú) peoples as early as the late Sòng Dynasty (宋朝, Sòng Cháo), when mountain village residents transplanted wild large-leaf tea trees from the forest to their household gardens. During the reign of Emperor Qiánlóng (乾隆, Qiánlóng, 1735–1796) of the Qing Dynasty, Lóngjǐ tea became imperial tribute tea (贡茶, gòngchá) — this is evidenced by a stone stele erected in Duanzhai Village (段寨) in Longji Town. However, throughout most of its history, Longji tea was produced as green tea. Red tea (hong cha) began to be purposefully manufactured from local raw materials much later — in the early 2010s, riding the wave of growing market interest in red teas from ancient trees. By 2014, 13 tea factories were already operating in Longsheng County, with production area reaching 2,000 hectares. In 2015, Longji tea was registered by China’s Ministry of Agriculture as a product with geographical indication protection (农产品地理标志, nóngchǎnpǐn dìlǐ biāozhì).

  By 2024, more than 40 tea enterprises operated in Longsheng County, of which about 30 specialized in products from Longji raw materials. Annual dry tea production exceeded 300 tons, of which about 100 tons was specifically Longji tea (red and dark). The total area of tea plantations in the county exceeded 13,000 mu (≈ 870 ha), and the total value of tea products reached 100 million yuan. A key role in popularizing Lóngjǐ tea was played by tradition inheritor Xiè Fùfù (谢福复, Xiè Fùfù), who heads the company “Longji Tea Culture Tourism Industry” (龙脊茶文化旅游产业有限公司) and actively promotes the brand beyond the “small terroir” of Longsheng.

• Name: “龙脊” (Lóngjǐ) — literally “Dragon’s Backbone” — the name of the mountain ridge and famous rice terraces. Local residents call the winding terraces the “spine of a dragon” lying in the clouds. “红茶” (hóngchá) — red tea. Full name — “red tea from Dragon’s Backbone.”

• Cultural significance: Longji Hong Cha is inextricably linked with the culture of multi-ethnic mountain communities of Longsheng. Longji tea is among the “Four Treasures of Longji” (龙脊四宝, Lóngjǐ Sì Bǎo) alongside water, rice, and rice wine. The annual Ancient Tea Festival of Lóngjí (龙脊古茶祭祀大典) is held, including ritual offerings, demonstrations of traditional hand production, and tea ceremonies — this festival is part of the region’s intangible cultural heritage. Longji tea trees are not plantation crops, but semi-wild forest giants, for collecting leaves from which one must climb the tree — this fundamentally distinguishes Longji tea from “台地茶” (táidì chá — “terrace/plantation tea”).

3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:

• Cultivar: Longji large-leaf tea (龙脊大叶种, Lóngjǐ Dàyè Zhǒng), also called Lóngshèng Lóngjí Chá (龙胜龙脊茶). Belongs to the group of small arbor large-leaf cultivars (小乔木大叶种, xiǎo qiáomù dàyè zhǒng) Camellia sinensis. Recorded in the “Dictionary of Chinese Tea Science” (《中国茶学辞典》, Zhōngguó Cháxué Cídiǎn) as the 28th selected tea tree cultivar of China. Characteristics: strong shoot-forming ability, large thick buds, dense fleshy leaves. Trees grow to 5–9 m; the age of the oldest specimens — “tea kings” (茶王, cháwáng) in the Longji Mountains exceeds 500 years, and trees over 150 years old number more than 3,000, by some estimates — more than 30,000 throughout the landscape zone.
• Harvest: Exclusively once per year — in April–May (Qingming period, 清明, and Guyu, 谷雨). Single annual harvest is a fundamental position of local producers, ensuring high raw material quality and minimal impact on the ancient tree ecosystem.
• Harvest standard: One bud and two leaves (一芽二叶, yī yá èr yè) — main standard. For premium batches — one bud and one leaf (一芽一叶, yī yá yī yè).
• Raw material requirements: Leaves are collected exclusively from tree-form tea trees (not from shrub plantations); raw material must be fresh, whole, hand-picked.

4. Terroir and Cultivation:

• Growing altitude: 800–1,000 m and higher — zone of main tea massifs. Some wild trees are found at altitudes up to 1,200 m.
• Climate: Subtropical monsoon. Average annual temperature 18.1°C. Frost-free period 314 days. Annual precipitation 1,500–2,400 mm. Average annual solar insolation only 1,223.3 hours — low for subtropics, due to constant cloudiness and fog. Relative humidity — about 82%. Pronounced difference between day and night temperatures. The region is characterized by the formula “晴日早晚遍野茶，阴雨连天满山云” — “On clear days morning and evening — tea fields to the horizon, in rain and clouds — mountains drowning in mist.”
• Soils: Slightly acidic (pH 5.8–6.9), deep, loose, with high organic content. Mountain forest soils enriched by centuries of leaf litter.
• Water resources: Longsheng County territory is crossed by more than 480 rivers and streams; the main waterway is the Xúnjiāng River (浔江, Xúnjiāng). Aquifers are absolutely clean — the county has no large industrial enterprises, no heavy metal emissions.
• Agrotechnology: Ancient tea trees are not cultivated in the traditional sense — they grow in semi-wild forest surroundings without chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. The mountain forest ecosystem itself provides protection from pests and nutrition through centuries of leaf litter. Harvesting is done by hand, often with climbing trees. Several farms are working to create nurseries to preserve the gene pool of the Longji cultivar and establish new dense-planting areas to expand production.

5. Production Technology:

Longji Hong Cha is made using classic gongfu red tea technology, adapted considering the characteristics of large-leaf raw material from ancient trees.

• Picking (采摘, cǎizhāi): Hand picking from tree-form tea trees; selection of tender shoots of “bud + 1–2 leaves” standard.
• Withering (萎凋, wěidiāo): Fresh leaves are spread in shade on bamboo trays for natural withering. Duration 12–20 hours depending on weather. Large fleshy leaves of the Longji cultivar require longer withering than small-leaf cultivars. Goal — moisture reduction to 60–64%, softening of cellular structure.
• Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn): Withered leaves are rolled — cell walls are destroyed, juice is released. For large-leaf raw material, moderate pressure is applied to avoid breaking the leaf.
• Fermentation/oxidation (发酵, fājiào): Rolled leaves are laid in layers in a warm humid room. Oxidation continues until complete disappearance of grassy smell and appearance of stable honey-fruity aroma. Leaves acquire red-copper color.
• Drying/heating (烘干, hōnggān): Profile fixation with hot air or on bamboo racks over coals. Some producers apply light smoking with pine chips (similar to Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong technology), which gives the tea a subtle smoky note — this is a characteristic feature of individual Longji Hong Cha batches.
• Sorting (分级, fēnjí): Division into fractions, rejection of defective leaves.

6. Organoleptic Characteristics:

• Dry leaf appearance: Large, tightly twisted tea particles with pronounced “twisted” structure (紧结, jǐnjié). Color — dark brown with reddish tint. Golden tips are noticeable but less abundant than in small-leaf gongfu teas — this is due to the large-leaf cultivar.
• Dry leaf aroma: Deep, warm — honey, nuts, dried fruits. In individual batches — light smokiness and coniferous overtone related to forest terroir specificity.
• Liquor aroma: Powerful and multi-layered. First wave — honey-sweet with dried fruit tones (dates, raisins); second — deep woody-nutty notes; in finale — warm, slightly smoky “forest” note. Aroma persists long on cup walls.
• Taste: Dense, full-bodied, with velvety texture — this is a typical feature of teas from large-leaf ancient trees. Clean sweetness combines with mild astringency and mineral undertone. Aftertaste is long, warming, with chestnut honey notes. Taste is noticeably more “voluminous” and deeper than plantation red teas from the same region.
• Liquor color: From amber to red-chestnut, clear, bright, with golden rim.
• Spent leaves (wet leaves): Large, opened leaves; color — copper-brown, uniform. Leaves are fleshy, elastic, whole — sign of hand picking and careful processing.

7. Chemical Composition:

• Polyphenols: Raw material from ancient large-leaf trees typically contains higher polyphenol levels compared to small-leaf cultivars. During full oxidation, catechins transform into theaflavins and thearubigins, forming dense body and red-amber liquor color.
• Amino acids: L-theanine and other amino acids — content is elevated due to shaded mountain forest growth and single annual harvest (tree accumulates nutrients for a whole year).
• Alkaloids: Caffeine — content in large-leaf raw material is usually higher than in small-leaf (approximately 3.5–5%); theobromine, theophylline — in trace amounts.
• Vitamins: B-group vitamins, trace amounts of vitamin C, rutin (vitamin P).
• Minerals: Potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, selenium. Mountain forest soils of Longji, enriched with centuries of organic litter, provide high microelement content.
• Essential oils and volatile compounds: Complex of terpenoid alcohols (linalool, geraniol, nerol), aldehydes, Maillard reaction products. Forest surroundings of ancient trees contribute distinctive “forest” and woody notes to the aromatics, rare for plantation red teas.

8. Health Properties:

• Mild tonification: Elevated caffeine content combined with L-theanine provides pronounced but balanced tonic effect — alertness without anxiety.
• Antioxidant activity: High polyphenol levels provide powerful antioxidant protection.
• Digestive support: Red tea from large-leaf trees is traditionally considered especially beneficial for digestion due to high tannin content.
• Warming action: In traditional Chinese dietology, red tea from ancient trees belongs to products of “warm nature” — it warms, improves qi and blood circulation.
• Cognitive functions: L-theanine promotes relaxation and improved concentration.
• Mineral supplementation: Due to rich mineral composition of mountain forest soils, tea contains significant amounts of potassium, magnesium and manganese — elements important for nervous system, bone tissue and energy metabolism.
• Skin condition: Antioxidant properties of polyphenols combined with B-group vitamins support skin health, helping reduce oxidative stress.
• Immune support: Zinc and selenium contained in tea leaves due to mineral richness of mountain forest soils contribute to maintaining body’s immune function.

9. Brewing:

• Water temperature: 90–95°C.
• Tea amount: 5–6 g per 100–120 ml (gongfu method). Large-leaf tea from ancient trees may require slightly more raw material than small-leaf tea.
• Teaware: Porcelain gàiwǎn (盖碗) — for maximum aroma development. Yixing teapot — adds additional softness and depth. Glass teapot — allows observing large leaf opening.
• Process:
  1. Warm teaware with hot water.
  2. Add tea, inhale aroma of heated leaves.
  3. Rinse — quick pour (2–3 sec), discard. For large-leaf tea with tight twist, rinsing is beneficial: it “awakens” the leaves.
  4. First infusion: 10–12 seconds.
  5. Second–fourth infusions: 10–15 seconds.
  6. From fifth infusion — increase time by 5–15 seconds.
  7. Quality Longji Hong Cha from ancient raw material withstands 8–12 infusions, gradually revealing increasingly deep nutty and woody tones.

10. Storage:

• Airtight, opaque container; dry, dark, cool place; temperature 15–25°C.
• Optimal consumption period — 12–24 months. Due to high extractive substance content, quality batches from ancient raw material can be stored and “aged” up to 2–3 years, acquiring softer, rounder profile.
• Do not store in refrigerator and away from strongly scented products.

11. Price and Counterfeits:

• Price category: Longji Hong Cha from authentic ancient raw material is a niche and relatively expensive product: approximately 200–500+ yuan per 500 g for standard batches, up to several thousand yuan for premium batches from “tea king” trees. Cost is determined by tree age, growing altitude, harvest standard and batch volume (with single annual harvest, volumes are small).
• How to avoid counterfeits:
  1. Buy from certified producers in Longsheng County. Presence of geographical indication marking “龙脊茶” (AGI2015-02-1699) — key indicator.
  2. Evaluate leaves: large, whole, tightly twisted tea particles — sign of ancient raw material; small, fragmented leaves with abundant dust — sign of plantation tea.
  3. Check aroma: tea from ancient trees has deep, “voluminous” aroma with forest notes; plantation analog — flatter and more straightforward.
  4. Evaluate spent leaves: whole, fleshy, large leaves — authentic ancient tea; small, thin leaves — substitution.
  5. Be cautious of products sold under “龙脊古树红茶” brand at suspiciously low prices — actual production volume is limited.

12. Interesting Facts:

• Longji Hong Cha is literally “tea picked on a tree”: pickers climb trunks and branches to heights of several meters to reach tender shoots. This makes the picking process labor-intensive and somewhat extreme.
• The Longji Mountains preserve a “tea king tree” (茶王) over 500 years old. According to local tea companies, trees older than 150 years number at least 3,000, and by 2025 estimates — more than 30,000 throughout the landscape zone.
• In the Qing era, local peasants documented the status of Longji tea as court tribute through a stone stele, which one resident, Pān Tiānhóng (潘天红), literally carried on his back from Guilin Prefecture — the stele with judicial decision protecting peasants’ right to freely trade tea stands in the village to this day (broken during Xianfeng period).
• Longji tea is among the “四宝” (“Four Treasures of Longji”) — alongside rice, water, and rice wine.
• The production territory of Longji Hong Cha coincides with the zone of world-famous Lóngjí rice terraces (龙脊梯田), included in the registry of important agricultural heritage — tea and rice have coexisted in the same landscape for centuries.
• In 2020, tradition inheritor Xie Fufu began developing “tea cuisine” (茶膳, chá shàn) — dishes with added Longji tea leaves: tea bamboo chicken, salads with tea leaves. This helps popularize tea among tourists who annually visit the terraces (more than 1.15 million people in 2024).
• Longji tea is one of the few in China for which the problem of “climbing trees” is relevant — local pickers practice rock climbing skills on tea tree trunks, making the tea picker profession in Longji physically unique.

13. Comparison with Other Ancient Tree Red Teas:

• Diān Hóng Gù Shǔ (滇红古树, Diānhóng Gǔshù): Red tea from ancient trees of Yunnan (C. sinensis var. assamica). Usually more powerful, malty, with bright golden tips. Longji Hong Cha — more delicate, refined, with more pronounced “forest” note and less sweetness intensity.
• Yíhóng Gōngfū (宜红工夫, Yíhóng Gōngfū): Classic gongfu red tea from Hubei based on small-leaf cultivars. Noticeably different from Longji: finer twist, brighter honey aroma, less pronounced “depth” and minerality. Yihong — “urban,” refined; Longji — “mountain,” natural.
• Jiǔcéng Shān Hóng Chá (九层山红茶): Taiwanese red tea from ancient trees. Comparable in concept (wild raw material, limited harvest), but differs in completely different terroir and more pronounced floral notes.

In Conclusion:

Longji Hong Cha is one of China’s most distinctive red teas: behind each tea particle stands not plantation agrotechnology, but centuries of human-forest coexistence in the “Dragon’s Backbone” mountains. Deep, velvety taste with forest and nutty tones, large fleshy leaves collected once a year from ancient trees — all this makes Longji Hong Cha a tea for unhurried, meditative tea drinking. It will suit connoisseurs seeking an alternative to Yunnan gushu red teas and wanting to explore the little-known but vibrant tea tradition of mountainous Guangxi.