Quick Answer: What Is Jingting Lvxue Tea?
Jingting Lvxue（敬亭绿雪，jìngtíng lǜxuě）is a baked green tea associated with Jingting Mountain in Xuancheng, Anhui. Its English name, Green Snow, evokes green shoots with fine white down.[1][2]
- Leaf: Tender, relatively straight shoots, often described as sparrow-tongue shaped.
- Craft: Heat fixation, shaping and drying create the finished tea.
- Cup: Delicate fragrance and a mellow finish.[2]
White leaf hairs do not make it white tea. “Snow” is an appearance comparison, not a required added ingredient.
Green shoots, pale down and the way the leaf opens in water give this tea its visual identity. Its modern revival adds a different story.
Green Snow, Jingting Mountain and a Modern Revival
The name pairs Jingting Mountain with an image of white hairs moving among green leaves in water. A separate tale about a girl called Lvxue is a folk legend, not an inventor’s biography.[1]
Accounts associate the tea’s earlier reputation with the Ming and Qing periods. Modern production includes a deliberate recovery effort. In 1972, the Jingtingshan Tea Farm began work to restore the tea, with guidance from tea specialist Chen Chuan and research by its production team. The recovery effort separates modern reconstruction from a claim of uninterrupted production.[3]
Later production work refined fresh-leaf acceptance, sorting and shaping. The farm also participated in a quality-traceability programme from 2008, connecting production records with information about the finished tea.[3]
How the Leaf Is Shaped and Dried
In the traditional farm account, fresh shoots are inspected, spread and sorted before processing. Heat fixation takes place in a pan. Gentle lifting and straightening then form the leaf, followed by cooling before drying.[1]
Drying has an initial and a finishing stage, with resting between them; the described method uses charcoal heat. It calls for care to avoid introducing smoke into the leaf.[1] Charcoal drying therefore should not be confused with an intention to make smoky tea.
Appearance, Aroma and Flavor
The leaf is straight, plump, green and downy. Regional aroma descriptions include chestnut, orchid and honeysuckle comparisons.[2] These comparisons describe aroma; they do not mean nuts or flowers were added.
“Sparrow tongue” is a shape description, so it cannot identify this tea by itself. The wider Que She tea naming question helps explain why similarly shaped leaves still need an origin and product name. Examine the dry shoots and brewed cup rather than relying on one poetic label.
Reading the Four Listed Grades
The municipal account lists four grades, summarized below. These descriptions cannot certify a packet from a photograph.[2]
| Listed grade | Dry-leaf description | Liquor description |
|---|---|---|
| Extra grade | Sparrow-tongue form; tender green, lustrous | Bright tender green |
| Grade 1 | Straight, slightly flat; evenly green | Bright green |
| Grade 2 | Fairly upright green leaf | Bright green |
| Grade 3 | Fairly tight green strands | Bright yellow-green |
Read the producer, harvest and origin label alongside the stated grade. A grade name and a personal preference for the cup are different judgments.
Brewing Jingting Lvxue Tea
A documented brewing programme for sparrow-tongue Jingting Lvxue specifies no preliminary rinse. Its quantities and infusion sequence appear below.[4] Treat this as that programme’s method, rather than a compulsory rule for every leaf grade or vessel.
- Measure 3.5 g of tea and 200 ml of water for this method.
- Infuse at 90°C for 90 seconds, then separate the drink from the leaf.
- If repeating the programme, use 70 seconds for the second infusion and 90 seconds for the third, at the same temperature.[4]
Follow your packet if it recommends a different method. A tea rinse is not needed merely because another tea uses one. When comparing packets, keep the vessel and brewing water consistent, and change one preparation variable at a time.
FAQs About Jingting Lvxue Tea
Is Jingting Lvxue a White Tea?
No. It is green tea; pale down on the shoots does not determine the tea-processing category.[2]
What Does the Snow in the Name Refer To?
It evokes the fine white hairs on green shoots and their movement in water, rather than literal snow.[1]
Is All Jingting Lvxue Hand-Made?
A traditional hand-processing account exists, but it does not establish how every modern packet was made. Check the producer’s actual method.
出典
[1] Anhui State Farms. 色纯如玉 品静似天——茗中珍品“敬亭绿雪”介绍
[2] Xuancheng Administration for Market Regulation. 宣城地理标志产品——敬亭绿雪
[3] Anhui State Farms. 一片叶子长出的产业故事——安徽农垦茶产业成长记
[4] Vorwerk Temial. 敬亭绿雪（雀舌型）：建议冲泡参数