Xiangxi Golden Black Tea — Imperial Grade
One Bud One Leaf, Post-Qingming, Golden Tips Throughout
Our flagship grade: one bud and one leaf, plucked in the first weeks after Qingming, with visible golden tips running through a tightly rolled, dark leaf.
About this grade
Imperial Grade is plucked to a strict one-bud-one-leaf standard in the weeks immediately following Qingming, when the Jishou gardens switch from green tea production to black. The leaf is withered on trays for 12–16 hours, rolled in three stages, oxidised under controlled humidity, then dried and refired.
The finished leaf is tightly twisted and dark, with pronounced golden tips (金毫) from the bud material. The liquor is deep amber and bright — the classic 红艳明亮 description used in Chinese tasting practice.
This is the grade buyers use to anchor a single-origin retail line, or to demonstrate origin quality at the top of a range. It is not a blending tea; the character is distinctive enough that it will dominate anything it is blended into.
Features
- Rated 风味茶 (flavour tea) with a score of 93.5 by the Jishou Tea Industry Association, July 2026
- Strict one-bud-one-leaf plucking standard
- Traceable to plot and picking date
- Certificate of analysis with every shipment
Packaging
- 5 kg foil bag, nitrogen flushed
- 10 kg foil-lined carton
- 25 kg foil-lined carton (bulk standard)
- Custom retail packing to buyer specification
Specifications
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Grade | Imperial (一芽一叶) |
| Cultivar | Huangjincha No.1 |
| Origin | Jishou, Xiangxi, Hunan |
| Altitude | 500 – 800 m |
| Harvest | Post-Qingming (mid-April to mid-May) |
| Process | Orthodox gongfu — withered, rolled, oxidised, dried |
| Moisture | ≤ 6.5% |
| Shelf life | 24 months from production |
| HS code | 0902.30 |
Cupping notes
| Point | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Dry leaf | Tightly twisted, dark brown with abundant golden tips |
| Liquor | Deep amber, bright and clear |
| Aroma | Honey, ripe stone fruit, faint orchid |
| Taste | Sweet and full, very low astringency, long finish |
| Infused leaf | Even, coppery, supple |
Who buys this
Specialty Tea Retailers
A geographical-indication origin with a documented story, verifiable composition data and grades that ladder from an entry bag to a micro-lot.
Private Label Brands
Full private-label service from leaf selection to finished retail pack, with you as brand owner throughout.
Hotels & Foodservice
2 g branded room sachets, pyramid bags for restaurant service and bulk leaf for banqueting — costed per cup, not per kilo.
Request a Sample
Samples are free of charge, freight collect. We send representative lots from current production with the matching certificate of analysis.
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