From Intangible Heritage to Global Matcha Powerhouse: How This Southwest Province Made It

It's time to rediscover Guizhou's spring tea.

What comes to mind when you think of spring in Guizhou? The over 5,000 acres of rapeseed flowers in Xingyi's Wanfenglin, complementing the local villages? Or the vibrant, hundred-mile stretch of wild azalea forests in Bijie, blooming in deep red, snow white, apricot red, and lilac hues?

For tea lovers, it's Guizhou's spring tea. Every spring marks a long-awaited feast for tea enthusiasts, especially the spring tea from Guizhou's remote mountains. Duyun Maojian, one of China's top ten famous teas, is known for its fresh and tender aroma, while Meitan Cuiya, a multiple national gold medalist, is celebrated for its enduring chestnut fragrance.

Mazipo Tea Plantation in Meitan County, Zunyi.

In recent years, Guizhou has also vigorously developed its matcha industry. At the foot of the world natural heritage site Fanjingshan in Tongren's Jiangkou County, a "World Matcha Super Factory" has been established, producing high-quality "European Standard Matcha" for export, spreading the aroma of Chinese matcha worldwide.

With spring in full bloom, it's time to rediscover Guizhou's spring tea.

Matcha brewed using the Song Dynasty tea-whisking method.

Not just Duyun Maojian and Meitan Cuiya.

The world looks to China for tea, and China looks to Guizhou for its tea origins.

Photo provided by Guizhou Pictorial, photographed by Li Liya.

In 1980, an ancient tea seed fossil dating back 1.64 million years was discovered at the border of Qinglong and Pu'an counties in Guizhou. This fossil of Camellia tetracocca, verified as the world's oldest tea fossil, pushed the origin of tea back by a million years, solidifying Guizhou's status as the undisputed "World Tea Origin." Guizhou now boasts over 7 million acres of tea plantations, including 18 large-scale (over 1,000 acres) and relatively concentrated ancient tea gardens, with more than 1.2 million ancient tea trees.

Expansive tea gardens in Guizhou's mountains.

Photo by Tianqi TIANQI.

Why Guizhou? Known as the "Kingdom of Paleontology," Guizhou's hundreds of millions of years of geological evolution have allowed tea seeds to flourish into vast tea forests. Located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau with an average altitude of 1,100 meters, Guizhou's terrain—80% mountains, 10% water, and 10% farmland—combined with its high altitude, low latitude, limited sunlight, and misty conditions create an ideal environment for tea trees to thrive.

These geographical advantages don't just result in vast tea plantations but also varying harvest times and uniquely diverse flavors. Each tea garden's distinct location, terrain, soil, climate, and microbial environment give rise to different Guizhou teas, with Duyun Maojian and Meitan Cuiya standing out as the finest spring teas.

Freshly picked spring tea in Meitan's tea fields.

The production of Duyun Maojian involves five steps: fixation, rolling, shaping, tip extraction, and drying—all done seamlessly in a wok. The resulting tea features tightly curled leaves with visible white tips and a vibrant green hue. When brewed, it yields a clear, yellowish-green liquor with a fresh, tender aroma reminiscent of chicken broth. Tea authority Professor Zhuang Wanfang once praised it: "The fragrant snow buds of Duyun rival Longjing and Biluochun." This fishhook-shaped tea has won over 300 domestic and international awards, including a gold medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition alongside Moutai, and was named one of China's "Top Ten Famous Teas" at the 1982 National Famous Tea Competition in Changsha, Hunan.

Hand-roasting Duyun Maojian.

On November 29 last year, UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribed "Traditional Tea Processing Techniques and Associated Social Practices in China" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with Duyun Maojian tea-making techniques included as one of the items.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage "Duyun Maojian Tea-Making Techniques."

Meitan Cuiya, a Chinese National Geographical Indication Product that has won numerous national gold medals and holds titles such as one of Guizhou's "Four Famous Teas" and "Ten Famous Teas." Meitan Cuiya boasts a green, clear liquor with a fresh and refreshing taste, most notably its rich and enduring chestnut aroma. Such delightful flavors owe partly to Guizhou's natural landscapes, much like Duyun Maojian, and partly to historical serendipity and the dedication of tea artisans.

In 1939, the Central Experimental Tea Farm of the Republic of China and the relocated National Zhejiang University arrived in Meitan. The tea farm invited two masters from Hangzhou to teach the stir-frying techniques of West Lake Longjing. Adapting to the characteristics of Meitan tea leaves, they developed Meitan Longjing, which later evolved into "Meijiang Tea" and "Meijiang Cuipian." By the 1990s, the nationally renowned "Meitan Cuiya" was born.

Elementary school students pass by the former site of Zhejiang University in the morning.

Meitan, under the jurisdiction of Zunyi City in Guizhou Province, is a tea industry powerhouse that has defeated Fujian's Anxi County (famous for Tieguanyin) and Hunan's Anhua County (renowned for dark tea) to rank first in the "Top 100 Tea-Producing Counties" for three consecutive years. The people of Meitan have also created a tea garden marvel known as the "China Tea Sea." Guizhou dominates with 7 million mu (about 1.16 million acres) of tea gardens, with the iconic Yongxing Tea Sea in Meitan—also called the China Tea Sea—being the world's largest contiguous tea garden, spanning nearly 43,000 mu (about 7,100 acres). Tea trees undulate along the mountainous terrain like waves, forming a true green ocean.

The Yongxing Tea Plantation in Meitan, where tea trees ripple like ocean waves.

In fact, tea trees are not only found in Meitan but throughout Guizhou's mountains and forests. Every Guizhou child growing up near tea gardens has darted through the tea bushes, picking fresh tea buds with a "click-clack" sound—both to earn pocket money and for childhood fun. To let more people experience the joy of tea picking, many tea gardens in Guizhou now offer tea tourism activities, where visitors can not only savor fine Guizhou tea but also pick tea leaves themselves, participate in tea production, and stay in tea gardens to immerse in Guizhou's tea culture.

In the demonstration area of the EU-standard tea garden construction in Xinglong Town, Meitan County, Guizhou Province,

Tourists picking tea surrounded by cherry blossoms.

30 seconds to experience the beauty of Guizhou's spring tea.

It's the collision of tradition and modernity in Guizhou's spring tea.

Continuing the legend of Guizhou's spring tea is Guizhou matcha.

Matcha originated in China's Sui Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and peaked in the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty marked the pinnacle of China's elegant tea culture, with the "Dian Cha" method being the origin of today's globally popular matcha. Dian Cha, as the name suggests, involves placing powdered tea in a cup, pouring boiling water over it, and then drinking it. Though simple in description, the technique is highly refined.

Tea painting (Cha Bai Xi) is an art of drawing with water on the basis of Dian Cha,

The above painting depicts Fanjing Mountain's Mushroom Stone, one of Guizhou's iconic landmarks.

First is "roasting the tea." The tea cake is soaked, its surface oil scraped off, then dried by roasting. The cake is broken into pieces and ground into powder in a tea mill. The powdered tea is sifted finely in a tea sieve—a step called "sieving the tea." Next is "waiting for the water." The temperature of boiling water is crucial for Dian Cha. Then, the teacup is preheated, known as "warming the cup (Xie Zhan)," to enhance the tea's aroma. Finally, a spoonful of tea powder is mixed with a small amount of boiling water into a smooth paste. More boiling water is poured while stirring rapidly with a tea whisk or chasen until a thick, white foam—referred to by the ancients as "Mo Bo"—forms on the surface. A perfect cup of tea, rich in color, taste, and aroma, is now ready.

Whisking rapidly with a chasen to create foam (Mo Bo),

Returning to the present, matcha, evolved from Song Dynasty Dian Cha, has taken root in Guizhou and thrived in this "World Tea Origin." This is both a historical coincidence and the inevitable result of the hard work of Guizhou's people on this fertile land. In 2015, Guizhou began exploring the feasibility of a matcha industry. By 2017, Jiangkou County in Tongren City introduced Guizhou Tongren Guicha Tea Co., Ltd., establishing a high-standard matcha base. Soon after, a refined matcha workshop with an annual output of 4,000 tons was put into operation—now the world's largest single matcha production facility.

Also in 2018, Tongren was awarded the titles of "China's Matcha Capital" and "China's High-Quality Matcha Base," marking the beginning of Guizhou matcha's meteoric rise. Today, Guizhou matcha accounts for a quarter of China's total matcha production, and its "EU-standard matcha" is exported to France, Russia, and other regions.

EU-standard matcha, Guizhou's new calling card.

Photo/Wu Xuewen

Why matcha? It all starts with matcha itself. Matcha is a powdered tea product made from tea leaves of varieties suitable for tencha production, cultivated under shade. The leaves undergo steam fixation, are unrolled, dried with radiant heat, and then ground into fine powder.

Many assume matcha is simply powdered green tea, but this is incorrect. Matcha is distinct from green tea powder, evident in their appearance: matcha is vibrant green, while green tea powder tends to be yellowish. In terms of fineness, matcha meets national standards with a particle size exceeding 800 mesh (18 microns), whereas green tea powder typically ranges between 100–300 mesh, much coarser than matcha.

Mechanized tea leaf harvesting and electric stone mill processing.

Delving deeper into the process reveals even greater differences. Ordinary green tea powder employs fixation methods like pan-firing, baking, or sun-drying, while matcha preserves the traditional Tang- and Song-style steam fixation, which not only retains the tea’s original color but also reduces bitterness. For cultivation, regular green tea requires standard care, but matcha tea plants undergo shading to reduce astringency, yielding a sweeter flavor. Additionally, to pass over 500 EU export tests, matcha tea gardens must adhere to stringent high-standard farming practices.

Zunyi matcha原料茶园 covered with shade cloth.

These standards, combined with Guizhou’s unique geography, seem almost unfair. Guizhou has scant sunlight and frequent fog, especially in its northern and eastern regions, with annual sunshine under 1,000 hours—a natural advantage for the crucial shading step in matcha production.

Moreover, even before prioritizing matcha, Guizhou tea emphasized cleanliness and ecology. It was the first province to ban water-soluble pesticides and glyphosate in tea gardens, expanding the prohibited pesticide list from 66 to 128, aligning perfectly with matcha’s high standards. Without herbicides, how is nutrition ensured? The answer lies in “using grass to suppress grass.” Guizhou promotes green pest control, creating “forest-shrub-grass” composite eco-tea gardens planted with special clover that retains soil fertility and moisture while inhibiting weeds without competing for nutrients.

Figure 1: Tea plants under shade.

Figure 2: Clover for “using grass to suppress grass” in tea gardens.

Guizhou’s thriving matcha industry stems from its unique geography, the hard work of local tea farmers, and rapid advancements in food processing technology. Today, Guizhou’s mountains host not only vast ancient tea trees but also experimental fields researching future matcha-specific varieties. Technicians regularly inspect the gardens, monitor growth, schedule harvests, and oversee picking processes—ensuring machines don’t cut too deep, as excess stems would impair flavor.

Harvesting tea leaves for matcha production.

Every sip of matcha reflects the meticulous care of tea farmers.

Photo by Wu Xuewen.

Unlike the pristine tea gardens, Guizhou’s matcha factories present a different scene. In Tongren’s Jiangkou, the “Capital of Chinese Matcha,” lies the world’s largest单体 matcha workshop: 278 meters long, 48 meters wide, with three top-tier automated production lines yielding 10 tons daily and over 4,000 tons annually. The workshop’s cleanliness meets pharmaceutical-grade 100,000-class sterile standards (≤3.52 million particles ≥0.5μm per cubic meter—fewer particles mean fewer contaminants). Nearly 90% of refining is automated, producing EU-standard matcha averaging 1,000 mesh (up to 1,300 mesh), truly a “world matcha super factory.”

Spotless production lines in a matcha factory.

The fundamental requirement for high-quality matcha.

Courtesy of Guizhou Tea Group.

Uniformly high-standard Guizhou spring tea.

Spring symbolizes vitality and hope, and Guizhou spring tea is no exception. On this fertile land, tea trees flourish, transformed by diligent locals into fragrant spring tea and vibrant matcha powder, showcasing Guizhou’s charm to the world.

Guizhou spring tea going global is best exemplified by matcha. Rich in theanine, polyphenols, rutin, caffeine, and chlorophyll, paired with Guizhou’s premium quality, it can be brewed via Song-era whisking or used in diverse food and daily products.

It is widely used in contemporary food processing.

For example, many coffee shops and milk tea stores in big cities now use Guizhou matcha as an ingredient to make cups of matcha lattes and matcha milk tea. A matcha latte is a beverage made by mixing matcha powder with milk, where the richness of milk blends with the refreshing aroma of matcha, becoming one of the most sought-after drinks. The delicacy from the deep mountains of Guizhou has long captured the taste buds of today's youth.

Matcha is also a key element in current popular beverages.

With the popularity of matcha, dessert shops have added various matcha elements. Matcha powder mixed into cakes not only gives them a vibrant green color but also emits a rich matcha fragrance. Matcha can also be added to chocolate to create matcha-flavored raw chocolate, where the unique seaweed aroma of matcha blends with the richness of chocolate, offering a sweet but not cloying taste that makes it irresistible. Matcha-flavored yogurt and pudding also benefit from the high-quality Guizhou matcha, delivering a delicate and refreshing texture.

Figure 1-2: Chocolate and pastries flavored with matcha.

In shopping malls, you can discover even more possibilities for matcha. Since matcha helps the skin absorb more active ingredients in skincare products, many premium domestic cosmetics now incorporate matcha for its benefits.

Guizhou matcha not only satisfies people's taste buds with its high-quality modern production but also brings greater rewards to local tea farmers. For instance, the Guizhou Tea Company has signed alliance agreements with multiple tea producers in Jiangkou County, driving the rapid development of the county's matcha industry. By the end of 2021, it directly created jobs for 8,700 people, increasing their average income by over 4,330 yuan.

The possibilities for using matcha in cuisine are endless.

Photo provided by Guizhou Tianma Media Co., Ltd.

From the 1.64-million-year-old ancient tea seed fossil to the Duyun Maojian tea of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Meitan Cuiya tea created in the 1990s, and now Guizhou matcha, thanks to Guizhou's unified high standards and strict requirements for tea, the story of Guizhou spring tea continues.

Guizhou tea farmers harvesting spring tea.

Cover image | Guizhou Tea Group

Back cover | Tianqi TIANQI