Xinyang Maojian Tea

Maojian is a kind of green tea that grows on the steep Dabie Mountains in Xinyang, Henan Province. Shrouded by lush trees and perennial clouds and fogs, the mountains have an average annual temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and an average annual rainfall of 1,200 millimeters, which, coupled with the fertile soil and deep humus, provide the tea trees with adequate nourishment.

Xinyang Maojian tea boasts high quality, slender bright green leaves, transparent green soup, and refreshing fragrance. Containing coarse fiber, tea polyphenols, and caffeine, it can help counter bacteria and inflammation, reduce blood pressure and blood fat, refresh the mind, clear internal heat and pathogenic factors, reduce eye fatigue, and boost immunity.

Xinyang has a long history of tea planting. Local tea production bloomed in the Tang Dynasty, and the tea leaves were selected as a tribute to the imperial court for their superior quality. Lu Yu (733-c. 804), the Sage of Tea, put Xinyang Maojian on the list of best teas of the Tang Dynasty in his Cha Jing (Classic of Tea). Su Dongpo (1037- 1101), a great literary master of the Song Dynasty, praised the Xinyang tea "the best in the south of the Huaihe River."

Xinyang Maojian won a gold medal at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition and was rated one of the 10 best teas in China in 1958. In 2014, the Xinyang Maojian tea processing technique was put on the list of national intangible cultural heritage.

信陽毛尖

中國綠茶信陽毛尖，產于河南省大別山區的信陽市浉河區（原信陽市）、平橋區（原信陽縣）和羅山縣。這里地勢高峻、峰巒疊翠，一年四季常常云霧彌漫，年平均氣溫在15℃左右，年平均降水量在1200毫米上下，肥沃的土壤、深厚的腐殖質，為茶樹的生長提供了充足的養分。

信陽毛尖品質高上，外形細秀勻直，色澤翠綠，內質湯色嫩綠鮮亮，香氣鮮嫩高爽，葉底嫩綠明亮細嫩。其含有粗纖維、茶多酚、咖啡因等成分，對抗菌消炎、降血壓、降血脂、提神醒腦、清熱解毒、清心明目、增強免疫力等有輔助功效。

信陽茶葉種植歷史悠久，從唐朝開始，茶葉生產便進入興盛時期，所產茶葉品質上乘，列為貢品。“茶圣”陸羽在《茶經》中把信陽毛尖列為唐朝名茶。宋朝大文學家蘇東坡曾說，“淮南茶，信陽第一”。信陽毛尖于1915年榮獲巴拿馬萬國博覽會金獎，1958年被評為中國十大名茶之一。2014年，信陽毛尖茶制作技藝入選國家級非物質文化遺產名錄。