Hui Ming tea (惠明茶, Huì Míng Chá) also called Jingning Hui Ming tea is a kind of Chinese green tea. It is native to the Jingning County of Zhejiang Province and is a specialty of Jingning. It is also a national geographical indication product of China.
Hui Ming tea is a famous traditional tea in Zhejiang and was regarded as a tribute tea in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
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History of Hui Ming Tea
In 861 (during the Tang Dynasty), a monk named Hui Ming built a temple called Hui Ming Temple. He and some tea farmers planted tea trees around the temple.
Later, they created a new tea called Hui Ming tea, which is named after the monk’s name. With the popularity of Hui Ming tea, the village where Hui Ming Temple is located is also named Hui Ming Village, which is in Jingning County.
According to historical records, Hui Ming tea had been regarded as a tribute tea in 1482 (during the Ming Dynasty). And the local officials paid a kilogram of Hui Ming tea to the imperial court every year.
In 1915, Hui Ming tea won the first-class certificate and gold award at the World Expo in San Francisco to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal.
From 1979 to 1982, it was selected as a high-quality famous tea in Zhejiang Province for four consecutive years.
Characteristics of Hui Ming Tea
Jingning County is known as the “natural oxygen bar” because of its large mountain area, high forest coverage, lush forests, and fresh air. The tea trees are distributed in the middle and high mountains with an altitude of 300-700m.
The climate is humid and mild, the rainfall is abundant, and the soil is deep and fertile, which is very conducive to the growth of tea trees, especially the accumulation of nitrogen-containing substances, amino acids, catechins, and aromatic substances in tea.
The picking time of Hui Ming tea is from March to October. According to the picking season, Hui Ming tea can be classified into spring tea (March, April, May), summer tea (June), and autumn tea (September, October).
The dried Hui Ming tea is curled, green, and covered with white hairs. After brewing, the tea liquid looks clear and light green and has an orchid fragrance or fruit fragrance.
Many people who have tasted Hui Ming tea praised it “the first cup is light, the second is fresh, the third is mellow, and the fourth is aftertaste”.
Benefits of Hui Ming Tea
The amino acid content of Huiming tea is more than 2.5%, the content of tea polyphenols is more than 16%, and the content of water extract is more than 40%.
The water extract includes vitamins, soluble sugar, soluble protein, pectin, trace elements, free amino acids, etc. The content of the water extract reflects the quality of tea.
Benefits of Hui Ming tea:
- Detox
- Diuretic
- Weight loss
- Anti-cancer
- Anti-aging
- Antibacterial
- Anti-inflammatory
- Lower blood sugar
- Lower blood lipids