Behind the leaves
Some tea trees are native, others have traveled. Explore the varietals grown in each terroir, and how terroir and plant combine to shape the cup, guided by the master’s hand.
Wuyi oolong tea registry
Reconstructing the Named Bush Tradition of the Wuyi Mountains
The mountains of Wǔyí Shān (武夷山) in northern Fujian preserve one of the most remarkable cultivar traditions in the history of tea. For centuries, tea gardens in these mountains were planted with cài chá ( 菜茶) — seed-grown tea populations containing immense genetic diversity. Unlike modern tea plantations dominated by standardized clones, early Wuyi tea fields consisted of thousands of genetically different plants. When farmers discovered a bush with exceptional fragrance, vigor, or character, it was often marked and propagated. Such plants were frequently given names. Some names referred to flowers, animals, or plants. Others evoked mythological figures, auspicious objects, historical characters, or poetic imagery. Over generations this practice produced a unique phenomenon: tea bushes became individually named plants. Local tradition later described this cultural landscape as the world of míng cóng (名丛)—the named bushes of Wuyi.
Historical monographs, local gazetteers, and modern botanical surveys record hundreds of such names. Some represent stable cultivars still planted today; others originally referred to individual bushes preserved in particular valleys or cliffs. Taken together, these names form a botanical and cultural archive of Wuyi tea history. The catalogue below gathers cultivar names recorded across historical literature, tea surveys, and cultivar documentation. The intention is not to impose a rigid botanical classification, but to preserve the widest possible record of names that have appeared in the Wuyi tea tradition.
I. The Four Famous Bushes : sì dà míng cóng - 四大名丛
- 大红袍 · Dà Hóng Páo
- 白鸡冠 · Bái Jī Guān
- 铁罗汉 · Tiě Luó Hàn
- 水金龟 · Shuǐ Jīn Guī
II. Traditional Bushes - míng cóng - 名丛
|
千年矮 · Qiān Nián Ǎi |
石中玉 · Shí Zhōng Yù |
四季香 · Sì Jì Xiāng |
|
正白毫 · Zhèng Bái Háo |
半畔菊 · Bàn Pàn Jú |
双如意 · Shuāng Rú Yì |
|
七宝丹 · Qī Bǎo Dān |
素心兰 · Sù Xīn Lán |
虎爪黄 · Hǔ Zhuǎ Huáng |
III. Introduced Cultivars
水仙 · Shuǐ Xiān
佛手 · Fó Shǒu
奇兰 · Qí Lán
梅占 · Méi Zhàn
毛蟹 · Máo Xiè
铁观音 · Tiě Guān Yīn
黄旦 · Huáng Dàn
本山 · Běn Shān
大叶乌龙 · Dà Yè Wū Lóng
矮脚乌龙 · Ǎi Jiǎo Wū Lóng
IV - Modern Hybrid Cultivars
悦茗香 · Yuè Míng Xiāng (101)
黄观音 · Huáng Guān Yīn (105)
紫牡丹 · Zǐ Mǔ Dān (111)
银凤凰 · Yín Fèng Huáng (121)
金牡丹 · Jīn Mǔ Dān (203)
金观音 · Jīn Guān Yīn (204)
金玫瑰 · Jīn Méi Guī (212)
春兰 · Chūn Lán (301)
紫红袍 · Zǐ Hóng Páo (303)
丹桂 · Dān Guì (304)
瑞香 · Ruì Xiāng (305)
黄玫瑰 · Huáng Méi Guī (506)
References
Luó Shèngcái (罗盛财) — Wuyi Yancha Mingcong Lu (武夷岩茶名丛录)
Lín Fùquán (林馥泉) — Wuyi Chaye Zhi Shengchan Zhizao Ji Yunxiao (武夷茶叶之生产制造及运销), 1943
Wuyi Shan Gazetteer — Wuyishan Zhi (武夷山市志)
Fujian Tea Cultivar Records — Fujian Chashu Pinzhong Zhi (福建茶树品种志)
Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences — Tea Research Institute publications
Wuyi Famous Bush Garden Germplasm Surveys — (武夷山名丛园资源调查)
