Anhui Province: Tea Production and Background
Anhui Province is an eastern Chinese province neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Anhui's growing areas are primarily in the Number 8 Hardiness Zone. Northern portions of the province are relatively flatter, giving way to more mountainous southern areas. Weather patterns can also be distinguished by north-south divisions, with northern areas being slightly cooler. Anhui is subject to a wet season, known as the Plum Rains that can run through May/June.
In terms of production volumes, Anhui Province may not be a top producer, but what it lacks in volume it makes up for in famous teas:
- Qimen (Keemun)- black tea from Qimen County. Probably the best know black tea from China
- Huang Shan Mao Feng - green teas from Huang Shan Mountain area. One of the classic green teas.
- Tai Ping Hou Kui - green tea from the Tai Ping lake region. A unique and delicate classic green tea.
- Lu An Gua Pian - green tea from Lu An municipal region.
- Huo Shan Huang Ya - yellow tea from Huo Shan mountain area.
- Young Hyson - green tea from south of the Yangtze (Changjiang) River, especially areas near the border of Zhejiang Province
View our Anhui teas in our Product Catalog and our Smallholder Selection.
China saw tea production increase at a CAGR of a little under 3% between 2015 and 2018. For the most part, production increased, with the exceptions of Fujian and Guizhou provinces. More dramatic growth in Jiangxi, Shandong, and Henan Provinces offset some of the declines and sluggish growth in larger producing provinces.
As shown on the graph below, Anhui was the lowest single producer by province listed, with just under 113,000 tons in 2015 and 135,000 in 2018.
While Anhui has established itself as a producer of quality green and black teas, it holds a slightly stronger position as a green tea producer. A wider gap exists between the leading total tea producing province (Fujian) 17.1% and Anhui's 4.8% of total tea. In terms of green tea production, the gap is smaller. The top green tea producing province (Yunnan) contributes 15.9% of all green tea compared to Anhui's 7% of total green tea.
Some of the tea varieties used to produce Anhui teas include:
Huang Shan Variety
Keemun varieties (2 or more)
Anhui No 1, 3, and 7 varieties
Wannong No. 95 and 111
Anhui Province established its reputation as an origin for prized teas, but not necessarily high volume teas. As such, look to Anhui more for quality teas with storied histories.
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