Chinese green tea geographical indications: EU and China

Protection of Chinese green tea names differs by tea. In the EU, Longjing Cha (龙井茶) has been a protected designation of origin (PDO) since 2011, and nine green teas, among them Lu’an Guapian (六安瓜片) and Anji Bai Cha (安吉白茶), have been protected since 1 March 2021 by the first list of the EU–China agreement on geographical indications (GIs, 地理标志). Dongting Biluochun, Taiping Houkui and Huangshan Maofeng, on its second list, were not yet protected in October 2026, and Xinyang Maojian is on neither list; in China, all four have national GI standards, as Longjing has GB/T 18650-2008 (checked October 2026).

Where famous Chinese green tea names stand in the EU and in China

Famous Chinese green tea names: protection in the EU and national standard in China (sources: Council document 8361/20, Regulation (EU) No 449/2011, eAmbrosia, std.samr.gov.cn; checked 13 October 2026)

“Pending”: not in the EU register on 13 October 2026. “None”: no national standard under that name on China’s standards platform.

Two routes into EU protection: a 2011 registration and the 2020 agreement

The EU registered Longjing Cha as a PDO, on China’s application, by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 449/2011 of 6 May 2011, with three other Chinese names, none of them a tea; published on 11 May 2011, the regulation entered into force on 31 May 2011.

The EU–China agreement, signed on 14 September 2020 and in force since 1 March 2021, works in two phases:

• First list (Annex III): 100 Chinese names that the EU undertook to protect from entry into force (Articles 2 and 5). China in turn protects 96 EU names (Annex IV).
• Second list (Annex V): 175 more Chinese names, and 175 EU names in Annex VI, that “will be processed” during the agreement’s first four years (Article 3), by 1 March 2025 (The Tea Trade’s calculation). A second-list name is protected once the agreement’s joint committee has added it to Annex III (Articles 6(5), 10 and 14).

Source: Council document 8361/20 and MOFCOM (agreement), Regulation (EU) No 449/2011, CNIPA (2025) and std.samr.gov.cn (checked 13 October 2026)

In December 2025, an article published by China’s intellectual property office (国家知识产权局, CNIPA) put the number of Chinese GIs protected in the EU at 110 and said that work on the second lists was progressing in an orderly way. On 13 October 2026, the EU register (eAmbrosia) held Longjing Cha and the nine first-list green teas but none of the 31 second-list teas, and the EU’s Official Journal had published no joint committee decision amending Annex III.

Nine green teas protected in the EU since 1 March 2021

Of the 100 names on the first list, 28 are classed as tea, one of them a chrysanthemum, Macheng Fu Bai Ju (麻城福白菊). Nine are green teas, as their names, their EU specifications or, for Gougunao, China’s Mission to the EU state:

Green teas on the first list (Annex III) (sources: Council document 8361/20; eAmbrosia specifications)

The fourth column shows China’s three routes of protection, all in the agreement’s Annex I: GI products (地理标志产品) approved by the former quality inspection administration (AQSIQ), certification marks (证明商标) and agricultural product GIs of the Ministry of Agriculture. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) gives each first-list tea an EU file number in the PGI series, such as PGI-CN-2686 for Lu’an Guapian.

Four more first-list teas are not counted: the specifications of Fenggang Xin Xi Cha (凤冈锌硒茶, No. 19) and Taishun San Bei Xiang Cha (泰顺三杯香茶, No. 76) name no tea type, and those of Guiping Xi Shan Cha (桂平西山茶, No. 89) and Naxi Te Zao Cha (纳溪特早茶, No. 93) could not be opened in October 2026.

Lu’an Guapian’s EU specification describes a melon-seed-shaped green tea made from single leaves, without buds or stalks, in six grades (ultimate, super first, super second, first, second and third), with no more than 6.0% moisture. Anji Bai Cha is a green tea despite its translation, “Anji White Tea”, as our guide to white tea grades explains.

Longjing Cha: an EU protected designation of origin since 2011

Longjing Cha’s specification, published on the UK register of protected food names, which took over the EU entry on 31 December 2020, describes a flat green tea from three growing regions in Zhejiang:

• Xihu: the Xihu (West Lake) scenic area of Hangzhou;
• Qiantang: Xiaoshan, Binjiang, Yuhang, Fuyang, Lin’an, Tonglu, Jiande and Chun’an, in Hangzhou;
• Yuezhou: Shaoxing, Yuecheng, Xinchang, Shengzhou and Zhuji, in Shaoxing, and towns of Shangyu, Pan’an, Dongyang and Tiantai.

It sets six grades, from special grade to grade V, with no more than 6.5% moisture for the top three grades and 7.0% for the others, at least 36.0% water extract and no more than 1.0% powder and broken tea; colouring and additives are barred. The proof of origin is a certificate for GI plantations, which growers obtain by declaring their plantation and which processors and sellers are to check. The sales package must show “Longjing Cha” and the growing region, and tea picked and processed in Xihu may be labelled “Xihu Longjing Cha”.

In China, the mandatory GB 18650-2002, a “designation of origin product” (原产地域产品) standard, gave way in 2008 to the voluntary GB/T 18650-2008, Product of geographical indication – Longjing tea. In the EU, a registered name such as Longjing Cha is protected against imitation and misuse, now under Regulation (EU) 2024/1143, according to the European Commission.

Biluochun, Huangshan Maofeng and Taiping Houkui: on the second list

Selected teas on the second list (Annex V) (source: Council document 8361/20)

Annex V names 31 teas. The other 24 are Wujiatai Gong Cha (伍家台贡茶, No. 6), Jingshan Cha (径山茶, 10), Qintang Mao Jian (覃塘毛尖, 25), Putuo Fo Cha (普陀佛茶, 28), Pinghe Bai Ya Qi Lan (平和白芽奇兰, 40), Baojing Huang Jin Cha (保靖黄金茶, 46), Wuzhishan Hong Cha (五指山红茶, 47), Beiyuan Gong Cha (北苑贡茶, 54), Yuexi Cui Lan (岳西翠兰, 94), Zhenghe Bai Cha (政和白茶, 97), Songxi Hong Cha (松溪红茶, 98), Fuliang Cha (浮梁茶, 106), Chibi Qing Zhuan Cha (赤壁青砖茶, 120), Yingshan Yun Wu Cha (英山云雾茶, 121), Xiangyang Gao Xiang Cha (襄阳高香茶, 122), Guzhang Mao Jian (古丈毛尖, 126), Liu Pao Cha (六堡茶, 133), Lingyun Bai Hao (凌云白毫, 134), Guliao Cha (姑辽茶, 135), Mengdingshan Cha (蒙顶山茶, 148, spelt “Mingdingshan” in the annex), Menghai Cha (勐海茶, 160), Ziyang Fu Xi Cha (紫阳富硒茶, 163), Jingyang Fu Zhuan Cha (泾阳茯砖茶, 164) and Hanzhong Xian Hao (汉中仙毫, 165). The annex states no tea type, though its translations name black tea for Wuzhishan and Songxi, white tea for Zhenghe and brick tea for Chibi and Jingyang. China’s national list of intangible cultural heritage files the making of Biluochun, Huangshan Maofeng, Taiping Houkui, Duyun Maojian and Xinyang Maojian under green tea making techniques (绿茶制作技艺).

Article 4 does not cover a second-list name until it is moved to Annex III, but one rule applies already: under Article 6(6), trade marks that consist of a second-list name, or its translation, for tea not from that area, applied for after 1 March 2021, are to be rejected.

China’s national GI standards for these teas

Most of these names are defined by national GI product standards, which fall under CNIPA. The first editions, such as GB 18957-2003 for Biluochun, were mandatory; their 2008 successors are voluntary (推荐性). Seven were kept in force at a review on 4 August 2025; the Huangshan Maofeng standard was sent for revision on 5 September 2025, and new editions are titled “quality requirements for product of geographical indication” (地理标志产品质量要求). For green tea grades in general, see our guide to Chinese green tea grades.

National GI standards for the teas in this guide (source: std.samr.gov.cn, checked 13 October 2026)

GB/T 19460-2026 and GB/T 19691-2026 were published on 28 September 2026, GB/T 20354-2026 on 31 March 2026; their texts were not checked. Xinyang Maojian, Lushan Yunwu and Laoshan green tea are on neither EU–China list.

What GI protection means for labels and trade names

For a name on the first list, Article 4 of the agreement bars, in the EU:

• any use for tea from elsewhere, even with the true origin shown, in translation or transcription, or with words such as “kind”, “type”, “style” or “imitation”;
• any use for tea that does not meet the specification, wherever it comes from;
• any misleading indication of origin, including, a footnote adds, imitation or a suggested link with the name on packaging, in advertising or in documents.

Article 5 gives a right of use: any tea that conforms to the specification and to Chinese law may carry the name, with no administrative approval of its users in the EU and no further charges, and may bear the EU symbol for a PDO or a PGI. Under Article 6, trade marks made of a protected name, or its translation, for tea of other origin are to be refused or invalidated if applied for after the name’s date of protection; earlier marks acquired in good faith may continue. Authorities enforce the protection, also at an interested party’s request (Article 7).

The specifications add rules of their own. Besides Longjing Cha’s label rule, Qiandao Yin Zhen’s asks producers who want the GI mark on their packs to apply to the cooperative that holds the registration; the other green tea specifications read set no labelling rule. Pujiang Que She’s lists packing and storing as its last production step, all completed within Pujiang county.

For a buyer, that makes four checks:

• Check the list. For a second-list name, check eAmbrosia before printing it.
• Ask for proof of origin, such as the Longjing plantation certificate or the producer’s right to use the GI or certification mark.
• Drop “style” and “type” next to a listed name for tea from elsewhere, and build no trade mark on it.
• Write the standard into the contract, with its year (GB/T 19460-2008 until 30 September 2027, for example), the grade and a sealed sample. Other label rules are in our guide to tea labelling requirements.

The other Chinese tea names in the agreement

The first list also protects four oolong names, Anxi Tie Guan Yin, Fenghuang Dan Cong, Wuyishan Da Hong Pao and Wuyi Yan Cha (see oolong tea grades); four black teas, among them Zhengshan Xiao Zhong, translated as Lapsang Souchong (see Chinese black tea grades); Fuding Bai Cha, a white tea; the jasmine teas of Fuzhou and Hengxian (see jasmine tea grades); Pu’er Cha; Anhua Hei Cha (Anhua Dark Tea); Huoshan Huang Ya (Huoshan Yellow Bud Tea); and the Macheng chrysanthemum.

This is general information, not legal advice: have a lawyer confirm how a protected name may appear on your packs.