Suichuan Gogunao Tea: A Century of Gold Medals and Trade Secrets

Abstract

The brand history of Suichuan Gogunao Tea is a trade legend spanning over two centuries. From its founding in the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty (1796-1820) by Liang Weiyi on Gogunao Mountain to winning the gold medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, the tea leaped from a family secret to a world-renowned product. By 1990, the total tea output of Suichuan County reached 209 tons, with the output value of Gogunao tea exceeding 2 million yuan. This article, based on the Suichuan County Chronicle, reconstructs the Suichuan Gogunao tea history, the Panama Gold Medal tea, and the Jiangxi tea-making heritage.

Geographic Connections

Suichuan County, Tanghu Town, Gogunao Mountain, Chashan Village, Lipai Ferry, Nanjing, San Francisco (USA), Nanxiong (Guangdong), Shaoguan, Nanchang.

I. Origins: From Nanjing’s Embers to the Verdure of Gogunao

The birth of Gogunao tea is shrouded in legend, with roots tracing back to the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty (1796-1820). Liang Weiyi, a timber merchant from Suichuan, lost all his assets in a major flood in Nanjing and was left destitute. By chance, he married a woman surnamed Yang from Nanjing, who was an expert in tea-making.

In the late Jiaqing period, Liang and his wife returned to Suichuan with tea seeds and settled on Gogunao Mountain, at an altitude of over 900 meters. This area, characterized by dense forests, persistent mist, and an average annual temperature between 15.1°C and 18.7°C, provided a perfect microclimate for tea cultivation. The first generation of the Liang family used the exquisite techniques brought by Yang to create this superior tea. According to the Suichuan County Chronicle, it was not until 1943 (the 32nd year of the Republic) that Liang Demei, the 5th generation descendant, created a seal for brand protection to prevent counterfeits, marking the early bud of brand awareness.

II. Triumph: The 1915 San Francisco Glory and Trade Expansion

The year 1915 (the 4th year of the Republic) was a landmark year in the trade history of Gogunao tea. Li Yushan, a local gentry and merchant, sent several catties of Gogunao tea to San Francisco for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Amidst thousands of global merchants, Gogunao tea won the gold medal and certificate for its characteristics of being “tightly knotted, jade-green in color, and covered in white fuzz”.

This victory immediately boosted the international reputation of Gogunao tea. In 1930 (the 19th year of the Republic), the tea participated in the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Joint Exposition and won the first-class award, at which time it was also known as “Yushan Tea”. The trade route subsequently extended from the Gan South mountains to Nanxiong and Shaoguan in Guangdong. By 1942, despite the challenges of the war, Gogunao tea sold for as high as 3 yuan in Faber currency per tael and was often in short supply. These precise figures prove its high-end premium position in the modern tea market.

III. Craftsmanship: Five Generations of Secrets and Socialization

For a long time, the secret techniques of Gogunao tea were considered family treasures, following the ancestral rule that “outsiders shall not inquire”. While this monopoly protected quality, it limited early trade scale. In 1968, Liang Qigui, the 6th generation descendant, broke tradition by making the family techniques public, starting the socialization of the craft.

The production of Gogunao tea is extremely meticulous: after picking, the fresh leaves must undergo eight core processes, including sorting, withering, kill-green (pan-firing), initial rolling, second firing, re-rolling, shaping/fuzz-raising, and final drying. Starting in 1983, the Tanghu Commune began large-scale training classes, eventually training over 300 technical personnel proficient in Gogunao tea processing. This transition from “family secret” to “standardized technology” directly supported the later industrial explosion. In 1985, these skills helped Gogunao tea maintain its title as a High-Quality Traditional Tea in the provincial evaluation.

IV. Revitalization: From a Few Catties to a Thirty-Ton Scale

In the early years of the People’s Republic, the production of Gogunao tea was extremely low, with an annual output of only a few dozen catties. In 1957, with government support and price adjustments, output initially recovered to 65 kg. In 1964, the Jian Prefecture allocated 12,000 yuan to support the establishment of the Suichuan Gogunao Tea Factory, involving eight educated youths, which laid the organizational foundation for large-scale trade.

In the 1980s, the industrial scale saw geometric growth. In 1981, the Tanghu People’s Commune opened 220 mu of new tea gardens on Gogunao Mountain. In 1988, using 204,000 yuan in poverty alleviation loans, the tea factory partnered with farmers to establish joint-venture branches, adding 500 mu of cultivation that year. By 1990, the tea garden area in Tanghu Town reached 3,159 mu, with Gogunao tea production hitting 32,200 kg and an annual output value exceeding 2 million yuan, completing the transformation from a workshop to a modern industry.

The modern commercialization of Gogunao tea is inseparable from strict intellectual property protection. In 1986, Suichuan County first registered the “Tanghu” trademark for anti-counterfeiting. In 1990, it was officially renamed the “Gogunao” trademark, transitioning from crude packaging to diverse, refined packaging to suit the modern consumer market.

In 1982, Gogunao tea was named one of the Eight Great Teas of Jiangxi; in 1988, it won the gold medal at the 1st China Food Expo in Beijing. Regarding trade channels, the tea was no longer confined to traditional Guangdong routes but was exported to Europe, America, and Southeast Asia through hubs in Nanchang, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. By 1990, the total foreign trade export value of Suichuan County reached 7.62 million yuan, with pressed duck, kumquat, and Gogunao tea forming the “three pillars” of local trade.