At a glance
Qujiang Baopian refers here to a coin-like compressed dark tea associated with Hunan. Historical tea names, modern companies using the name and the exact product in your packet should be checked separately.
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | 渠江薄片 |
| Tea family | Dark tea |
| Associated origin | Associated with Xinhua and Anhua in Hunan; check the actual maker |
| Leaf form | Thin, coin-like compressed dark tea in this entry |
Taste and appearance
The original page describes a weighty, coin-like pressed form, black-brown colour, bright orange-red liquor and a mellow, full taste. Its infused-leaf comparison is thick and soft. The round shape is a presentation form, not a complete grade or authentication test.
The cover is the original dry-leaf illustration. These images are not TeaPlain tasting samples or proof of origin, grade, age, authenticity or image rights clearance.
Grade characteristics
This preserves the earlier Chinese edition’s sensory comparison. It is not a complete verified current standard table and does not grade your packet. Plant material, growing area, processing and grade are separate details. Decorative star rankings are omitted.
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to compare the grades.
| Feature | Extra grade (old table) | Grade 1 (old table) |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Coin-like, weighty and lustrous | Coin-like, weighty and lustrous |
| Dry colour | Black-brown with lustre | Black-brown |
| Liquor | Orange-red and bright | Orange-red, fairly clear |
| Aroma | Clean and lasting | Clean |
| Taste | Mellow and full | Mellow |
| Infused leaves | Thick, soft, bright and even | Thick, fairly soft and bright |
These are two inherited comparison labels. No complete current product-grade standard was obtained for this review, so they are not asserted as universal legal grades. A design patent concerns appearance, not composition, clinical effects, authentic ancient continuity or the grade of a retail tea.
Names and origin
The inherited origin description links the tea with the Xuefeng / Qujiang area around Xinhua and Anhua. Contemporary local reporting identifies a Xinhua company working with the Qujiang Baopian name and modern revival/innovation. A design-patent record documents a modern round dark-tea flake design associated with that company. This does not establish uninterrupted ancient manufacture, every seller’s growing site or ownership of all historical uses of the name. Zhangliang Baopian is retained as an older alias, not proof of a named historical founder.
Everyday benefits
Brewed without added sugar, this is an ordinary tea drink that can be an alternative to sweetened drinks and contribute to fluid intake. It contains caffeine. These everyday properties do not establish that this named tea treats disease, lowers blood sugar or improves sleep. No TeaPlain clinical or brewing test is claimed here.
Who may enjoy this tea
Consider this tea if you enjoy a compact pressed portion and a mellow dark-tea cup. This describes flavour and preparation, not a medical suitability category. Buy a small, clearly identified drinking portion first.
When to take care
- Caffeine sensitivity or sleep problems: consider your total intake and timing if tea affects your sleep. A pale infusion is not a caffeine-free claim.
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding or medicines: ask a clinician or pharmacist about your actual product, caffeine intake and relevant medicine instructions.
- Iron supplements: follow the medicine’s instructions about separating tea from the dose. Do not use tea as treatment for anaemia.
These are product and individual considerations, not a blanket ban based on traditional “hot” or “cold” labels, age, sex or a constitution category.
How to brew
Original prose: gaiwan or Yixing teapot
The earlier prose uses a white porcelain gaiwan or Yixing teapot, 1:20 tea-to-water ratio and 100°C / 212°F water. It includes rinsing/moistening the leaves, then describes a drinking infusion of 10 seconds after adding water. The prose gives no rinse duration. Its claim of ten or more infusions is retained as a description of the original method, not a guarantee for your packet.
| Detail | Original prose with an explicit ratio example |
|---|---|
| Tea | 5 g as an editorial arithmetic example |
| Actual water | 100 mL / about 3.4 US fl oz; measured water at 1:20 |
| Vessel | Porcelain gaiwan or Yixing teapot with room for the leaves and actual water |
| Water temperature | 100°C / 212°F at pouring; let the drink cool before sipping |
| Rinse | Included in the prose, with no duration specified; discard it |
| First drinking infusion | 10 seconds after adding water, then decant fully |
These inherited directions and arithmetic examples are awaiting hands-on testing. A nominal vessel capacity or drawn fill fraction does not measure actual water. Keep this prose recipe separate from the illustration below, which may use a different ratio or timing. For a tightly pressed brick, use an appropriate tool carefully, pointing it away from your hands and body; weigh the separated portion rather than judging by brick size.
Read the original illustration separately
Illustration method: put one coin into a straining tea vessel, adjusting to preference in the old drawing. It labels the rinse water 70–80°C / 158–176°F and a 2–3-second rinse, then uses normal infusion after rinsing; later, it suggests increasing water temperature and contact time as the liquor weakens. The graphic provides no coin weight, measured actual water, vessel capacity, first drinking temperature or first drinking time. Its wording calls the 70–80°C water boiling; those are different descriptions, so that phrase is not repeated as a physical fact. Keep the labelled rinse temperature distinct from the separate 100°C prose method.
For ordinary teaware options, see brew without a gaiwan. Keep each complete method together instead of selecting temperature, dose and time from different preparations.
Adjust your cup
| What you notice | One change to try |
|---|---|
| Too strong, bitter or drying | Separate the liquid from the leaves; shorten contact time or use less tea next time |
| Weak or watery | Keep the measured water fixed and try a longer infusion before changing the leaf dose |
| Later infusions become stronger | Check whether liquid was left sitting with the leaves |
| Different from a flavour description | Compare the actual product and method; a description is not a promise for every cup |
Change one variable at a time. For a fuller sequence, see fix a disappointing first cup.
How to buy
Read the named maker, coin weight, ingredients, date, origin and full brewing directions. Distinguish a modern Qujiang-named product or company from an unsupported claim that every packet follows one ancient recipe.
See buy your first Chinese tea for packet comparisons.
China price reference
Undated figures retained from the Chinese edition, in Chinese yuan (CNY). No original brand, batch, harvest or quotation date was recorded. These are not verified current retail quotes, a market average or manufacturer-suggested retail prices.
| Chinese-edition tier | CNY per 500 g (one jin) | Equivalent CNY per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Extra grade (old price list) | 500 | 100 |
| Grade 1 (old price list) | 250 | 50 |
Per 100 g is an arithmetic conversion, not a quoted packet. Do not infer a missing sensory or price tier. Compare actual growing area, style, harvest, roast, weight and channel. A currency conversion does not make a UK or US retail offer comparable to a China historical figure.
How to store
Original storage method
The earlier Chinese edition describes long-term storage under suitable conditions: below 25°C / 77°F and below 70% relative humidity, away from sunlight, moisture and smells. These inherited limits are not an instruction to raise humidity, a measured condition in your home or a guarantee that every packet will improve with age. Follow the actual product label and packaging conditions first.
It describes paper bags, clean bamboo baskets or ceramic containers for loose tea, and clean, odour-free cardboard boxes for small baskets, bricks and cakes. Keep a protective enclosure with suitable air circulation around the storage area; do not leave tea exposed to kitchen air. Keep different products and strong aromas separate. A paper wrapper is not a waterproof barrier.
In a UK or US home
Choose a clean, dry cupboard away from the hob or stove, dishwasher steam, spices, heaters, direct sun and damp basement walls. Handle tea with clean, dry tools and keep an opened portion protected between uses. Do not automatically transfer green tea’s refrigerator method to dark tea. Long-term ageing conditions depend on the product and package; do not recreate a factory’s humid fermentation room at home.
Long storage does not guarantee better flavour or freedom from spoilage. Do not brew tea that appears spoiled; if its condition is uncertain, stop using it and ask the maker or seller. A short rinse is a brewing step, not a safety inspection. See storing an opened packet.
Origin, processing and history
The retained primary map shows picking, heat-fixing, rolling, piling and drying. Refining is simplified to sieving, blending, forming, drying and packing. Local first-person reporting of modern revival supports a company’s work on fermentation and forming, not an unchanged ancient production specification. The design record supports only a documented modern coin-like presentation. The older Tang/Song tribute narrative and exact “eighty coins per jin” story are historical attributions, not verified weights or a modern dose recommendation.
Common questions
Can I brew any Qujiang coin as one measured dose?
Only if the particular product’s coin weight and instructions support that. A coin shape does not give grams or actual water. The old graphic uses one coin but omits both measurements; follow a complete packet method.
Can I move one number from this recipe into a different vessel?
Keep leaf form, measured dose and actual water, temperature, timing and separation together. Nominal capacity or a fill fraction is not a measured ratio.
Compare Qianliang Tea, or browse the dark tea overview.
Editorial notes and updates
Updated 16 October 2026. Valid original descriptions, sensory comparisons, prose and image methods, storage handling, China price figures and usable pictures are retained with their scope. Doubtful medical, ranking and exact historical claims are revised or omitted. Current full grade clauses and historical prices are not certified. Original Chinese-labelled graphics have English reading notes; no TeaPlain tasting or brewing test is claimed. Internal research and image audits record the decisions.