Zhongcha: An Old Trademark, a New Company
To pu'er drinkers, "Zhongcha" means two things: a company and a trademark. The design with eight red "zhong" (中) characters around the outside and a green "cha" (茶) in the middle, often called "ba zhong" (eight zhong), was printed on the Yinji teas of the 1950s and is printed on new tea today. But decades lie in between, and the company and factories behind it aren't entirely the same.
What Kind of Company Is Zhongcha?
China Tea Co., Ltd. (Zhongcha for short) grew out of the China Tea Company founded in 1949. A Xinhua report states that the company was approved on November 23, 1949, with Wu Juenong as its first general manager. It was one of the earliest specialized state-owned companies after the founding of the People's Republic of China, handling the nation's tea purchasing, processing, export, and domestic sales under unified management.
The company's name changed several times after that. In January 1970, China Tea and Native Produce Import and Export Corporation merged with China Animal Products Import and Export Corporation to form China National Native Produce and Animal By-Products Import and Export Corporation. That's why pu'er packaging from the qizi bing era often reads "China National Native Produce and Animal By-Products Import and Export Corporation, Yunnan Tea Branch," which is also where the English abbreviation CNNP comes from.
Zhongcha and COFCO
In 2004, Zhongcha became a subsidiary of the COFCO Group, and it's now one of COFCO's specialized companies. Today the Zhongcha brand is run by China Tea Co., Ltd., with products extending beyond pu'er to black tea, oolong, scented tea, white tea, and Liubao tea, and it also owns brands such as Haiti, Butterfly, and Monkey King. It's accurate to say "Zhongcha is COFCO's tea company."
The Trademark's Date
Two dates are often cited for the registration of the Zhongcha trademark:
- September 14, 1951: a book by pu'er researcher Shi Kunmu records that the China Tea Company registered the "Zhongcha" trademark on this day, registration number 8071.
- December 15, 1951: in 2006, Zhongcha released a tea commemorating the 55th anniversary of its trademark registration, counting from this date.
The dates are three months apart and may correspond to different procedural steps; both are cited. What's certain is that it's one of the earliest registered trademarks of the new China, and in 1951–1952 the tea companies and factories within the system were instructed to use it uniformly.
Classic Products
Zhongcha's early pu'er in Yunnan was made on its behalf by state-owned factories under the provincial company, under the Zhongcha brand:
- Yinji teas: round teas from the 1950s such as Red Label, Green Label, and Yellow Label. The packaging is Chinese only, with the seller listed as "China Tea Company, Yunnan Branch," and the neifei is a single eight-zhong design with no neipiao. See Red Label, Green Label, Yellow Label.
- Eight-zhong cakes of the qizi bing era: "Yunnan Qizi Bing Tea" exported from the 1970s on was made by Menghai, Kunming, Xiaguan, and other factories, also printed with the eight-zhong logo. You have to use the last digit of the recipe code and the neifei to tell which factory made it.
- 7581 Kunming brick: Kunming Tea Factory's ripe brick, exported under the Zhongcha brand. See The 7581 Brick and Other Classic Ripe Bricks.
In recent years, Zhongcha has launched its own mountain, vintage, and ripe tea series, with production information printed directly on the packaging.
Telling Zhongcha from Different Eras Apart
Zhongcha pu'er on the market can be roughly divided into periods by the seller named on the packaging and the printing style:
| Era | Clues on the packaging | Actual producer |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s–1960s | Chinese only: "China Tea Company, Yunnan Branch," "Zhongcha Round Tea" | Fohai (Menghai) and other state-owned factories |
| 1970s–1990s | Chinese and English: "China National Native Produce and Animal By-Products Import and Export Corporation, Yunnan Tea Branch," "Yunnan Qizi Bing Tea" | Menghai, Kunming, Xiaguan, and other factories |
| 1990s to mid-2000s | Factories begin using their own trademarks, while many products still use the eight-zhong logo by continuation or license | Individual factories and the provincial company |
| Mid-2000s onward | Labeled "China Tea Co., Ltd." or its Yunnan company | Production organized by Zhongcha |
The third period is the most confusing. A common account in the tea world is that around 2006, Zhongcha tightened control over use of its trademark, and other factories stopped using the eight-zhong logo after that. For "Zhongcha" products from this period, look closely at the company name, production date, and factory name on the packaging, not just the logo. Whether the printing uses traditional or simplified characters, the paper, and the style of neifei are also clues, but fakes imitate these details too. The safest approach is still to buy from trustworthy channels.
For the broader background of these periods, read The China Tea Company and the Origins of the Zhongcha Brand and Haoji, Yinji, and Qizi Bing; for reading recipe codes, see 7542, 8582, 7572: The Stories Behind Pu'er's Classic Recipes.
FAQ
What kind of company is Zhongcha? Its full name is China Tea Co., Ltd. It grew out of the China Tea Company founded in 1949 and now belongs to the COFCO Group.
How is Zhongcha related to COFCO? Since 2004, Zhongcha has been a subsidiary of the COFCO Group.
What year was the Zhongcha trademark registered? 1951, with two recorded dates: September 14 and December 15.
Was every tea with the eight-zhong logo made by Zhongcha itself? Not necessarily. In the early days, state-owned factories made it on the company's behalf, and from the 1990s to the mid-2000s the logo was also used by continuation or license. Check the company name and factory on the packaging.
What does "eight zhong" mean? It refers to the eight "zhong" characters ringing the trademark, often interpreted as "Chinese tea sold in every direction."