Jiaogulan

Classification and Origin

Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino

gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)

leaves and young shoots of the vine (not Camellia sinensis leaf)

绞股蓝 (jiǎogǔlán); folk and regional — 七叶胆 (qīyèdǎn), 五叶参 (wǔyèshēn); in Japan the plant is known as amachazuru (甘茶蔓)

Pingli (平利, Pínglì) in Shaanxi (陕西, Shǎnxī); Yunnan (云南, Yúnnán); Guangxi (广西, Guǎngxī)

Type: tea substitute, herbal infusion (代用茶, dàiyòng chá); botanically — not tea

Facts

Facts: Interesting Facts

• The species name pentaphyllum ("five-leaved") reflects the typical leaf of five leaflets, although there may be from three to nine.
• Pingli County in Shaanxi is officially positioned as the "home of jiaogulan" (绞股蓝之乡).
• In the Japanese tradition, the plant is known as amachazuru (甘茶蔓, "sweet tea vine"), and it was with the study of its saponins in the 1970s that modern interest in the culture largely began.
• The nickname "southern ginseng" (南方人参) is folk and indicates only the relatedness of the saponins, not equivalence to ginseng.
• One of the old Chinese names, 七叶胆 (qīyèdǎn, "seven-leaved bile"), directly hints at the bitterness in the taste.

In Conclusion:

Jiaogulan is a representative example of the Chinese genre of 代用茶 (dàiyòng chá): a drink that is brewed and drunk like tea but which is not botanically tea, since it contains no Camellia sinensis leaf. Behind it lies a tradition of its own — from mention in the Ming "Herbal for Famine Relief" to the modern plantations of Pingli — its own technology, close to that of green tea, and a recognisable taste profile with bitterness and a long returning sweetness.

It is more correct to perceive it not as a "substitute" for tea but as an independent herbal infusion with a clear geography and raw material grading — from tender "dragon's whiskers" to ordinary leaf. The folk name "southern ginseng" and the attention of science to gypenosides add to the plant's renown but do not turn an everyda

History and Culture

the treatise "Herbal for Famine Relief" (救荒本草, Jiùhuāng Běncǎo), compiled by Prince Zhu Su (朱橚, Zhū Sù) and published in 1406

wild food plant for "lean years"

second half of the 20th century, after saponin isolation

Botany and Raw Material

climbing herbaceous vine with tendrils

palmately compound, usually of 5 leaflets (less often 3, 7, or 9); the species name pentaphyllum means "five-leaved"

small, greenish-white; plant is dioecious

small spherical dark berries

龙须 (lóngxū, "dragon's whiskers") — the youngest shoot tips with tendrils and unopened leaves

ordinary leaf — mature leaf blades from shoots

Terroir

Pingli County (平利, Pínglì) in Ankang (安康, Ānkāng) prefecture-level city, Shaanxi Province — foothills of the Daba Mountains (大巴山, Dàbā Shān)

mountains of Yunnan and Guangxi, where the vine also occurs in the wild

warm humid climate, dappled light and semi-shade, loose well-drained soils

both cultivated (plantations) and wild-collected raw material

Production

young shoots and leaves in the warm season

摊晾 (tānliàng) — spreading out and light drying of the raw material

杀青 (shāqīng) — heating to halt enzymes

揉捻 (róuniǎn) — shaping the leaf and releasing juices

to stable low moisture content

Organoleptic Profile

twisted dark green leaflets and thin tip tendrils

herbaceous-beany, with a light sweetish note

from pale green to golden-greenish, transparent

Taste: first a perceptible bitterness, then a clean returning sweetness (回甘)

Chemical Composition

triterpene saponins of the dammarane type (绞股蓝皂苷, jiǎogǔlán zàogān); some of them are structurally identical to ginsenosides of ginseng

e.g. rutin and related compounds

amino acids, vitamins, macro- and microelements

Health Notes

in China jiaogulan is drunk as a general tonic, "invigorating," and refreshing everyday beverage; folk tradition associates it with ginseng

gypenosides and Gynostemma extracts are studied in laboratory and clinical work, but this does not establish stable, unequivocally proven medicinal effects for the everyday infusion

food product (beverage), not a medicine

Brewing

approximately 3–5 g of dry raw material per 300–500 ml of water (for "dragon's whiskers" — closer to the lower limit)

85–95 °C; coarse leaf tolerates near-boiling water, tender tips are better poured with slightly cooled water

first infusion 1–3 minutes, thereafter to taste

withstands several steepings; strong bitter raw material is better brewed shorter and more often

cold brewing possible (several hours in cold water) — the infusion comes out softer and sweeter, almost without bitterness

Teaware: glass cup or teapot, gaiwan, thermos

Storage

Container: tightly closed, light-proof packaging

dry, cool, dark place, away from foreign odours

moisture, light, heat, foreign odours

Price and Authenticity

ordinary leaf — around 80 ¥/kg (indicative figure, depends on harvest and grade)

"dragon's whiskers" (龙须) cost noticeably more than ordinary leaf

even, twisted dark green leaflets and tips, clean herbaceous-sweetish aroma, taste with bitterness transitioning to sweet aftertaste

selling coarse leaf under the guise of "dragon's whiskers"; admixture of extraneous cheap leaves; passing off raw material of other origin as Pingli product