jiǎogǔlán

Jiaogulan (绞股蓝, jiǎogǔlán), botanically Gynostemma pentaphyllum, is a perennial herbaceous vine of the gourd family, the leaves and young shoots of which are used in China to prepare a bittersweet infusion of amber-green colour. Although in everyday usage — both Russian and Chinese — this drink is often called “tea,” it is not tea in the botanical sense: the raw material contains no leaves of the tea plant Camellia sinensis, so in the Chinese beverage classification it falls under tea substitutes (代用茶, dàiyòng chá), i.e. herbal infusions. The main region of cultivated commercial raw material is Pingli County (平利, Pínglì) in Shaanxi Province, as well as the mountainous areas of Yunnan and Guangxi. In daily life, jiaogulan is drunk as a refreshing and “light” everyday beverage, and for its characteristic set of saponins the plant has acquired the folk nickname “southern ginseng” (南方人参, nánfāng rénshēn). The infusion is recognised by its light bitterness, which quickly gives way to a pronounced returning sweetness (回甘, huígān).

1. Classification and Origin:

• Type: tea substitute, herbal infusion (代用茶, dàiyòng chá); botanically — not tea
• Botanical name: Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino
• Family: gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)
• Raw material: leaves and young shoots of the vine (not Camellia sinensis leaf)
• Chinese names: 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)
• Main regions: Pingli (平利, Pínglì) in Shaanxi (陕西, Shǎnxī); Yunnan (云南, Yúnnán); Guangxi (广西, Guǎngxī)

It is important to state directly: jiaogulan contains no tea leaf. It belongs to an independent genre of Chinese herbal drinks — 代用茶 (dàiyòng chá), “substitute teas,” which are brewed and drunk like tea but obtained from other plants. This position does not make jiaogulan a “surrogate”: it has its own centuries-old history of use, its own terroir, its own drying technology, and its own brewing culture. The folk name “southern ginseng” reflects only that saponins related to ginsenosides have been found in the plant, and it is not a medical characterisation.

2. History and Cultural Significance:

• First mention: 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
• Initial role: wild food plant for “lean years”
• Renewed interest: second half of the 20th century, after saponin isolation

In the Ming herbal 救荒本草, the plant is described primarily as edible, suitable for food in years of poor harvest — that is, jiaogulan was originally perceived as a wild vegetable rather than a medicine. Sustained interest in it as a drink emerged in the 1970s–1980s, when Japanese and later Chinese researchers isolated triterpene saponins (gypenosides) from the leaves and discovered that some of them are structurally identical to ginsenosides of true ginseng. It was then that the plant acquired the nickname “southern ginseng,” and in China industrial cultivation and production of packaged beverage (保健茶, bǎojiàn chá — “health tea” in the everyday sense) developed.

3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:

• Life form: climbing herbaceous vine with tendrils
• Leaves: palmately compound, usually of 5 leaflets (less often 3, 7, or 9); the species name pentaphyllum means “five-leaved”
• Flowers: small, greenish-white; plant is dioecious
• Fruits: small spherical dark berries
• Raw material, grade 1: 龙须 (lóngxū, “dragon’s whiskers”) — the youngest shoot tips with tendrils and unopened leaves
• Raw material, grade 2: ordinary leaf — mature leaf blades from shoots

Commercial raw material is customarily divided into two categories. “Dragon’s whiskers” (龙须, lóngxū) are thin, tender tops with tendrils, the most valuable and expensive grade: the infusion from them is softer, sweeter, and almost devoid of coarse bitterness. Ordinary leaf yields a denser, fuller, and noticeably more bitter infusion; it is cheaper and goes into mass packaging. Both taste and price depend directly on the proportion of young shoot in the blend.

4. Terroir and Cultivation Characteristics:

• Benchmark region: 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)
• Other regions: mountains of Yunnan and Guangxi, where the vine also occurs in the wild
• Conditions: warm humid climate, dappled light and semi-shade, loose well-drained soils
• Procurement form: both cultivated (plantations) and wild-collected raw material

Pingli is located in southern Shaanxi, in the subtropical foothill belt of the Daba Mountains with mild humid weather and frequent fogs — such conditions favour saponin accumulation. The county positions itself as the “home of jiaogulan” (绞股蓝之乡, jiǎogǔlán zhī xiāng) and is a centre of sectoral breeding and processing. In Yunnan and Guangxi, both cultivated plantings and wild populations are common; the plant is generally widespread in the warm parts of East and Southeast Asia.

5. Production Technology:

• Harvesting: young shoots and leaves in the warm season
• Withering: 摊晾 (tānliàng) — spreading out and light drying of the raw material
• Fixation: 杀青 (shāqīng) — heating to halt enzymes
• Rolling: 揉捻 (róuniǎn) — shaping the leaf and releasing juices
• Drying: to stable low moisture content

The most common processing of jiaogulan is technologically close to green tea production: the raw material is withered, “green is killed” by heating (杀青), rolled (揉捻), and finish-dried. Thanks to enzyme fixation, the leaf retains its green colour and does not oxidise, while rolling gives it a characteristic twisted shape and makes the infusion more extractive. Some of the output (especially artisanal) is simply dried in the shade without rolling — such leaf is lighter and yields a more herbaceous infusion. “Dragon’s whiskers” (龙须) are sorted separately — they are harvested and dried more gently to preserve tenderness and sweetness.

6. Organoleptic Characteristics:

• Appearance: twisted dark green leaflets and thin tip tendrils
• Dry aroma: herbaceous-beany, with a light sweetish note
• Taste: first a perceptible bitterness, then a clean returning sweetness (回甘)
• Infusion: from pale green to golden-greenish, transparent

The key feature of jiaogulan is the contrast between bitter and sweet. The first sip is distinctly bitter, but the bitterness quickly fades, leaving a long sweetish aftertaste (回甘, huígān), for which the drink is prized. In “dragon’s whiskers,” the balance is shifted towards sweetness; in coarse leaf, towards bitterness. Oversteeping the raw material in boiling water intensifies bitterness, so strength is adjusted by steeping time.

7. Chemical Composition:

• Saponins (gypenosides): triterpene saponins of the dammarane type (绞股蓝皂苷, jiǎogǔlán zàogān); some of them are structurally identical to ginsenosides of ginseng
• Flavonoids: e.g. rutin and related compounds
• Polysaccharides
• Other: amino acids, vitamins, macro- and microelements

The main chemical “marker” of the plant is gypenosides, a complex of triterpene saponins; it is their structural similarity to ginsenosides that gave rise to the comparison with ginseng. In addition to saponins, the leaves contain flavonoids, polysaccharides, free amino acids, and mineral substances. The exact composition and proportion of saponins depend on the species and chemotype of the plant, the region of growth, and the part of the shoot: usually the tender tips and leaves are richer in valuable fractions than lignified parts.

8. Health Properties:

• As commonly thought in daily life: in China jiaogulan is drunk as a general tonic, “invigorating,” and refreshing everyday beverage; folk tradition associates it with ginseng
• What science studies: 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
• Status: food product (beverage), not a medicine

It must be clearly stipulated: jiaogulan is a food beverage, and no medicinal promises may be made. That the plant contains ginseng-like saponins does not in itself make the infusion a medicine, and retail health claims fall outside the scope of an encyclopaedic article. Among commonly known precautions, it is neutral to mention moderation in quantity; caution during pregnancy and breastfeeding (insufficient data); and attention for those regularly taking medicines — in such cases it is appropriate to discuss consumption with a doctor. This is a list of precautions, not a recommendation or dosage.

9. Brewing:

• Ratio: approximately 3–5 g of dry raw material per 300–500 ml of water (for “dragon’s whiskers” — closer to the lower limit)
• Temperature: 85–95 °C; coarse leaf tolerates near-boiling water, tender tips are better poured with slightly cooled water
• Vessels: glass cup or teapot, gaiwan, thermos
• Time: first infusion 1–3 minutes, thereafter to taste
• Multiple infusions: withstands several steepings; strong bitter raw material is better brewed shorter and more often
• Cold serving: cold brewing possible (several hours in cold water) — the infusion comes out softer and sweeter, almost without bitterness

In practice, it is convenient to brew jiaogulan directly in a glass cup or thermos: a handful of raw material is poured with hot water and topped up as it decreases. To soften bitterness, use less hot water and a short contact time, or switch to cold brewing. In summer, serving chilled is popular: infusion from “dragon’s whiskers,” steeped in cold water and chilled, turns out sweetish and refreshing.

10. Storage:

• Conditions: dry, cool, dark place, away from foreign odours
• Container: tightly closed, light-proof packaging
• Enemies of the raw material: moisture, light, heat, foreign odours

Dry jiaogulan leaf is hygroscopic and readily absorbs moisture and odours, so it is kept in airtight containers. When damp, the raw material loses aroma and greenish colour and acquires musty tones. Like most dried herbal blends, jiaogulan is best consumed relatively fresh — with time, the aroma and characteristic sweetness of the aftertaste weaken.

11. Price and Counterfeits:

• Wholesale benchmark: ordinary leaf — around 80 ¥/kg (indicative figure, depends on harvest and grade)
• Premium grade: “dragon’s whiskers” (龙须) cost noticeably more than ordinary leaf
• What genuine raw material looks like: even, twisted dark green leaflets and tips, clean herbaceous-sweetish aroma, taste with bitterness transitioning to sweet aftertaste
• Typical substitutions: 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

The difference between grades is the main source of markups and tricks: genuine “dragon’s whiskers” consist of thin, uniform tips, while under this name a mixture with coarse leaf is often sold. Fragments of foreign plants, earthy or musty smell, and the complete absence of the characteristic bitter-sweet dynamic in taste should raise suspicion. The indicated benchmark (approximately 80 ¥/kg for ordinary leaf) should be understood as an order of magnitude at the wholesale level, not as a promise of retail price.

12. 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 everyday drink into a medicine — and it is precisely in this capacity, as a calm, bittersweet everyday infusion, that jiaogulan occupies its place in Chinese everyday culture.

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