Red Snow Tea (Hongxuecha)

Red Snow Tea红雪茶, also known as Deer Heart Snow Tea or Golden Silk Tea, grows on the dead trunks of larch and fir trees in the mossy plant belt of snow-capped mountains at elevations above 4000 meters. It is a rare and precious natural wild plant. When brewed with boiling water, the tea has a bright red color similar to red wine, and the leaves unfurl like coral. The taste is pure with a slight hint of shade aroma. Red Snow Tea has been used in Tibetan medicine for several centuries. Modern medical research shows that it is rich in essential trace elements and offers benefits such as lowering blood lipids and cholesterol, clearing the mind, and nourishing the heart. It is effective for conditions such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, obesity, and general weakness. As a naturally wild plant, it cannot be cultivated artificially. It is a pure natural product with no toxic side effects, making it an excellent choice for health and gifting.

Growing Environment:

Temperature: Red Snow Tea grows at altitudes of 4000-5000 meters on snow-capped mountains, grasslands, and rocky surfaces. The annual average temperature is around 15°C. At altitudes above 3000 meters, temperatures are below 14°C. In July, the average temperature is 28.2°C, while in January, it is 2.1°C. Spring and autumn temperatures are cool and mild, with averages of 15.4°C in April and 16.7°C in October. The average frost-free period is 210-220 days, with the first frost date around November 5 and the last frost date around March 29. Stable temperatures above 10°C start around April 15 and end between November 4-9. The accumulated temperature above 0°C ranges from 5085 to 5500°C, and above 10°C ranges from 4384 to 4750°C.
Sunlight: The total annual solar radiation is 506.18 kJ/cm², with 369.69 kJ/cm² of solar radiation during the period with average daily temperatures above 0°C, accounting for 73% of the annual total. The annual sunshine hours are between 2000 and 2230, with an average sunshine percentage of about 50%, indicating relatively abundant light energy resources.
Precipitation: The annual average precipitation is between 1200 and 1400 mm. Statistics show that over a 25-year average, spring accounts for 28.9%, summer 41.1%, autumn 19.4%, and winter 10.6% of the total precipitation. The annual average number of precipitation days is 125.6, with a relative humidity of 80% and a dryness index below 0.8, indicating a humid zone.
Soil: Soil types are complex. In the mid-mountain (inner mountain) areas, the predominant soil type is yellow-brown soil, including ordinary yellow-brown soil and mountain yellow-brown soil, with parent material mainly consisting of granite, granite gneiss, and amphibolite gneiss. These soils have high organic matter content, good fertility, and permeability, with a pH of 4.8-5.5. In the outer mountain hill and ridge areas (outer mountain), yellow-brown soil derived from the Shuxian formation is common. Although the soil layer is thick, the plow layer is shallow and clay-heavy, often with an impermeable clay pan layer at the bottom. Fertility and permeability are relatively poor, with a pH of 5-6.5. Along riverbanks and valleys, there are also alluvial soils, such as sandy loam (black sandy soil), with deep soil layers, high fertility, and good permeability, generally found in high-yield tea plantation areas.

Distribution Range

Red Snow Tea is distributed across six provinces and regions in China: Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet, Yunnan, and Sichuan. The main distribution centers are in southeastern Tibet, northwestern Yunnan, and western Sichuan. Red Snow Tea typically grows in high-altitude areas (3000 to 5800 meters), often attaching to trees such as cypress and spruce, as well as fir, alpine rhododendron, and Emei rose.

Main Values

Modern scientific research confirms that aged Red Snow Tea not only offers the health benefits of other teas but also has more pronounced effects and benefits. It can significantly lower triglycerides and harmful low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) in the blood, increase beneficial high-density cholesterol (HDL), and promote the excretion of cholesterol and fatty compounds through feces. The polysaccharides, fiber, caffeine, and phosphoric acid in the tea have strong fat-decomposing effects. Catechin compounds also help break down fats, reducing cholesterol and neutral fats in the blood and liver.

Anti-Aging and Anti-Radiation: The trace elements, catechins, and vitamins in Red Snow Tea can form stable substances with free radicals, blocking their interaction with macromolecules, alleviating the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids, inhibiting lipid peroxidation, and clearing free radicals, thus delaying aging. Catechins and polyphenolic compounds in Red Snow Tea can absorb radioactive substances, reducing the risk of absorbing them and providing anti-radiation benefits.

Anti-Cancer: Components such as tea pigments, tea flavonoids, catechins, and their oxidation, degradation, and complex products are important for cancer prevention and treatment. They have strong abilities to kill cancer cells and block the formation of carcinogenic nitroso compounds, inhibiting certain enzymes that activate carcinogens. The various substances in Red Snow Tea, such as catechins, β-carotene, and vitamins B1, B2, C, and E, play significant roles in cancer prevention.

Health Benefits: Red Snow Tea has a refreshing aroma and a slightly bitter taste, containing various beneficial components that help eliminate internal waste and toxins. It is rich in beneficial substances like snow tea acids, scale acids, horned-leaf acids, mannitol, and D-arabinose, as well as essential vitamins and trace elements. Red Snow Tea has cooling, thirst-quenching, heat-clearing, detoxifying, liver-soothing, and pressure-lowering medicinal values. In Lijiang, Red Snow Tea has a long history of consumption and was a tribute product during the Ming Dynasty. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, Red Snow Tea is described as not a true tea but a natural herb that is roasted and used as a tea substitute, providing warmth, a bitter taste, and a pleasant fragrance.

Red Snow Tea, with its high content of polysaccharides, tea flavonoids, tea pigments, trace elements, and fiber, offers numerous health benefits, including heat-clearing, thirst-quenching, liver-cleansing, and vision-improving effects. It is considered a superior choice for various health conditions, including high blood pressure, neural weakness, throat inflammation, and more.

Chemical Components of Red Snow Tea

Phenolic Acids and Derivatives:

Phenolic acids are major secondary metabolites in lichens. From golden thread lichen, snow tea, and related plants, 19 phenolic acid compounds have been isolated.
Active Ingredient: Snow tea acid (雪茶素) exhibits anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties. The main component, usnic acid (松萝酸), is present in concentrations of 0.74% to 0.91% and has antimicrobial activity.

Steroids:

Steroidal Compounds isolated from ethanol extracts of snow tea include ergosterol peroxide and β-sitosterol.
From acetone extracts, compounds such as 3β-hydroxy-5α,8α-epoxyergosta-6,22-diene, 3β-hydroxy-5α,8α-epoxyergosta-6,9,22-triene, ergostane-7,22-diene-3-ol, and ergostane-5,8,22-triene-3-ol have been identified.

Polysaccharides:

Polysaccharides from plants, including snow tea, are notable for their unique physiological activities and low toxicity, making them valuable in clinical applications.
Snow tea polysaccharides are composed of rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, and glucose, with molecular ratios of 0.77:1.00:0.54:3.39:17.03.

Volatile Oils:

Extraction Method: Steam distillation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) have identified 67 volatile components in Red Snow Tea.
Main Components: The primary constituents are alcohols and esters. Notable volatile components include long-chain alkanes, sesquiterpenes and their derivatives, unsaturated aldehydes and ketones, olefins, esters, and alcohols. The predominant compound is palmitic acid (28.52%), a major component of the essential oil.

Inorganic Elements:

Lichens, including snow tea, are known for accumulating metal elements. Seven medicinal lichens have been tested for trace elements, revealing that snow tea contains 11 essential trace elements, including high levels of silicon (Si) and iron (Fe), which are beneficial for the body. Selenium (Se) content is also present, which may relate to the anti-cancer properties of lichens.
Nutritional Profile: Red Snow Tea is rich in essential minerals, with a high potassium (K) and low sodium (Na) profile. Such dietary characteristics are beneficial for maintaining acid-base balance and normal blood pressure, aiding in the prevention and management of hypertension.

Other Components:

Red Snow Tea also contains fatty acids, nucleic acids, carotenoids, polyols, free amino acids, and various phenolic substances.

Harvesting

Red Snow Tea grows in the snow line zone, with optimal growing and reproductive periods limited to 2-3 months each year, characterized by slow growth. During snow cover, the plant is dormant but resumes growth once temperatures rise. Harvesting typically occurs from May to October after the snow has melted. The entire plant is collected, impurities are removed, and it is then dried.