Xiao Qing Gan / Chenpi (Citrus)
Xiao Qing Gan is a whole small green mandarin from Xinhui in Guangdong, hollowed out, stuffed with ripe puerh, and dried so the citrus peel and the tea age and infuse together. The peel (chenpi when aged) gives a bright, sweet-citrus, faintly medicinal lift over the earthy shou, and the little fruits are brewed whole or in pieces. It is a flavored, gift-friendly style with a genuine regional pedigree in Xinhui citrus.
A whole small dried mandarin packed with ripe puerh; genuine Xinhui (Guangdong) citrus is the pedigree to look for, as the region's peel is prized for chenpi. The aroma should be a clean, sweet citrus over smooth shou, neither sour and raw (under-dried young peel) nor flat. Green-skin xiao qing gan (young mandarin) is brighter and sharper, while red-skin da hong gan (mature mandarin) is sweeter and rounder. Cheap versions use low-grade shou or non-Xinhui peel.
Centered on Xinhui in Jiangmen, Guangdong, famous for its mandarin oranges and for chenpi, aged dried tangerine peel prized in southern Chinese cooking and medicine. The tea pairs that local peel with Yunnan ripe puerh, making it a cross-regional product: Guangdong citrus, Yunnan tea. Green (early-picked) and red (mature) skins give the two main styles, and well-aged Xinhui peel commands a premium of its own.
Gongfu: break the fruit and use roughly 6-8 g of tea plus a piece of peel per 100 ml, 95-100°C, one rinse, then 15-25 seconds ascending, 8 or more infusions. Western: a piece of peel and tea, or a whole small fruit, per 250-350 ml, 95°C, 3-4 minutes and refilled. Brewing the whole fruit is traditional and slow, while broken pieces extract faster.
Roughly €15-45 (about $16-49) per 100 g depending on the grade of both peel and tea; aged Xinhui peel and better shou push the price up, and genuinely old chenpi versions can cost much more.
Prices reviewed June 2026
Young Shou (1-5 years)
The ripe puerh base inside the fruit, unflavored; tasting it isolates the tea from the citrus.
Sticky Rice (Nuomi) Ripe Pu-erh
The other popular flavored shou, scented by an herb rather than by citrus peel.
Aged Shou (5+ years)
The plain rested shou, for the base character without the bright citrus overlay.
Xinhui has produced prized tangerine peel (chenpi) for centuries, and properly aged peel is valued almost like a tea in its own right, with old chenpi fetching high prices. Stuffing the peel with ripe puerh is a relatively modern product that married two specialties, Guangdong citrus and Yunnan tea, into one of the most popular flavored puerhs on the market.