Tradition, innovation boost Quzhou oil-tea camellia industry

At the Camellia Oil Museum of Zhejiang Old Roots Camellia Development Co in Kecheng district, Quzhou, traditional techniques were employed to press camellia oil on Nov 26.

Established in 2008, Zhejiang Old Roots Camellia Development Co focuses on cultivating high-quality oil-tea camellia seedlings, producing and processing camellia oil, and developing organic green food. Its traditional camellia oil pressing technique has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage item of Kecheng.

The process involves grinding dried oil-tea camellia seeds into fine powder before steaming them, pressing them into cakes, and putting them into the traditional press equipment. The golden and fragrant camellia oil flows out as the master oil presser strikes wooden wedges with a stone hammer.

"There are 12 steps in the oil pressing process. The freshly pressed camellia oil, after filtering out impurities, becomes an edible finished oil and is also used as a raw material for high-end oils," said Fang Zhonghe, deputy general manager of Old Roots.

Traditional techniques are employed to press camellia oil. [Photo/Tide News]

In 2023, Old Roots collaborated with Wuhan Polytechnic University to produce high-end drinkable and skincare camellia oil products using advanced extraction technologies, which were launched in April of this year and sold well. The annual output value of the company's products has exceeded 50 million yuan ($6.90 million).

Kecheng currently has over 6,600,000 square meters of oil-tea camellia planting area. This year, it has continued to leverage the role of leading oil-tea camellia enterprises and increase investments to further develop the oil-tea camellia industry.