Easy transport
In the beginning, the tea was pressed because most of the tea from Yunnan was transported to Tibet and other places through the ancient tea-horse road in ancient times. In order to transport more tea leaves conveniently and to solve the transportation loss caused by long-distance travel, there are shapes such as bricks, cakes, and Tuo. Loose tea takes up a lot of space during transportation and storage. While the tea leaves are easy to crush, the quantity that can be transported is also greatly reduced compared to compressed tea. If the tea is pressed, it is more convenient for trade and transportation.
Of course, compared with ancient times, the road traffic has been greatly improved. Even in a place with many mountains like Yunnan province, tea is no longer compressed just for the convenience of transportation.
Advantages in late aging
The most important feature of Pu-erh tea is that it gets better and better with age. What causes this advantage of Pu'er tea? The compaction process is the key.
On the one hand, compressed tea preserves the color, aroma and taste of leaves better than loose tea. Compared with loose tea, the contact area between compressed tea and oxygen and light is much smaller, so that the oxidation rate of polyphenols, ketones, and chlorophyll in tea is much slower, and the tea quality can be better preserved.
On the other hand, compression creates a superior post-fermentation. The steaming during the process of pressing loose tea into cake tea has greatly increased the number of small microorganisms, creating a superior environment for the fermentation of small microorganisms. At the same time, after the tea leaves are pressed and formed, the interior is in an anoxic state, which is just conducive to the occurrence of anaerobic fermentation. Because only with the participation of anaerobic flora, Pu'er tea can produce its unique derivative substances, and these derivative substances are factors that produce health care functions for the human body. The prerequisite for the survival and work of anaerobic flora is anaerobic conditions.
Therefore, the post-fermentation of Pu'er tea basically relies on the method of pressing and forming. If Pu-erh tea is fermented before it is compacted and solidified, the main force of its fermentation is the microbial aerobic flora, and after it is compacted and solidified, the baton is handed over to the microbial anaerobic flora. With the participation of anaerobic flora, as the time of aging of pressed tea becomes longer and longer, the tea cake will produce a unique aroma in the process of continuous natural transformation, and the inner quality will continue to transform.
Therefore, the aged Pu-erh teas handed down from history are basically formed in the form of cakes, bricks, tuos, etc., and loose teas are rarely seen. Because loose-shaped tea only has an aerobic fermentation process and lacks anaerobic fermentation procedures, it will inevitably cause subsequent changes to show a tendency of carbonization, which is not conducive to long-term storage.
For the Chinese people, who are obsessed with meaning in everything, Pu-erh pressed tea is mostly in two shapes of "square" and "round", which cleverly embodies the philosophical thought of " the dome-like heaven embraces the vast earth" in traditional Chinese culture. The "round" cake tea is the pictogram of "heaven" where the universe nurtures the world, and the "square" brick tea is the pictogram of "earth" that carries all things.
]]>After tea was discovered by Chinese ancestors, tea has generally gone through three stages: medicine, food and beverage. The way of drinking tea has also undergone the development and evolution process from eating tea to cooking tea and finally to brewing tea. Tea was chewed as raw food in the Shennong era (4094 BC - 3574 BC) , raw boiled soup in the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC–256 BC), boiled tea in the Sui (581–618) and Tang Dynasties (618–907), ordered tea in the Song Dynasty (960-1276), and brewed tea in the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) Dynasties. The three stages can also be called: the classical school, the romantic school and the natural school.
The earliest way for the ancients to drink tea was to chew raw food, which is really "eating tea". After that, they started to cook soup with fire, just like people cook vegetable soup today. At that time, people only drank tea as a soup, or consumed it as a dish. It was not until Lu Yu wrote the masterpiece "The Classic of Tea" in the Tang Dynasty that he elevated the style of tea to an independent drink and became an art of living. In general, in the history of Chinese tea culture, there have been four major changes in tea drinking methods:
The first phase: The decoction method
When the ancestors of the Chinese were still in the primitive tribe period, they found that tea could not only dispel heat and quench thirst, but also stimulate the spirit and cure various diseases. Tea began to be separated from food. Decoction of tea to cure diseases is the first stage of drinking tea. At this stage, tea is medicine. At that time, the production of tea was small, and it was often used as a sacrificial product.
The second phase: The porridge method
From the pre-Qin period (221 BC) to the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 CE), tea changed from medicine to beverage. The drinking method at that time was just as Guo Pu said in the annotation of "Erya": tea "can be boiled and made into a soup". That is to say, when making tea, it is necessary to add corn and seasonings to make porridge.
In the Tang Dynasty, this method of cooking was often used. Most of the ethnic minorities in remote areas of China accepted the habit of drinking tea in the Tang Dynasty, so they are still accustomed to adding other foods to the tea soup.
The third phase: The grinding and brewing method
The Three Kingdoms era (220–280) has already appeared, and it became popular in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. Before the middle of the Tang Dynasty, Lu Yu had clearly opposed adding other spices to tea, emphasizing that tea should be tasted in its original flavor. It shows that the way of drinking tea was also in the process of change. Purely brewed with tea leaves, it was called "Qing Ming" by the Tang people. After drinking the clear tea, then chewing the tea leaves and savoring the taste, you can get great enjoyment.
Tang Dynasty cooking method
The Tang people directly put the tea in the kettle to decoct, and watch its shape changes by Zhucha, Jiufei and Yuhua three steps. The first step is to roast the tea before making the tea. After the tea cake is cooled, grind it into powder. The second step is to make tea, that is, when the water is boiled to the "second boil", use bamboo mackerel to stir the tea powder in the boiling water. The third step is to drink tea and pour tea, which is to scoop the tea soup into a bowl.
Before making tea, first crush the tea leaves, put the seasoning in after boiling the water, and then sprinkle the tea powder into the pot. When drinking, drink the tea residue and tea soup together while it is hot, which is called "eating tea". Tang people used to add seasonings to the tea soup, such as salt, onion, ginger or orange peel, etc. Lu Yu strongly opposed this way, adding a little salt to taste at most. Since then, people began to promote the original flavor of tea soup, which laid the foundation for the rise of tea ceremony.
Song Dynasty Diancha Method
Diancha means whisking. It emphasized the degree of water boiling, which was called "waiting for soup". It is the most difficult to wait for the soup. If it is not boiled enough the foam will float, and if it is over boiled, the tea powder will sink. Only by mastering the boiling procedure can the color, aroma and taste of the tea be brewed. When whisking tea in the Song Dynasty, a soup bottle with a round belly and a slender neck is often used. Because it is difficult to identify the degree of boiling water with the eyes, only the sound can be used to judge.
In the Song Dynasty, to make the tea, firstly, a cake tea was ground into fine powder, and the tea powder was divided into several bowls with a small spoon. Then brew with boiling water. In order to fully dissolve the tea powder, stir quickly with a whisk, stirring while brewing, so that the tea powder and the water are fully mixed, and a large amount of white tea foam appears in the tea cup. If the color of the tea foam is milky white, the "Tang Hua" on the surface of the tea soup can coagulate the inner wall of the cup for a long time, it is called as a good cup of tea. This not only tests the tea skills, but also tests the intentions of the tea people. The matcha ceremony in Japan is learned from this, and its origin is here.
The way of drinking tea in the Song Dynasty rose to the height of aesthetics and reached the extreme. They decorated tea cakes with patterns of dragon and phoenix, which are very delicate and called "Dragon and Phoenix Tea Cake".
The fourth phase: the whole leaf brewing method
The tea-drinking fashion developed to the Ming Dynasty, and an epoch-making change took place. The Hongwu Emperor, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty felt that making Dragon and Phoenix Tea Cakes was a waste of money and time, so he issued an edict: "Stop making cakes, only loose tea can be produced". Nowadays, teas such as yellow tea, dark tea, white tea, black tea, and oolong tea that we are familiar with has gradually appeared after the policy.
From then on, people do not have to press tea into cakes and then grind them into powder, but brew loose tea directly in pots or cups. This way of drinking tea makes the use of tea simple and convenient.
Emperor Hongwu's vigorous promotion of loose tea led to the diversification of tea types. Before the Ming Dynasty, there was only green tea, and later other types of tea appeared. People in the Ming Dynasty believed that this method of drinking was "very simple, full of interesting tastes, and it can be said to have the true taste of tea". The method of brewing tea in the Ming Dynasty has also continued to this day. The tea is brewed without any seasoning, and the original taste and true taste of the tea are appreciated. At the same time, the tea utensils and methods used have also been simplified, which is more conducive to the spread of tea culture.
In the Qing Dynasty, teas such as black tea, white tea, dark tea, yellow tea and oolong tea appeared successively. Gaiwan was a popular tea set at that time. Theoretically, all teas can be brewed in a gaiwan, and it is nothing more than adjusting the three factors of tea amount, brewing time and water temperature.
But in fact, there are also regional differences. Generally speaking, the northern regions of China (from the court to the folk) are mostly used to make green tea and jasmine tea. In the south of the Yangtze River, purple clay (Zisha) teapots are often used. Tibetan area is popular to drink milk tea made from black tea. In Chaoshan area, Gongfu tea is popular to make oolong tea. The currently widely popular Gongfu tea was officially formed in Guangdong, Fujian and Taiwan at that time. Oolong tea is brewed in a small teapot. The main steps are: warming the pot, pouring the tea, washing the tea, pouring the pot, warming the cup, pouring the tea, and tasting the tea, etc.
When tea was first discovered, people regarded it as medicine. During the emperor's time, people used it as a thirst-quenching drink. Nowadays, people regard tea as a culture to drink and understand. When tea entered ordinary people's homes, the pace of external communication also changed. The arrival of the industrial revolution has brought the whole world to modernization, with improved production technology, emancipation of mind, and prosperous trade. Tea, which has developed almost to maturity, has been involved in the torrent of history and spread all over the world.
The British developed it into afternoon tea. Japan developed the Japanese tea ceremony. Sri Lanka, India, Kenya and other countries have planted black tea. Tea has spread all over the world, taking root and sprouting everywhere, changing and progressing according to local conditions, and entering the lives of local people.
Nowadays, with the global trade, tea has changed into different shapes and circulated around the world. The development and changes of tea are like tree rings, recording the historical features of different dynasties. The humanistic feelings behind tea are so wonderful and moving, which is what distinguishes tea from other drinks.
]]>It has long been known to tea lovers that you should drink fresh green tea. Mingqian tea is the best in Longjing. Mingqian tea, as the name suggests, is the tea that was picked before the Qingming festival. During this period, the growth of tea trees is slow, the number of germinations of the tea leaves is not much, and even fewer can reach the picking standard, so people often say Mingqian tea is as precious as gold.
The picking and making of Mingqian Longjing tea have excellent timing. It is well known that Longjing tea is picked sooner rather than later. The picking of Mingqian Longjing tea is before the Qingming festival. At this time, the Longjing tea trees grow slowly due to the lower temperature and have experienced the accumulation of nutrients throughout the winter, so that the leaves with rich mineral content are harvested.
Longjing's picking is not arbitrary. Before the Qingming Festival, the temperature is still relatively low, and the number of tea trees to germinate is also limited. The slow growth of tea trees will lead to a low germination rate. Generally, one bud and two leaves or one bud and three leaves are picked. And there should be no tea stems mixed into the tea. There are also very strict requirements for the methods used when picking. A skilled tea picker needs six days to pick the fresh tea leaves that can make a pound of Mingqian tea. In addition, factors such as weather, sunlight temperature, etc. must be considered.
As far as the roasting time is concerned, a pound of Mingqian Longjing tea takes six to seven hours to make. There are many ways to pan-fire Longjing tea, and you can only fry a small amount at a time. The shape of Longjing tea is flat and smooth, like the tongue of a bird. According to legend, after Emperor Qianlong went down to Longjing to drink tea, he picked a few fresh buds and wrapped them in a book. After returning to Beijing, Emperor Qianlong suddenly remembered the fragrance of Longjing tea, so he ordered a tribute to the flattened Longjing tea that he had packed in a book. Tea farmers didn't know what to do for a while. Later, when they had an idea, they pressed the tea leaves against the wall of the pan while frying, and pressed them while pan-firing, and processed them into tea with a flat shape to meet the emperor's requirements. This method has been handed down to this day and has become a unique technique for making Longjing tea. Although Ming Dynasty can be machine-made, most of it is made by hand still. The cost of hand-made tea is much higher, people will spare no expense to buy handmade Mingqian Longjing with better quality.
Whether tea tastes good or not has a lot to do with its composition. It is estimated that the amino acid content of Mingqian tea is higher than that of tea picked later, and the bitterness and astringency, that is, the content of tea polyphenols, is relatively low, which ensures that the tea tastes fragrant. The taste is mellow, and the price will naturally be higher. Many people are most worried about pesticide residues in tea. Mingqian tea basically does not need to worry about this problem, because it is difficult for any pests to withstand the cold of winter, so tea trees in early spring do not need to be sprayed with pesticides. In this way, the quality of Mingqian tea is the best.
When a thing is rare, it becomes precious, which is why the price of Minqian Longjing is high. In fact, when buying tea, as long as the tea matches your own habits, it is the best tea for you! Mingqian Longjing may not be the best for everyone, because Mingqian Longjing is more tender, so the taste is light. The tea picked in the later stage has a stronger taste. For tea lovers who like a stronger taste, the later Longjing is undoubtedly more suitable. Our suggestion is that when purchasing Longjing tea, do not blindly pursue Mingqian tea, but choose the one that suits you.
]]>Dianhong is a very competitive tea product both in appearance and inner quality. Dianhong tea is made from fresh leaves of Yunnan large-leaf tea trees with suitable tenderness. The fresh leaves of large-leaf tea trees are richer in polyphenols than other tea trees. After processing, more theaflavins and thearubigins can be produced. In addition, the content of caffeine and water extracts is high, so it is made into traditional black tea with high aroma and strong flavor, and the soup is red in color and high in quality. However, due to the inconvenient traffic in Yunnan and the lack of good market promotion, Yunnan black tea has never been as well recognized as Anhui Qimen black tea and Fujian Lapsang Souchong.
With the boom of Jinjunmei in Fujian in 2005, there was a big black tea trend all over China, and tea bases all over the country began to produce and promote black tea in large quantities. However, I personally think that due to the characteristics of certain varieties, the phenol-ammonia ratio of fresh tea leaves in many production areas is very small, which is actually more suitable for making green tea. If it is used to make black tea, the aroma and taste of the finished product are not competitive. Dianhong has been building a factory to make black tea since 1938. Whether it is the tea itself or its long history, it is very advantageous. The rise of Dianhong is inevitable.
The first thing to make black tea is to understand the varieties of tea trees in a place, understand all its characteristics, and choose the varieties of tea trees according to the characteristics of the black tea you want to make, and then make it with less effort.
Second, constantly adjust your own craftsmanship according to the quality you need, making black tea will have countless permutations and combinations, there will be a lot of joy, make the desired tea, determine the best craft plan, and then mass-produce it and put it on the market.
Third, the distinctive features of Dianhong Gongfu are: the buds and leaves are plump, the golden hair is prominent, the soup color is either red and bright (heavy fermentation), or orange-yellow (moderate fermentation), and the aroma is fragrant. The main production areas of Dianhong are Lincang, Baoshan, Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Dehong, and Honghe along the Lancang River. The "Fengqing" series is the most famous. The amount of black tea produced by Pu-erh is also quite large.
The main varieties of tea trees used to make black tea from the "Fengqing" series include:
Mengku large leaf species
The seedling family, a national-level fine variety, is an arbor-type plant with an obvious trunk, and its black tea has a high aroma and a strong and fresh taste.
Fengqing large leaf species
The plant is arbor-shaped and has an obvious trunk. The black tea made has a sharp and lasting aroma, and the taste is strong and fresh.
Fengqing No. 7
Clone, with many hairs, heavy buds, good retention and tenderness, it is made into black tea with a melodious and sweet aroma, and a mellow and sweet taste.
Fengqing No. 9
Clone, with many hairs, heavy buds, good retention and tenderness, it is made into black tea with a melodious and sweet aroma, and a mellow and sweet taste.
In addition, Yunnan Province also introduced the following varieties from other provinces: Meizhan, Hairy Crab, Tieguanyin, Huangyu (Golden Gui), Fujian Narcissus, Benshan, Huangguanyin, Mingke No. 1, and Huangqi. The China Red produced by Dianhong Group a few years ago is a black tea made from imported small-leaf species, and the market has responded quite well.
The main varieties of tea trees used to make black tea from Pu-erh are:
Yunkang No. 10
The black tea has a high and long-lasting fragrance, with a floral fragrance and a fresh taste.
Yunkang No. 14
The buds are yellow-green in color, with many hairs, strong tenderness and fast growth.
Xueya No. 100
The buds are plump and thick, and the black tea is made into a black tea with a strong fragrance, a mellow and sweet taste, and a floral fragrance in the soup.
Yunmei
Provincial-level local varieties, made into black tea with high fragrance and strong taste.
Aifeng
The black tea has a high and lasting fragrance and a fresh taste.
Zijuan
Small arbor, made into black tea, the shape of black tea is black and purple, and the original spicy taste of black tea is transformed, and the soup is slightly spicy.
Menghai large leaf species
Its black tea has a sharp and long-lasting aroma, and the taste is strong and fresh.
How did these qualities of Dianhong come to be? The so-called tea quality generally refers to the "color, aroma, taste, shape" and the bottom of the tea leaves. This is the process of identifying the quality of tea from the outside to the inside, from the phenomenon to the essence. The quality of tea is mainly formed by the components in the fresh leaves of the tea tree and some new substances produced by the chemical changes of some substances in the fresh leaves during the processing, including moisture, tea polyphenols, amino acids, proteins, caffeine, aromatic substances, pigments, etc. . Due to different processing methods, various components in tea have different quality characteristics formed by different procedures and combinations.
1. The formation of the shape Our common black tea in the market has needle shape, bar shape, natural curved shape, curled spiral shape, crushed shape, etc. No matter what shape black tea is, it is the result of different technical measures adopted by processing personnel. Generally speaking, the shape of tea leaves is based on rolling, cutting and shaping.
2, the formation of color Dianhong tea is "red soup and red leaves". During the processing, chlorophyll must be destroyed, and the polyphenols must be fully oxidized to form colored substances such as theaflavins and thearubigins.
3, the formation of aroma Some of the aroma substances in black tea are contained in fresh leaves, but most of them are chemically changed by other substances during processing.
4. The formation of taste Dianhong Gongfu black tea requires sweetness, richness, strength and freshness. Theaflavins, thearubigins and theabrownins are produced during processing, and these three substances are the main components of tea soup. Theaflavin is an important component of tea soup with strong irritation and freshness, and has good antioxidant effect. Thearubigin is the main part of the concentrated alcohol and is less irritating. Theabrownin is a factor that affects the concentration of tea. The theaflavins and thearubigins contained in black tea determine the quality. The higher the content of the two, the better the quality.
To make a good cup of black tea, R&D personnel not only need to understand the characteristics of tea trees in this tea area, but also need to carefully understand the characteristics of tea tree varieties in other tea areas and the tea making process, so as to make tea with excellent color and aroma.
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