Taiping Monkey Kui Tea is native to the Fenghuangjian area of Monkey Pit Village (formerly Sanmen Village, Taiping County) in Xinming Township, Huangshan District. The "Qianlong Taiping County Chronicle" records that the area around the phoenix tip is "forced to stand on the ground or walled, can not stand, up and down like an ape", so it is called this mountain village "monkey pit". The most important tea plant variety in monkey pit area is persimmon tea, also known as persimmon leaf tea, shrub-type large-leaf type, late-growing species, cold resistance, strong adaptability, strong tenderness, a bud three-leaf peak in late April, suitable for green tea.
01
The historical evolution of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea
Huangshan District has been producing tea since the Tang Dynasty, and with the changes in history, the tea processing technology has also changed, and in the late Qing Dynasty, it evolved into a type of sharp tea, called Taiping tip tea. Taipingjian tea has ten grades of "tribute, heaven, earth, people, and harmony, yuan, heng, li, tai, and zhen", with gongjian being the most valuable, and gongjian is also the predecessor of the current Taiping monkey kui tea. The historical evolution of Taiping Monkey Kui tea is mainly divided into four stages, namely the creation period, the molding period, the improvement period and the development period, and the time and production area changes of each stage are shown in Table 1.
1. Creation period
During the Qing Guangxu period (1875~1908), some merchants bought 70% of the dried tip tea in Monkey Pit, and hired workers to pick out the buds and leaves with neat branches (one bud and one leaf, one bud and two leaves), specially dried, and individually packaged with the title "Kui Jian", which means the leader of the tip tea. After some tea farmers were inspired by this, in the twenty-sixth year of Qing Guangxu (1900), in the Phoenix Tip Floating Water Tea Garden, selected a strong and neat bud and two leaves fresh leaves to make tea, its tea into an orchid shape, two leaves holding a bud, naturally straight, color, fragrance, taste, shape are excellent. In 1912, Liu Jingzhi, a Sanmen tea merchant, purchased this tea and sent it to the Nanjing Nanyang Persuasion Association and the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce for display, and won the excellent prize. In order to indicate the source and reflect the quality, the name of Taiping County and the name of the monkey pit place of origin are named, and then the meaning of the head of the "Kui" is taken to form the full name - Taiping Monkey Kui. During this period, the main production area of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea was near monkey pits.
2. Molding period
In 1954, the China Tea Industry Company issued the "Taiping Monkey Kui" acquisition standard, which was divided into three grades. This was the first standard for Taiping Monkey Kui tea that was audited by the state, but at that time, only a physical standard sample was set on the second class, which was replaced once a year, and there was no text standard. After the state set standards, the development of Taiping Monkey Kui tea has entered a molding period. During this period, tea farmers continued to explore, improve, and absorb the production process of the surrounding production areas, the production process of Taiping Monkey Kui tea was gradually improved, and the appearance and quality characteristics of the classic Taiping Monkey Kui tea began to appear. At this time, the main production area extended to Monkey Pit, Monkey Gang, Yanjia and other places.
3. Improvement period
In the 1990s, with the gradual application of machinery, the production efficiency and output of famous tea in tea areas across the country increased significantly, but the mechanization of Taiping Monkey Kui tea was difficult and the production efficiency was low, which could not meet the market demand. Faced with fierce competition in the tea market, tea farmers began to explore ways to improve the production process of Taiping Monkey Kui tea. The invention of the screen splint and the drawer multi-layer oven is of landmark significance to the development of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea. It not only improves the production process of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea and greatly improves the production efficiency, but also further strengthens the recognizability of the shape of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea because of the improvement in the process, and lays an important foundation for taiping Monkey Kui Tea to open up the market.
At the same time, the production area of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea was further expanded, in addition to the traditional production areas such as Monkey Pit, Monkey Gang and Yanjia, in 1988, it was expanded to Dashihong and Changkeng in Shuguang Village, Xinming Township; DingBankeng, Tomb Tan, Radish Land and Niujiao Bay in Qiaoshan Village; Malingtou and Hongqiao in Xinming Village. In 2000, it was expanded to Xiajiakeng, Chenjiawu, Shihekeng and Zhuyuantan in Dongjian Village, Longmen Township, which borders Monkey Gang.
4. Development period
At the end of 2002, the local standards of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea in Anhui Province were formulated and promulgated and implemented, which made the production of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea have guiding standards. In 2007, after Taiping Monkey Kui was designated as a national ceremony tea, its popularity increased rapidly, demand surged, and production increased significantly, and Taiping Monkey Kui entered a period of rapid development. At this stage, Taiping Monkey Kui products and processes have undergone great changes, and tea making equipment has been updated and upgraded accordingly with the development of technology. Energy from traditional firewood, charcoal to electricity, for the greening, drying temperature and humidity and other technical parameters of the control is more accurate, intelligent Monkey Kui plastic machine gradually put into use.
After entering a period of rapid development, in order to improve efficiency and meet the aesthetic needs of consumers for Taiping Monkey Kui Tea "KuiWei", the production process at this stage has undergone great changes, and the origin has also been expanding, on May 19, 2003, the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued the "Taiping Monkey Kui" Origin Protection Announcement, the scope of protection is the current administrative area under the jurisdiction of Huangshan District, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, that is, the whole territory of Huangshan District.
02
The production process of Taiping Monkey Kui tea at different stages
Since its creation, the production process of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea has also been continuously improved and matured in the process of development, and has gone through several stages. The changes in processing technology and shape characteristics at different stages are shown in Table 2.
During the valley rain to the summer period, the fresh leaves of one bud and two leaves are picked in the early morning, and the sun is harvested, the shade is harvested, and the rain is not picked. Pick the tea garden with good growth in the mountains, yin mountains and tea trees, the large tea trees that grow vigorously, and pick the fresh leaves with healthy, uniform, fat and dark leaves. The fresh leaves are packed in clean and breathable bamboo baskets and cooled in time after harvesting. The processing technology is divided into four processes: spreading, greening, shaping and baking, and the fresh leaves are picked on the same day.
(1) Spreading
Fresh leaf stalls are placed on bamboo plates or sunbags, and the stalls are required to be clean, hygienic, cool and ventilated, and protected from direct sunlight. The spreading time is about 4 to 6 h, the leaf texture changes from hard to soft, begins to lose luster, the green qi is reduced, and it is appropriate when the fragrance first appears.
(2) Killing
The greening is made in a flat-mouthed deep pot, fueled by charcoal, the bottom of the pot is burned to a reddish (about 160 °C), and 50 g of fresh leaves are added to each pot. Due to the small amount of leaves thrown and the high temperature of the pot, when killing green, use your fingers to turn over fresh leaves, stir-fry with light, fishing clean, stir-fry until you can't hear the sound, the leaves are soft, the green gas disappears, the tea aroma is revealed, and the leaf color is dark green for moderation. After cooking, put it in a round dish to quickly shake and dissipate heat, stretch and straighten.
(3) Plastic baking
Shaping and baking at the same time, after the initial heat dissipation of the green leaves in the plate, rely on skilled skills to spread the tea leaves in the round plate that are initially heat dissipated evenly to the top of the baking, and pat a few times on the edge of the baking cage, so that the tea leaves lie flat on the top of the baking, head baking, the whole hand does not touch the tea leaves, so that the tea leaves maintain a natural straight and stretched original form. After baking for 10 minutes, pick up the baking basket, fold the tea leaves on top of the other basket, change the sides and bake again; after another 10 min, the two cages and one basket are stacked again to the other, and the three baskets are baked until the foot is dry. The temperatures for the three bakes are 100, 85 and 50 °C.
At this stage, the processing technology of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea is still in the exploration period, and product quality evaluation and grade standards have not been established. The shape began to develop in a flat direction, but did not form the classic shape of Taiping Monkey Kui tea.
There is no change in the picking period, and the picking method has been improved and developed. Every morning, a bud of three or four leaves is picked to show fresh leaves, sunny, yin, rain is not picked, and the picking tips of "four picks, eight don'ts" are summarized. "Four picking" is to pick mountains, pick tea gardens with good growth in high mountains, yin mountains, and tea trees; pick trees, pick large tea trees that grow vigorously; pick branches, pick up buds and leaves that are evenly arranged, fat, leaves are dark, thick branches, short internodes, and straight tea branches; pick tips, pick up fresh leaves with fat bud tips. "Eight don't" is not for clipping leaves, too big and too small, too thin, not bent, not fully open leaves, too long internodes, not for pests and diseases, and not for lilac purple. The fresh leaves are packed in clean and breathable bamboo baskets and cooled in time after harvesting. The processing technology is divided into five processes: picking tips, spreading, greening, shaping, and baking, and the fresh leaves are picked on the same day.
(1) Pick the tip
The three and four fresh leaves of the picked bud are poured on the "picking board", and one by one, the buds and leaves are selected one by one, which is fat and old and consistent, that is, "two knives and one shot", and the leaves below the second leaf are folded off. The second leaf requires just opened, that is, the leaf edge is not visibly serrated, flattened but not old, too old into tea warped, too tender into tea into strips. The selected buds are uniform in length, with three flush tips, consistent old and tender, and about 6 cm in length.
(2) Spreading
The spread requirements are the same as during the creation period.
(3) Killing the green
The process is similar to the creation period, except that the amount of fresh leaves per pot is increased to about 100 g when the green is killed, and the final process is carried out 3 to 5 times in the pot.
(4) Shaping and baking
Shaping and baking are carried out at the same time, and the baking is divided into three processes: head baking, second baking and three baking.
Head baking, also known as sub-baking, after the initial heat dissipation of the green leaves in the plate, the head baking is carried out, which is completed in four times. Kill the green leaves evenly sprinkled on the top of the baking, head baking, while baking in the head, while drying with both hands to lightly press the tea leaves to form, which lasted about 2 to 3 minutes; then pick up the baking cage, fold the tea leaves on top of the other basket, change the edge and then bake, use the hands to lightly press the shape for another 2 to 3 min; then folded again to another baking cage, for three baking, and then use the hands to lightly press the shape; finally, the same way to carry out four baking, at this time the leaves have been crisp, can no longer be pressed, to dry until 60% dry when baked and cool. The four baking temperatures of the head bake are 100, 90, 80 and 70 °C.
Two baking, also known as dragging old baking, 4 to 5 cage head roasting tea stall cool after the return to moisture merged into a baking basket to dry, the temperature is about 70 °C, 4 ~ 5 min to dry once, baking with a clean cotton towel to do shape, 5 to 6 times after the drying, about 90% dry under the dry cage put to the pan stall cool.
Three drying, also known as foot fire, is the last drying treatment, the temperature is about 50 °C, baked until the tea leaves are dry.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the production of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea has been restored and developed. The production and production area of Taiping Monkey Kui tea expanded, and a similar tea variety was derived near the production area - Taiping Kuijian, which was taken "Kui" to distinguish it from the word "Kui". Taiping Kuijian and Taiping Monkey Kui processing technology is the same, but the endoplasm is not as good as Taiping Monkey Kui, in order to compete with Taiping Monkey Kui, Taiping Kui Tip's production and processing pays more attention to the improvement and innovation of the appearance, this improvement and innovation is also absorbed by the Taiping Monkey Kui learning, in this learning exchange, the Taiping Monkey Kui process continues to improve, and the characteristic quality of the Taiping Monkey Kui begins to stand out.
The picking requirements still strictly follow the key points of "four picking, eight don't" for picking. There is no change in the processing process, but the molding period has changed specifically to the shaping and baking processes.
(1) Plastic surgery
During this period, under the basis of ensuring the endoplasm, more attention was paid to the beauty of the appearance, so there were great changes in plastic surgery. The beginning of the use of screen splint shape, screen splint by the upper and lower two square screens, the large one can just fit the small. The green leaves are straightened by artificial straightening, placed on the screen, the tea leaves do not fold each other, do not bend, do not stick, after the upper and lower sieve is clamped, gently rolled with a wooden roll, until the leaves are flat and straight.
(2) Baking
From the oven and oven in the early 90s to the drawer multi-layer oven in the late 90s. The oven plus the baking cage baking is divided into three processes: first baking, two baking and three baking. Head baking is to put the screen splint into a special oven, the fire temperature is about 100 °C, turn the noodles every 2 minutes, after 12 min, the clamp is removed, and the flat is poured into the tray. The tea leaves are cooled for 60 min, and after returning to softness, they are baked in the basket for a second roasting at a temperature of about 70 °C. After baking until 90% dry, pour it into the pan again to cool, about 4 h later, carry out the final drying treatment, the temperature is about 50 °C, bake until dry.
The drawer multi-layer oven is used in conjunction with the screen splint, and the size of the oven is made according to the size of the screen. The oven is divided into multiple layers, which are heated at the bottom when baking, and the screen splint with tea leaves is inserted from the bottom layer. There is a brake in the oven that allows the splint to rise layer by layer and the temperature to decrease with the height. When the tea leaves in the screen splint are baked to a certain extent, the brake device is used to raise it one layer, and then a new screen with tea leaves is inserted at the bottom layer. The tea leaves are also close to dry feet when they rise to the top layer. So repeatedly, the tea leaves are dried continuously.
The picking requirements have not changed compared with the improvement period, and the processing technology is still divided into five processes: picking, spreading, greening, shaping, and baking. Due to market demand and technological innovation, the process of each process has changed compared with the improvement period.
The length of Taiping Monkey Kui tea picking has changed from the original 5 to 7 cm to 7 cm, and some have even reached more than 9 cm. Due to the change of length, the fresh leaves when picking the tip no longer require only one bud and two leaves, but select one bud two leaves and one bud three leaves with uniform length.
Some tea farmers have extended their spreading time.
The traditional flat-mouth deep pot and the automatic killing pot coexist, but the automatic killing pot is gradually replacing the traditional flat-mouth deep pot.
(4) Plastic surgery
It is the same as the improvement period, but in recent years, some production areas have begun to use Monkey Kui plastic surgery machines. At the beginning of the plastic machine put into use, the feeding still needs manual assistance, and the efficiency improvement is not obvious. With the advancement of technology, especially the application of artificial intelligence and visual recognition technology, the feeding can be automated, and the machine is expected to replace manual shaping and shaping, which will greatly reduce the production cost of Taiping Monkey Kui.
(5) Baking
Basically no longer use the oven baking, all use drawer multi-layer oven, and electricity as the energy, the specific application and improvement period is the same.
03
The main problems and countermeasures faced by Taiping Monkey Kui Tea are recommended
1, pay attention to the appearance, ignore the quality
In recent years, some tea farmers and operators have paid too much attention to the appearance characteristics of Taiping Monkey Kui "Kui Wei" and ignored the improvement of its endoplasm. It is most evident in the management and production process of tea gardens. In the management of tea gardens, the pruning method adopts heavy pruning to increase the amount of fertilization, which to a certain extent improves the appearance quality of the fat zhuang and uniformity of the fresh leaves picked in the second year, but reduces the content of the fresh leaf inclusions, and the quality characteristics of the Taiping Monkey Kui tea "red silk thread" formed by the rich inclusions are becoming more and more rare in recent years. In the processing technology, the picking of the tip is no longer completely one bud and two leaves, but one bud and two leaves coexist with one bud and three leaves. The resulting Taiping Monkey Kui tea is becoming more and more common in terms of intrinsic performance.
In the process of development, Taiping Monkey Kui Tea should reasonably grasp the relationship between appearance and endoplasm. Strengthen the ecological and scientific management of tea gardens, reduce the number of heavy prunings, implement light pruning, increase the application of farmhouse fertilizer and organic fertilizer, and increase the organic matter content of the soil. In terms of production process, attention is paid to the protection and inheritance of the traditional skills of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea, especially the key step in the formation of the quality characteristics of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea.
2. The production area is expanded and the core is weakened
Compared with other tea varieties, Taiping Monkey Kui Tea has more stringent requirements for the small environment of the tea garden and the soil of the tea garden, and the quality of the same tea plant varieties produced in tea gardens with different microclimates and soil conditions is obviously different. However, from the perspective of the development of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea, the expansion of the production area is an inevitable trend.
In 2003, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China issued an announcement that "Taiping Monkey Kui Tea" originated in the administrative area under the jurisdiction of Huangshan District. With the expansion of the production area, the management of the production area has not kept up, except for the core production areas such as Monkey Pit, Monkey Gang, and Yanjia, there are no obvious hierarchical management measures for the production areas in the remaining production areas. For high-quality production areas outside the core production areas, the excellent quality of Taiping Monkey Kui tea produced has been ignored and buried, and it has not exerted its due market value.
At present, it is urgent to formulate a hierarchical management system for the origin of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea, determine the production scope of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea at various regional levels, and drive the development of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea in the whole region with the core production area.
3, the market chaos, the name confusion
In the process of development, Taiping Monkey Kui Tea has derived related products such as Taiping Tip Tea and Taiping Cloth Tip, which do not have corresponding normative names and standards, and are called Taiping Monkey Kui Tea. For these tea products, it is necessary to introduce corresponding standards as soon as possible, or add an appendix to the Taiping Monkey Kui standard so that these products can be clearly positioned in the market.
4. Fake Monkey Kui enters the market
Taiping Monkey Kui tea is harvested every morning with fresh leaves and processed in the afternoon. There are a small number of tea merchants or tea farmers who buy fresh leaves from other places for processing, thereby making a profit, which seriously affects the reputation of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea. Government departments should strengthen the protection of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea, improve the traceability system from tea plants to tea leaves as soon as possible, do a good job in the identification of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea products, and explore the technical application of new technologies such as blockchain in product traceability and core production area protection. At the same time, we will increase the intensity of supervision, encourage tea farmers to supervise each other, and give severe punishment to those who counterfeit Taiping Monkey Kui tea, so as to prevent the occurrence of counterfeiting.
04
epilogue
Taiping Monkey Kui Tea has experienced more than a century since its inception, and generations of Monkey Kui Tea people have used their wisdom and wisdom to pay countless hard sweats, constantly groping, innovating and standardizing the process, and obtaining excellent quality and distinctive characteristics of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea. Taiping Monkey Kui Tea has withstood the test of the market in its development, won many awards, and has become a golden business card of Huangshan District.
Nowadays, Taiping Monkey Kui Tea has entered a period of prosperity and development, in order to ensure the competitiveness of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea, first of all, it is necessary to rectify the market, produce in strict accordance with the national standards of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea, and maintain the traditional style and unique quality of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea; secondly, it is necessary to apply scientific management methods to pioneer and innovate, promote the intelligent and modern development of tea making equipment, and guide the sustained and healthy development of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea; in addition, it is also necessary to make extensive use of online media such as new media and short videos, as well as offline activities such as exhibitions and consumer goods appreciation. Spread the brand awareness of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea, improve consumers' awareness of Taiping Monkey Kui Tea, and let Taiping Monkey Kui Tea always stand in the forest of famous teas.