It is a fully fermented tea (fermentation degree 100%)
With a history of more than 300 years, it is the second largest tea in China, with exports accounting for about 5% of China's total tea production, and customers in more than 60 countries and regions, of which the largest sales volume is Egypt. Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands and Eastern European countries.
Black tea is usually fragmentary, but there are also many strips of black tea. Because its color is dark red, and the color of the soup it brews is vermilion, it is called black tea.
The quality characteristics of the red leaves of black tea red soup are mainly formed after "fermentation", the so-called "fermentation" essence is the original colorless polyphenol substances in the tea, under the catalysis of polyphenol oxidase, the oxidation of the formation of red oxidation polymerization products - black tea pigment, this pigment part can be dissolved in water, after brewing the formation of red tea soup, part of the insoluble in water, accumulated in the leaves, so that the leaves become red, the red soup leaves of black tea are made in this way.
First, the process: black tea is a fully fermented tea, is a suitable tea plant new shoot leaves as raw materials, through withering, kneading (cutting), fermentation, drying and a series of processes refined,
1. Picking
Freshly mined to preserve the active ingredients of fresh leaves.
2. Withering
The fresh leaves are dried on the fresh mounds and cooled in the sun until the color is dark green.
3. Kneading
The withered raw leaves are artificially kneaded into strips and the tea juice is kneaded moderately.
4. Fermentation
Place the twisted leaves in a wooden barrel or bamboo basket, press it tightly, cover the damp cloth and bake it in the sun, and emit the aroma of tea, that is, a wet blank of raw tea. Fermentation is a unique stage of black tea production, is the key to determine the quality of Qi black tea, fermentation room temperature control below 30 degrees, after fermentation leaf color to red, the formation of Qi black tea red leaf red soup quality characteristics.
5. Drying
The wet blanks are dried in the sun, and baked with charcoal on rainy days to 50% to 60%, commonly known as mao tea.
6. Screening
In the large tea room, between the lower body, between the tail is divided into 3 geographical, the whole process to go through different types of tea sieves more than ten kinds, divided into each number of head tea.
7. Picking
The light slices, fragments, yellow flakes, tea stems and debris in each tea sieved are hand-picked and removed.
Second, the appearance of the points:
1. Small varieties of black tea (Zhengshan small seeds, tobacco small seeds)
2. Kung Fu Black Tea (Dian Hong, Qi Hong, Chuan Hong, Min Hong)
3. Red crushed tea (leaf tea, broken tea, slice tea, end tea, etc.)
4, raw materials: large leaves, middle leaves, small leaves, generally cut green, crushed and striped.
5. Appearance: dark red.
6, soup color: bright red
7. Leaf bottom: red or bright red
8. Aroma: maltose aroma, caramel aroma, strong taste and slightly astringent.
Third, the efficacy of black tea
Black tea is a fully fermented tea, and the stomach-warming effect of black tea is very prominent. It can warm the stomach, dissolve phlegm, consume food, etc., and should be drunk by those with weak spleen and stomach. In the Wuyishan area, the stomach-warming and stomach-nourishing effect of black tea is comparable to that of expensive Da Hong Pao aged tea.
It is very suitable for drinking black tea in autumn and winter.
In addition, regular drinking of black tea has the effect of quenching thirst, refreshing, exhaustion, diuresis and so on. Experimental studies have confirmed that black tea also has antioxidant, lower blood lipids, inhibit arteriosclerosis, enhance capillary function, anti-mutation, hypoglycemia, bacteriostatic, anti-inflammatory and other pharmacological effects. Therefore, in daily life, consumers with poor spleen and stomach are not suitable for green tea, and it is advisable to choose black tea for tasting, which is still very good for health.
However, it should be noted that black tea should not be drunk before meals, and it should not be drunk immediately after meals, and it should not be drunk before going to bed or on an empty stomach, let alone using black tea water to take medication.