丨 This article was originally produced by Xiao Chen Tea
丨 First published in the headline number: Xiao Chen Tea Affair
丨Author: Village Gu Chen
《1》
Cooking smoke is a seductive landscape painting.
It's related to the countryside, it's related to the tile houses, it's related to the mud crops.
Unlike the desert solitude, so lonely and desolate, they are bustling and lively together.
Along the chimney, climb up the ash tiles of the roof and reach the sky above, where the smell of firewood and smoke flows.
In a city made of reinforced concrete, it is difficult to see such a view.
Therefore, I often imagine myself living in the mountains and forests, truly becoming a village girl, stepping on the loess soil, and feeling the warm and hot earth.
If you are afraid of hot feet, consider knitting a pair of straw shoes.
In short, the whole body exudes the breath given by nature, rich and pure.
Remembering the dream of the Red Chamber, Xiangling learned poetry.
Reading Tao Yuanming's "Warm and Warm Distant People's Village, Relying on the Smoke in the Ruins", there is also a similarity.
However, when it comes to "smoke flavor", many tea leaves also have it.
According to the feedback of tea friends, in white tea, rock tea, black tea, there have been people who have drunk the smell of smoke.
So this "smell of smoke", whether it is good or bad, and why does it appear in the tea leaves?
The truth, it turned out to be so.
《2》
Looking at the national standard of black tea, you will find that it is divided into three parts.
They are red crushed tea, Kung Fu black tea, and small black tea.
Among them, the fresh leaves of tea trees picked from the TongmuGuan of Wuyi Mountain and made with local traditional crafts are called "Zhengshan Small Seeds".
As the originator of black tea in the world, I think the daimyo of "Zhengshan Small Species" is not unfamiliar to you.
However, many tea customers, when drinking zhengshan small seeds, said that they could not accept the smell of smoke inside.
Even wonder if you have bought fake black tea?
Not really.
The traditional Zhengshan small seed needs to be smoked with local masson pine, and the whole process of production must be exposed to "smoke".
In Tongmu Village, you can see several ancient green buildings, attic shapes, wooden structures, staggered.
Don't get me wrong, this is not referring to the Qinglou of the ancient feudal society, it is specially used to make tea.
The general practice is to spread small black tea thinly on the green building, and then keep burning the pine branches of masson pine underneath.
In this way, the resulting light smoke will climb up the pipe.
When subjected to the action of heat, the pores of the tea leaves are completely opened and absorbed into a large amount of smoke.
At the end, this breath is firmly locked in the body of black tea.
To be precise, it is a smell of pine smoke, a pleasant and comfortable smell.
After brewing, under the action of boiling water, it will release a rich pine smoke fragrance, and the taste contains a fresh and sweet cinnamon flavor.
Of course, the problem of difficult conversation still exists, and not everyone likes pine smoke.
Therefore, according to the needs of the market, the traditional process has also been improved, and there are smoke-free Zhengshan small seeds, or Zhengshan small varieties with only a little smoke smell.
Smoke-free Zhengshan small seeds, characterized by "flower and fruit aroma, guiyuan soup", the audience is wider and easier to be accepted.
Nowadays, in order to be clear, the small species of Zhengshan with pine smoke incense is called "Zhengshan Tobacco Small Species".
The decline of the small species of mountain tobacco is a pity for many tea lovers.
Out of affection or love, there are still many tea customers looking for small varieties of zhengshan tobacco.
It can also be understood that they are looking for that pristine feeling.
《3》
Wuyi rock tea that has just been made, it is not surprising that there is a smoke smell.
In Wuyishan, there are first tea folk songs:
"People say that grain is like silver, and I say that tea is like gold." Wuyi Rock Tea Xing, The Great Recitation of the Tea Sutra. One pick two pour green, three shake four around the water. Five stir-fry, six kneading gold, seven baking and eight picking stems. Nine times ten sieving, Dao Dao gongfu fine. ”
As can be seen, the production process is complex and sophisticated.
In addition, there is also the reputation of "Wuyi baking method, real armor world".
The step that makes Wuyi Rock Tea produce a smoke flavor is "roasting", that is, roasting fire.
As the final step of the tea making step, it is also the key, the purpose is to stabilize the fermentation results, using high temperature to passivate the oxidase in the tea leaves.
After losing its activity, it can no longer promote the transformation of tea polyphenols and other substances.
At the same time, the good roasting process makes Wuyi rock tea easier to preserve, which is not conducive to rejuvenation, and presents the flavor characteristics of rock bone floral fragrance and fragrant sweetness.
But excellent and exquisite technology may not be mastered by everyone.
Therefore, tea making is a technology, and only with superb techniques can we make good tea.
The smokey smell of Wuyi rock tea will not always exist.
Rock tea, which has just been made, requires a waiting process, which we call "fading fire".
As the name suggests, it is to wait for the tea to breathe out the smoke by itself, so that the aroma taste reaches the best state.
Most of those who are sensitive to the "smell of smoke" are new tea customers.
In the past, the taste of drinking tea was relatively light, drinking green tea, white tea, etc., never experienced the smell of smoke, and was naturally sensitive to the taste of smoke.
But in the eyes of the old tea guests, this smell of smoke is like a mature, warm caramel aroma.
It's okay, please give Rock Tea some more time.
Rock tea that has undergone a fading fire will become more mellow and delicious.
However, if you find that after a year and a half of your rock tea, the smoke smell is still obvious and pungent, it proves that the process is too poor and the quality is not good.
《4》
White tea has a smokey taste, which is a manifestation of moisture deterioration.
It can be seen from the aforementioned Wuyi Rock Tea and Zhengshan Small Varieties that their "smoke taste" mainly comes from craftsmanship.
One is roasted and the other is smoked.
The reason for this can be traced back to the special climatic conditions of Wuyi Mountain.
In order to extend the shelf life of tea and stabilize the quality, the great working people have come up with a unique process to cope with.
But the process of white tea is different, very simple.
No frying, no kneading, no greening, no roasting, only withering and drying.
Withering, relying on daylight; drying, using low temperature and slow baking.
These steps cannot produce smoke smell at all, so white tea and "smoke smell" are not at all on the same side.
In the new white tea, there are fragrant aromas, flowers, herbs and other plant fragrances, but there is no smoke smell.
The production of smoke is often not in the new tea period, but after a period of storage.
Presumably, it is related to the change of its own quality.
In terms of experience, the white tea category that is most prone to smoke is the white silver needle.
This strange phenomenon is actually very easy to understand, and you can know one or two by looking at its appearance.
The white silver needle is a flag and a shot, with no leaves, only bud heads and small fish leaves.
Peeling off the bud head, you can find that there are 5-7 layers of bamboo shoot shell structure hidden inside, and there are pekoe on each layer.
Such a thick bud head, it is not easy to dry thoroughly.
In addition to being patient, you must also master the drying temperature, otherwise the temperature is too high, the outer layer is dry, but the inner layer is still wet.
As a result, the water content is difficult to meet the requirements of the national standard, less than 8.5%.
It can be seen that for tea masters, it is a great test.
White tea with substandard water content and insufficient dryness is doomed to be difficult to store for a long time.
Over time, the moisture and the contents of the tea have adverse reactions, and the smoke smell appears.
Not only that, the original layered tea aroma has become single, and the soup has become weak.
White tea likes to be dry and afraid of wetness, and dryness is its best shield to avoid generating all kinds of strange smells caused by moisture.
Not only the smell of smoke, but also the taste of chocolate, sourness, barn taste, stuffiness, musty taste, etc., all represent the decline of white tea.
《5》
Essentially, the smell of smoke is not annoying.
However, if it appears in the tea leaves, it depends on the situation.
The smoke smell of the small varieties of Zhengshan tobacco is a characteristic of the process and is a unique pine tobacco fragrance.
Whenever you drink, you will think of the paulownia closed, the quiet and deep mountain forest, the sweet air, the clear spring water, the so-called "alpine rhyme".
The smoke taste of Wuyi rock tea should be viewed dialectically.
After the fire is cleaned, there is no smell of smoke at all, but there is a different feeling.
Such a good flavor is also a beautiful landscape.
Only in white tea, the smell of smoke should not appear the least.
The smoke flavor generated by the bad white tea is dull, mixed, and is the manifestation of inferior tea.
Rational analysis can have good tea.
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Xiao chen tea village gu Chen, columnist, tea industry original new media "Xiao Chen tea matter" chief writer, has published a white tea monograph "White Tea Tasting Notes", 2016-2020 has written more than 4,000 original articles.