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》
Thunderstorms in summer are as common as watermelons.
Watching the rainstorm outside the window, I think back to my childhood and like to watch the dark clouds rolling in.
They rushed from west to east at a speed visible to the naked eye, while they sat on a small bench by the window, too frightened to close the curtains against the wall.
His eyes stared at the clouds without blinking, fantasizing that Sun Wukong and the East Sea Dragon King were fighting in the Ninth Heaven.
The raindrops are big and small, crackling on the glass, and from time to time there is lightning streaking, and thunder roars.
The breath of summer is blowing in.
Later, I learned to hide in the room with "Dream of the Red Chamber".
Combined with the pure natural white noise, it can especially make people feel calm, quite a sense of "blowing out the degree of flower lights, all are the moon" beauty.
It is actually difficult to read and understand the Red Chamber all at once.
In the face of the four major families of "Jia, Wang, Xue, and Shi", especially the complicated character relationship in the Jia House, which is the leader, they often feel dizzy.
However, it would be nice to read it a few more times.
Until now, I have been unable to count how many times I have read it, but every time I read it, there will be a new embodiment.
That's where the classic charm lies.
Read carefully, read slowly, the focus is on persistence.
《2》
The relationship between the six major tea categories is no simpler than the Dream of the Red Chamber.
The most commonly asked question is what is the difference between green tea, white tea and black tea.
Green tea and black tea are characterized by household names, high popularity and wide popularity.
In the homes of people who have the habit of drinking tea, green tea and black tea often become essential ration tea or working tea.
But even if young and old know, there are not many people who really understand them deeply.
In addition, in recent years, the original niche white tea has suddenly become popular.
Some people say that it is like green tea, others say that it is like black tea, and the emergence of various remarks has once again cast a mysterious veil on the relationship between the three.
Take this opportunity to make it clear to everyone.
First of all, in terms of categories, green tea, white tea, and black tea belong to a juxtaposition relationship, rather than mutual inclusion.
In other words, white tea is neither green nor black.
It is one of the six major types of tea, and like green tea and black tea, it has specific tree species and process requirements, and also has its own unique flavor.
The categories of white tea, according to the requirements of raw materials and different tree species, can be divided into white silver needles, white peony, shoumei and gongmei.
When you see the beautiful appearance of white tea buds and the fresh soup, many new tea friends have said: Very much like green tea!
Not really.
Between white tea and green tea, from the tree species to the process, to the brewing method, the future direction of collection, are completely different.
We will explain these problems slowly in the following article.
Common green tea in life includes West Lake Longjing, Dongting Biluochun, Huangshan Maofeng, Xinyang Maojian, Liu'an Gua Slice and so on.
Because the region where green tea is produced is extremely extensive, it covers almost half of China and has become the main force in tea sales.
There are also many historical stories.
For example, Dongting Biluochun, when Kangxi went down to Jiangnan, was already famous, beautiful in shape, colorful, fragrant and mellow.
The original name was "Frightening Incense", and was later inscribed by the Kangxi Emperor himself, so it was renamed "Biluochun".
Another example is Emei mountain tea, Li Shan of the Tang Dynasty once described it this way, "There are many herbs on the forehead, and the tea is especially good, which is different from the world." ”
If green tea is the "national drink", then black tea is world-renowned.
As early as the 16th century, the originator of the world's black tea, Zhengshan small seeds, were spread overseas and flowed into Europe, and immediately swept the British royal family.
It comes from Tongmuguan, Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province, which has also become the birthplace of black tea in the world and has a long history.
In addition to the small species of Zhengshan, Jin Junmei, Qi Hong, Dian Hong, Sichuan Hong, Yingde, Rizhao Black Tea, etc., are more famous.
If you want to understand tea, you must first understand what kind of tea you usually drink.
《3》
Green tea, white tea, black tea is picked from a tea tree and made with different processes?
The answer is, wrong.
According to the theory, the distinction between green tea, white tea, and black tea is indeed based on the process, that is, the degree of fermentation.
What is not fermented is green tea, what is slightly fermented is white tea, and what is fully fermented is black tea.
But this is only one of the differences between the three, and if it is generalized, it is a big mistake.
Tea trees are adaptable.
Just like what is written in "The Master's Sayings": There is a sequence of hearing the Tao, and there is a specialization in the art, and so on.
Even if they are geniuses, they know astronomy and geography, but they also have their own masters, some people are good at art, some people are good at mathematics, some people are good at physics...
The same is true of tea making.
In the national standard of white tea, the tree species are described in detail: large white tea, daffodil tea tree and group tea plant are used as raw materials.
That is to say, the young shoots that are not picked from these tea trees, even if they are processed according to the white tea process, do not belong to white tea.
For example, if we take the raw materials of West Lake Longjing to make white tea, even if we agree, the tea farmers in Shifeng Longjing Village will not agree.
The tree species of green tea, although not specified in the national standard, there are also relevant provisions in the industry standards of various geographical indication products.
For example, in The West Lake Longjing, Longjing No. 43 should be used, and tea varieties should be planted in groups.
For example, Anji white tea uses fresh leaves of a tea tree called "White Leaf No. 1" as raw materials to produce a unique flavor.
As for black tea, it is more delicate.
For example, the small varieties of Zhengshan Must use Tongmu Village in Xingcun Town, Wuyi Mountain, and vegetable tea in wuyishan nature reserve as raw materials.
Vegetable tea is actually another name for group planting tea trees.
In the local natural climate of Tongmuguan, after thousands of years of sexual reproduction, it has become the raw material for making zhengshan small seeds.
In other places, the small species of Zhengshan made by other tree species are all counterfeit goods.
《4》
Green tea, white tea, black tea, which one can be more aged and more fragrant?
The answer is, white tea.
This is due to the simple process of white tea, not fried, not kneaded, not killed, through withering and drying, the nutrients of white tea are retained in large quantities.
Not only that, but there is also a great room for transformation in the later stage.
Because there is no greening, the activity of tea polyphenols still exists.
After years, the content of tea polyphenols will decrease day by day, and the longer this white tea is present, the more tea polyphenols will be reduced.
Therefore, white tea has the characteristics suitable for long-term survival.
In addition, there are other substances that are increasing year by year, such as flavonoids.
This is a natural antioxidant, which is why it is often said that old white tea is more friendly to middle-aged and elderly people.
In everyone's continuous pursuit, the reputation of white tea as "one year tea, three years of medicine, seven years of treasure" is becoming more and more widely known.
And green tea, the most important processing step, is to kill the green.
After the killing, the activity of tea polyphenols is destroyed or passivated by high temperature, and it will always remain in the tea.
Even if the green tea is stored for a long time, these tea polyphenols will not be weakened too much, but the freshness will be oxidized.
Therefore, green tea advocates "drinking fresh", which is exactly the truth.
Drinking it in half a year to a year is the best choice.
Black tea, there are green, but also kneading and fermentation, under good preservation, the soup will indeed turn mellow, but there is no value for long-term storage.
If the shelf life is exceeded, it will make the aroma of the tea become dull and the soup will become weak.
Even, improper storage, after absorbing excess water vapor, will make black tea pantothenic acid.
The rational approach is still to choose to drink it early and then buy the next batch of black tea of your choice.
《5》
If you want to understand the Red Chamber, you must work harder.
If you forget the previous episode, go back and read it again.
Because the relationship between the characters is too complicated, the events are also very cumbersome, and when you read it, you forget it, you can't pick up the front, and you have to return to review it in time.
Drinking tea is also the same truth.
At the beginning, if you can't understand it, drink more, learn more, and be diligent to make up for it.
Or, start with a tea that is easy to drink and understand.
One is to cultivate interest, and the other is to solve a lot of confusion.
If it is really difficult to understand, if you painstakingly study a certain tea, there will always be a day when you "keep the clouds open and see the moon".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="116" > more original knowledge about tea</h1>
Osmanthus white tea, jasmine white tea, rose white tea, they and white tea are not the same kind of tea, don't confuse
White tea is cold and cold, white tea is sugary, have you ever misunderstood the efficacy of white tea?
Whether it is new white tea or old white tea, is the fragrance of white tea jujube?
From small black tea to kung fu black tea and red crushed tea, talk about some broken chapters of black tea
How to distinguish between white tea, black tea, green tea, green tea, black tea, and yellow tea? Judged by color?
Original is not easy, if you feel that this article is helpful to you, please help to like it.
Pay attention to [Xiao Chen Tea Matter], learn more about white tea, rock tea knowledge!
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.