More than 20 days have passed since the last time I wrote black tea, and I have not been able to decide whether to write white tea or green tea, mainly because I do not have a better picture at hand, and I have dragged it to today.
When I turned things over, I turned over a bag of big red robes and remembered a conversation with my husband.
Me: "Da Hong Pao is black tea, right?" ”
Husband: "Is black tea with red characters?" ”
Me: "What kind of tea is that?" ”
Husband "Oolong tea." ”
Me: "What is oolong tea?" ”
Husband: "Green tea." ”
Me: "Green tea is green tea?" ”
Husband: "....."
People who don't understand tea always speak amazingly, leaving people who know how to order tea speechless.
Last time we talked about the six basic classifications of tea, there is a semi-fermented green tea. It is a unique tea species in China, and the main production areas are in Guangdong, Fujian and Taiwan Provinces. This kind of tea picking is more exquisite, must wait for the new shoots to grow nearly mature, the leaf opening degree of up to 80% or 90%, in the form of two leaves and one bud, pick two or three young leaves with buds, branches and leaves, most of them are opposite leaves. A combination of green tea and black tea preparation method, the tea making process includes daylight withering (or hot wind withering), indoor withering and stirring (partial fermentation), 8% fermentation, 25% fermentation, stir-frying, first drying, hot dough kneading, re-drying, etc., the tea leaves are dark green or bluish brown, the brewed tea soup is honey green or honey yellow, floral and fruity, from fresh floral fragrance, fruit aroma to ripe fruit aroma, the taste is mellow and sweet, slightly bitter can also return to sweetness. The main representatives are the Dahongpao of Wuyi in Fujian, the Tieguanyin in Anxi, the Phoenix Narcissus in Guangdong, and the Phoenix Fir in Guangdong.
I remember that we once went to Linlin, Shaanxi province together to play, and there were a few words mounted on the wall of the private room when we ate, and we didn't know calligraphy. A group of people guessed, and seemed to guess a "out" word, but it was not like it; it seemed that there was a word like "Lan", and it was not accurate. Ask the hotel attendant, smile and shake your head. Modern information technology is more developed, a friend took a photo and sent it to a friend who wrote, quickly replied "Qi Ruo Youlan", "Oh" Everyone was relieved, "it was so", and instantly felt a group of illiterates. Speaking of "Qi Ruo Youlan", I have to say that it is like an orchid-scented Tieguanyin.
The shape of Tieguanyin is a fat tight knot, hemispherical spiral, with the core characteristics of the leaf margin red leaf heart green, called "green leaf red trim". The color is sand green, the leaves are covered with white frost, and the most charming thing is its high, naturally rich orchid fragrance and sweet fragrance. The tea soup is smooth, mellow and sweet, and the sweetness is long, it is said that the seven bubbles still have residual fragrance, and within a few hours, the teeth and cheeks are still fragrant, and the unique Guanyin rhyme.
I've made two jokes about Tieguanyin. Once, when the tea leaves were finished brewing and tidying up, I found that the leaf edges were red, thinking that the tea leaves had been put away for a long time, so I taught my husband to "not drink in time" and asked "throw it away quickly, you can't drink bad tea." My husband looked at me with a contemptuous look, as if to say, "Not like you!" "Another time is when brewing the water temperature is too high to brew for too long, resulting in the tea soup is rough and difficult to swallow and bitter and astringent, please consult the tea shop friends, and then dare not brew for a long time, 1 minute out of the soup."
In addition to Tieguanyin, there is another kind of relationship with me.
Once, drinking tea with a friend in a tea house, I happened to see a friend talking about the tea of duck, I felt surprised and laughed, and I was laughing, and the tea house owner said That's a phoenix fir, yes, it is a phoenix fir tea.
Phoenix single fir tea is known as "beautiful shape, color, fragrant, sweet taste" four must, that is, straight and fat and oily appearance characteristics, elegant and high natural flower aroma, rich, mellow, refreshing, sweet taste, orange yellow clear and bright soup color, green belly red edged leaf bottom and extremely resistant to brewing bottom. At the same time, because of its superior ecological conditions, good tea variety resources, and exquisite harvesting technology, its taste has a unique "mountain rhyme", which can only be understood. Just now we said that Tieguanyin "seven bubbles have residual fragrance", and the most common phoenix single fir can be brewed more than 12 bubbles, and alpine tea can easily be more than 20 punches, which is the highest fragrant variety in oolong tea. Originally, Phoenix Fir Tea has ten major fragrance types, including yellow branch incense, zhilan incense, milan incense, magnolia incense, osmanthus fragrance, almond fragrance, cinnamon fragrance, evening fragrance, grapefruit flower fragrance, ginger flower fragrance and so on. However, the smell of duck is still fresh in people's minds. There are two theories about the origin of the name duck, one is because the tea grows on the local yellow soil, commonly known as the duck soil; the other is because the tea farmers are afraid that others will steal their own tea trees and deliberately scandalize the tea name. Previously, because the tea was not elegant, and its fragrance was similar to the aroma of honeysuckle, it was renamed honeysuckle, but people remembered the duck fragrance. Duck incense duck incense, the big custom is the elegance.
Oolong tea brewing is extremely exquisite, but also has a lot of fun. There are eight procedures:
The first is to boil the water, and the water temperature is "a boiling water" (that is, just boiling water). When the water is boiling, rinse the lid bowl (or teapot) and teacup again so that it is both hygienic and warm, and then put the oolong tea into the lid bowl (or teapot). The bowl is 5-10 grams with tea, the teapot depends on the size, the small teapot accounts for about four or five points of the teapot capacity, the medium teapot accounts for about three or four points, and the large teapot accounts for about two or three points. These actions involve three procedures, namely "Mountain Spring First Boiling", "White Crane Bathing" and "Oolong Entering the Palace".
Then lift the kettle, from a high place to the lid bowl or teapot mouth to rush in, so that the bowl (pot) in the tea leaves rotate, promote the tea leaves dew fragrance; after the boiling water is full, immediately cover the bowl (pot) lid, wait a moment, use the bowl (pot) cover to gently scrape off the floating white foam, so that the tea leaves are fresh and clean. This is the fourth and fifth procedure, called "hanging pot high punch" and "spring breeze breeze".
After brewing for one or two minutes (the brewing time should be appropriate, too short, the color and flavor cannot come out; too long, it will produce a bitter taste), use the thumb and middle fingers to clamp the bowl tightly, press the bowl lid with the index finger, and pour the tea into the small tea cup side by side. When pouring tea, it should be lowered to avoid loss of fragrance and taste. Pour to the thickest part of the bottom of the bowl until it is evenly dripped into each teacup. In this way, it achieves a uniform thickness, mellowness, and also contains the deep affection of the owner. This is the sixth and seventh procedure, called "Guan Gong Patrol City" and "Han Xin Point Soldier".
Once the tea is poured into the cup, it should be inhaled while it is hot, so as not to affect the color and aroma. When drinking, first smell its fragrance, then taste its taste, while sipping while sniffing, although the amount of drinking is not much, but it can leave a fragrance on the cheeks, the bottom of the throat is sweet, refreshing, and pleasant. This is the eighth procedure, called "Pin Sip Ganlin".
When brewing tea for the second time, still use boiling water to blanch the cup, brew for two or three minutes and then pour the tea. Then rush the third time, the fourth time... The brewing procedure is basically the same, but the time to brew the tea is longer one by one, and it can be brewed seven or eight times and still has the aftertaste.
Life is a lifetime, like tea, through a thousand hammers and hundreds of refinements, a rush, several times sinking, nirvana into a phoenix, fragrant. Tea? Taste life?
#Original Essay ##茶生活 #