Gulao silver needle is a specialty of Gulao Town, Heshan City, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province. The quality of The Gulao silver needle is characterized by the tight knot of the rope and straight as a needle, the color of silver gray is obvious, the aroma is high purity and long-lasting, the taste is mellow and sweet, the soup color is green and bright, and the leaf bottom is delicate and uniform.
Gulao tea is produced in Lishui, Chashan, Maishui, Xialu and other places in Gulao Town, Heshan City, Guangdong Province. The climate is warm, with an average annual temperature of 21.5%. 8 °C, basically frost-free throughout the year, the annual rainfall of about 1800 mm, the water vapor on the river surface evaporates, the fog is misty, the air is humid, and it constitutes an "alpine climate environment" on the hills. The tea garden is shaded by trees, the tea field is covered with grass, the soil layer is deep, the land is fertile, and the organic matter and mineral content are abundant, which is very suitable for the growth of tea plants.
There are two main categories of Gulao tea: "Gulao Tea" and "Gulao Silver Needle". Gulao silver needles are the treasures of Gulao tea, and the "Cuiyan Silver Needles" produced in Lishui are of the best quality. Silver needle tea was already famous as early as the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644~1735 AD), when there was a song "really good to pick, marry Lishui". By the Guangxu period (1870s), Gulao tea was on the verge of bankruptcy, and silver needle tea was almost lost. It was not until the 1950s that this ancient historical tea was reborn and rejuvenated.
Gulao tea is harvested from the local Gulao tea tree, which is divided into two types: green bud type and red bud type. The former is called Cymbidium and the latter is called Red Rui. The aroma of gulao tea made of red bud type fresh leaves is low, and the aroma of gulao tea made of green bud type fresh leaves is high. Gulao silver needles are mostly processed with green bud type fresh leaves. Silver needle tea according to the quality of the superior is divided into high-grade Gulao silver needles, ordinary Gulao silver needles and Gulao green tea three flower color varieties, high-grade Gulao silver needles are also known as finch tongue tea, picked before and after the spring equinox, the picking standard is one bud and one leaf first exhibition, bud length 1.5 ~ 2.0 cm, bud color yellow-green, hairy, called "Snow Valley Bud"; ordinary Gulao silver needles are picked before and after the Qingming, the picking standard is one bud and two leaves, the color is dark green, called black rui; Gulao green tea picking standard is one bud two, three leaves, called "split bud".
Gulao silver needles are hand-fried. The main process is to divide the five processes of greening, killing, kneading, stir-frying and baking.
Spreading: The purpose is to dissipate the surface moisture of the bud leaves. After a short period of thin spreading, the surface water is lost before the greening is carried out.
When the temperature of the pot is 150 ~ 200 ° C, put about 700 grams of green leaves, mainly stir-frying. When the leaves are soft, the luster of the leaf surface disappears, and the folding stems continue, the pot is set to cool.
Stir-fry: In a pan. The purpose is to shape and evaporate the water. When the temperature of the pot is about 80 ° C, put in about 700 grams of cool leaves, place the tea leaves between the palms of the two hands, gently knead and rub gently from top to bottom, while evaporating the water, while rubbing the tea leaves tightly, straightening and rounding. Gestures range from light to heavy. When the tea strips are round and straight like needles, the mushrooms are exposed, the water content is 30 to 35%, and the temperature of the pot is reduced to 50 to 60 ° C for boiling. Gestures should be light when drying to keep the buds intact. Enters the roasting process when the shape is fixed and rustling. The dry can be baked directly in the pan or in the basket until it is dry.
Historically, gulaomao tea, which has been stir-fried and kneaded, is stir-fried in a drum with a temperature of up to 300 ° C or more. When the tea leaves have a burnt aroma, it is advisable to rub it by hand to form leaf shavings. As it is said in the Tong Junlu, "take it as crumb tea". Gulao tea has a unique high fire aroma, so it is also called "spark fragrant tea". It has the characteristics of head bubble fire smell, two bubbles of sugar fragrant life, three bubbles of pleasant spirit, and then bubble taste of alcohol. In the Yuan Dynasty, Yelü Chucai praised the Lingnan tea poetry: "The high people benefit my Lingnan tea, the rotten taste of flying flowers and snow has no car, the jade crumbs are three Ou cooking tender buds, and the green flag is a leaf that crushes new shoots." "The quality of the Gulao silver needle is characterized by the tight knot of the rope and straight as a needle, the color of silver gray is obvious, the aroma is high purity and long-lasting, the taste is mellow and sweet, the soup color is green and bright, and the bottom of the leaves is delicate and uniform.