In recent years, in the player's Pu'er circle, people have begun to frequently mention the tasting of "cat ears" and "cat ears".
The market has even begun to appear "cat ears" products.
The word "cat ears" seems to be starting to get redder, but few people have actually drunk it and understood the ins and outs of "cat ears."
So this year's spring tea season, the research team of tea language made a special trip to Yibang and visited the source of "cat ears". And got what should be the most comprehensive first-hand information about cat ears at the moment.
q: Tea Language Editorial Department
a: Cat Ear Research Group
Q1: Why did you go to Yibang in the first place? Don't other appellations have cat ears?
a1: At present, there are more areas in Yibang and Mansong (Editor: Mansong belongs to Yibang Tea Mountain, because it is a well-known representative small area, so sometimes, we will put it up separately, but its geographical location belongs to Yibang). Of course, it is not entirely certain that other areas do not exist, but so far, it is true that no one has heard of it.
And Yibang is indeed a place where small and medium-sized leaf species are more concentrated.
1, 2 large leaf species of Gerden and Mangzhi
3, 4, 5 different forms of Yibang small leaf species leaves
6, 7 Manson, Yibang middle leaf species
8, 9 cat ears mature leaves
Cat ear buds of 10 and 11 Yibang (from the same tree as 8 and 9, but the maturity is not enough to be picked)
12 Manson's cat ears
Q2: What exactly is a cat ear?
a2: "Cat Ears" is just a charlatan. It is not a tree species, nor is it the exclusive name of the appellation, but just a folk name.
What can be determined now is that cat ears belong to the characteristic leaflet species of Yibang, the new slightly mature leaves are short and oval-shaped, the buds are short, the germination is late, and the germination time is inconsistent, and the bud head in the finished tea is less.
The reason for the lack of buds is because its leaves mature late, and the picking standards of Pu'er are generally more mature than the green tea of the same period, and it takes a period of time after germination to wait for a certain maturity to be picked, so when it is made, there are almost no buds.
△ Over-mature cat ear blades
q3: How many tea trees can be called cat ears?
a3: Very little. We walked in Yibang for two days, two tea plants, in fact, did not see a few "cat ears".
"Cat ears" and the existing ancient tree tea in Yibang were all seeded in that year, and after a few years of environmental reasons, after growing to a certain year, some mutations were produced, and some varieties that were particularly suitable for this area survived, and those that were not suitable were naturally eliminated.
In addition, there are also cases of artificial logging in history, and today, the existing ancient tree tea and "cat ears" as a whole are very rare.
But whether the "cat ear" is more or less, it does not mean that it is better than other breeds.
△ An ancient cat's ear tree
△ The branches of the cat's ears are particularly dense, like the whiskers of an elderly man
q4: Is the cat ear an old Sichuan species?
A4: There is such a saying, that is, some people think that it is not a native species of Yunnan, but an old Sichuan species imported two or three hundred years ago because of historical reasons such as the migration of Sichuan people. Yibang was originally a birthplace of the Tea Horse Trail, and there is indeed such a possibility.
However, because of the long history, it is impossible to verify, and there is no scientific research company to do genetic analysis of plants, so it is difficult to determine.
And there is another theory, that is, the Yunnan large-leaf species has mutated. Because the local soil of Yibang is relatively special, even if the large leaves are planted here, the leaves will grow smaller than the outside.
And we also heard a more interesting one in the local area, saying that even people, as long as they enter the state and settle down, their size will be relatively "condensed". Of course, this is just a folk saying, and it is not easy to conclude.
△ When I went to Yibang in March, the cat's ears had just sprouted and could not be picked to make tea
△ The newly sprouted cat ear is not a mature leaf, and its shape is not very obvious
q5: When did cat ears originate?
A5: Anyway, it is popular in the circle, it should not exceed 2015, because no one wants it before, no one picks it, or mixed it, and no one has proposed this concept alone. But if you want to talk about the existence of cat ears, it must be more than a hundred years.
Like when I was in Yibang, communicating with local tea farmers, they agreed that cat ears are directly equivalent to ancient trees, about 200 to 300 years, but in fact, the age of the trees cannot be verified, the only certainty is that it must be more than a hundred years.
△ The leaf bottom of the manson cat's ear
At that time, I also asked the locals, is this "fried" by outsiders, or does the locals have this name? He told me that they used to be called "cat ears."
q6: There are also many leaflet species in Yibang, where is the difference between cat ears and other leaflet species?
A6: First of all, we must talk about a misunderstanding, that is, everyone believes that there are many small leaf species in the mountains of Yunnan, but many people think that the "small leaf species" is not necessarily "small leaf species", but "the small man in the big leaf species", from the perspective of tea science, it is actually a large leaf species.
Therefore, the distinction between large and small leaf species is more from the tree species and the substances contained therein, rather than from the size of the leaves. This distinction, for non-professionals, is difficult to determine with the naked eye.
△ Local non-cat ear tea tree leaves in Yibang
The same is true of cat ears and common leaflet species, which are difficult for non-locals to discern. Cat ear shape, everyone theoretically knows that the fresh leaves are relatively round, the leaves are relatively small, mature leaves, the brightness of the leaves, the sense of grease will be better, the color is more dark green than the large trees in the same area.
But in fact, when we were looking for it in the mountains, we saw that there were many small leaf species in Yibang, the leaves were small, and the leaves were not very sharp, but when we asked the local tea farmers if they were, they shook their heads and said that it was not cat ears.
△ The tea farmer said that it is very strange that the leaves will be small when they are planted in Yibang
That is to say, the local tea farmers have their own identification, which are and which are not. They discern from so much picking experience, not just from the shape of the leaves. It's not like it, it's cat ears.
(For more discussions about the size of Yunnan leaf species, please click to review the old article "Tea made according to the Pu'er tea process with Yunnan small leaf species, is it Pu'er tea in the end?") 》）
△ Local non-cat's ear tea tree in Yibang
Q7: If it is so vague, how can consumers judge the authenticity of cat ears?
A7: It's really still hard to discern. Perhaps for senior old tea ghosts, they will still have a certain recognition ability. If the cat's ears drink it, there is still a clear difference compared to the large-leaf Pu'er tea we usually drink.
Because the earliest saying of cat ears is that someone drank this tea leaf with good taste at that time, and asked the tea farmer to pick it separately, and only then did he have this concept. So I think more that the reason why cat ears are cat ears, in addition to appearance, is more of a taste characteristic.
△ The leaf characteristics of cat ears are "pairs of leaves", and the bud head is very small
A "Manson Cat Ears" Tea Review (2017)
Dry tea
The shape is small, the color is dark brown, the few buds on the head of the pale yellow buds are very dense, there are a small number of yellow flakes, dry tea aroma is strong, sweet and good.
Tea
The soup is yellow and bright, and the aroma is solid and transparent, dominated by the plant fragrance of hay and the sweet floral aroma of powder. The aroma is highly recognizable and blends well with the taste. The tea soup is thick and clear, the soup is delicate and fresh, and the delicacy is high. The base of the tongue has a soft bitter taste, and the surface of the mouth is covered with a thin layer of astringency, which is astringent but can quickly dissolve. The tail rhymes glutinously sweet, the sweetness is fast and long, full of fresh water, and there is a quiet orchid fragrance and a sweet floral and fruit fragrance between the mouths. The nectar at the bottom of the cup is sweet and fragrant.
Leaf bottom
The buds are small, the buds are few, the bud spacing is short, and most of the buds have horseshoe mouths and have a sweet fragrance.
Q8: So you have drunk cat ears, what do you think its taste characteristics are?
A8: I drank twice, once in Yiwu and once in Chongqing. To be honest, Yi Wu would feel better when he drank cat ears that time.
At that time, there was a brew of Yibang ancient tree tea, and the style of that ancient tree tea was more heavy and domineering in terms of aroma or richness, but in comparison, you would not feel that the cat's ears fell down. The two are that no one loses, but no one wins.
Whether it is freshness, soup delicacy, cat ears are very good, but it will not be a thin feeling, nor will it feel thick, that is, the delicacy of the waterway is particularly good. But you have to say that a particularly heavy impression will not be particularly large.
Later, when drinking in Chongqing, he hedged a bubble of Yibang's "suspected" cat ears. The grade of that Yibang "suspected" cat ear tea is actually much lower than that of the ancient tree of Yibang, in contrast, I personally think that the Mansong cat ear is more delicious, its aroma is very quiet, very tough, but it will not be domineering and oppressive to each other a lot.
△ On the left is the leaf bottom of the Manson cat ear, and on the right is the leaf bottom of the "suspected" cat ear
Comparing the two, I will feel that cat ears are the kind of "strong when strong", but when they encounter weakness, they will not be much stronger. It will not be the kind of tea with a particularly peak taste, but it does have its own characteristics, whether it is the floral fragrance or the delicacy of the waterway, it has always been there.
Another point is that it has always been astringent on the tongue after drinking, and the aftertaste of the fragrance and mouth will be deeper.
Of course, all of the above is my personal feeling.
△ Yibang Old Street
△ A glimpse of Yibang Old Street
q9: I heard that cat ears are expensive? Why is it so expensive?
A9: Cat ears are indeed more expensive, but the main reason for the price is still - small, difficult to collect, and difficult to do.
Because it is necessary to pick a single leaf, the leaves are small, so it takes more labor and picking time; and because the raw materials are tender, the process also requires more care, especially when picking yellow slices, because the leaves are too small, but also with the help of tools to clip out the yellow slices one by one...
As for the price, because it is not a commercial product, it is difficult to say, as far as we know, some sell ridiculously expensive, and some are medium-priced. If you must say, probably what we have learned, in Yibang about 4,000 yuan / kg, will be a standard that can be referred to.
△ Cat ear dry tea
But this trip down, we still prefer to think that this is a non-commercial product, because its amount is too small to be exported as a conventional commodity, and can only be used as a small category that Pu'er enthusiasts occasionally play.
And, if the market says that there are large quantities of cat ear fixing products, we think that is not credible.
Therefore, for local tea farmers, unless someone has decided to buy it, they will pick it, because it is too troublesome to make. And the amount is small, and it is impossible to take out in batches, basically the player's tea drinking circle will have this demand.
We also asked a senior tea guest in the local area, he thinks that cat ears are good to drink and drink, you can try, but there is no need to over-tap any collection value. "Because there is no model in front of it, there is no market persuasion, and it does not make sense."
After all, the amount is small, a little rare thing, let's talk about it and share it.
Author: Pendulum whale
Professional: Su Muchao, Zhang Ermao
Photo: Xia Xiaoxi, Su Muchai
Draft: Yulik