Insect tea, that is, insect tea, also known as tea essence, dragon ball tea, insect brewed tea, insect tea, mainly produced in guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi parts, the three places have their own characteristics. Insect tea is a unique forestry resource insect product in China and is a traditional export specialty tea.
Insect tea is not a tea drink made from the bud leaves of camellia plants, but the shape resembles bead tea, and the color is like tea after brewing, so it has the name of "tea", in fact, it is "non-tea tea" to drink tea. Insect tea, black-brown, granular, such as the size of a small grain of rice, is made of insects such as the incense moth, rice black worm (rice borer) and other insects after eating the leaves of the fragrant tree, three-leaf begonia, great white solution, tea tree and other plant leaves. After the insect tea is brewed, the aroma is overflowing, with the freshness and fragrance of the soil in the field after the rain, and the entrance taste is mellow and full, sweet and fresh, refreshing, and endlessly evocative.
Insect tea can be divided into three types according to the place of origin. The insect tea in the Wuling Mountains of Chengbu, Hunan is called Chengbu Insect Tea, also known as Trilobite Tea; The Insect Tea of Longsheng in Guilin, Guangxi; the Chishui Insect Tea in Guizhou, and the Dongzhai Insect Tea in Miaoshan In Southeast Qiandong. The insect tea made by the Miao, Yao and Dong compatriots in the Wuling Mountains of Chengbu, Hunan Province, uses rock tea, that is, the young leaves of the three-leaf begonia, bucket bud and bitter tea leaves, which are blanched in boiling water, dried to 80%, stored in bamboo tea baskets, the bottom of the basket pads dry banana leaves, each layer is 17 cm thick, evenly sprinkled with rice soup water, and the tea basket is hung on the attic. Guangxi Guilin Longsheng insect tea not only uses tea leaves, but also increases the young leaves of white mistletoe and incense tree (fragrant wild vine), does not pour rice soup, and allows the young leaves of fragrant trees to ferment naturally; protozoa tea is sun-dried, and it is fried in an iron pot, and honey and tea leaves are used to concoct mature insect tea. Guizhou Chishui and Qiandongnan are producing insect tea, the end of the Qing Dynasty that is exported to Southeast Asia, the collection of bitter tea leaves, incense trees, glutinous rice vines, yellow leaves, wild hawthorn, hook vine and other fresh leaves, slightly steamed to remove astringency, sunned to 80% dry stacked in wooden barrels, the layer is evenly poured with tao rice water, covered to keep moist, leaves fermented, decomposed, attract the incense moth to lay eggs, let the nocturnal moth larva excrete golden grains, remove the residual stems and leaves, and get the fine round, shiny, golden color of the moth golden tea.
The nutritional value of insect tea is higher than that of ordinary tea, containing 18 to 19 kinds of amino acids and polyphenol components, a certain amount of crude protein, crude fat, sugar, tannins, vitamins and other nutrients, but also contains iron, zinc and other mineral trace elements needed by the human body, generally has heat, heat, detoxification, spleen and stomach, digestion and other health care effects. Li Shizhen, a famous medical scientist of the Ming Dynasty, has a special account of insect tea in the "Compendium of Materia Medica". Folk Dong doctors in Hunan still use insect tea as a dressing agent to treat sores and nameless swelling. Modern medical pharmacological research shows that insect tea has a significant effect of reducing three highs (hypertension, high blood lipids, diabetes), and is a rare nutritional health drink.
Insect tea can be stored for a long time under good storage conditions, and after years of aging, the taste is more mellow, the medicinal properties are better and milder, and it has the characteristics of "the older the more fragrant". Lao Yang has been in contact with insect tea for three years, tasted several insect teas of different origins and years, and fully felt the charm of insect tea. Personally, I think that the aroma and taste of insect tea are very close to the aged Liupao tea and the Pu'er old tea that has been stored for more than 30 years, all of which have Chen xiang, medicinal aroma and glutinous fragrance, and some people also summarize this aroma and taste as the fragrance of the wilderness. The tea soup of insect tea is thick and clear, the entrance taste is mellow, slightly bitter, with obvious raw jin and back sweetness, after drinking from the throat to the chest and abdomen will generate a sense of coolness, which is very different from other teas. Lao Yang summarized the tasting experience of three different vintages of Chengbu Insect Tea that he had tasted as follows:
2008 Worm Tea: Has a rich aroma of chen and agarwood-like aroma, very similar to the aged aroma and betel nut fragrance of aged Liupao tea. Bitter and inconspicuous, slightly salty, raw at the bottom of the tongue, sweet, drinking from the throat to the abdomen there is a sense of coolness. Among the three teas, the worm tea of 2008 has the most old rhyme.
2012 insect tea: there is a strong sticky rice fragrance, in the sticky rice fragrance also contains medicinal fragrance, Chen xiang, raw jin very fast, the soup feels smooth, the entrance is slightly bitter and slightly salty, but the melting is very fast. The first line of coolness from the throat to the abdomen is very strong, and there is also a cool feeling in the mouth, which is very refreshing, such as containing mint. Among the three insect teas, the coolness in the chest and abdomen is the strongest, and the soup is the smoothest in the mouth.
2017 insect tea: the medicinal fragrance contains Chen xiang, as well as a hint of fruit and floral fragrance, tea soup is thick red, the entrance is slightly bitter, the taste is mellow and there is no lack of fresh natural breath, and there is sweetness after drinking. Among the three teas, the taste is the thickest and the sweetest is the best.
Insect tea is produced in different places, and the species of leaf trees and insects used are different, and the aroma and taste after brewing are also different. In general, the unique production process of insect tea using wild leaves and natural insect introduction ensures the safety of natural pollution-free drinking, and it is precisely because of this that the production of insect tea is very low and has a certain scarcity.
Delicious, healthy worm tea, have you been rewarded?
(Disclaimer: This article is the personal feelings of the author Suzhou Lao Yang and only represents the author's personal views.) Original articles, unauthorized reprints are prohibited. ）
Old Yang Cai is shallow in learning, self-knowledge is shallow, but he is willing to find the true taste of tea with all tea friends. If there is any mistake or omission, welcome to the tea friends Yazheng, Lao Yang is grateful.
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