Informations About Tea

Tea is better than water when you’re thirsty. The taste and functionality of various tea leaves are different. For example, green tea improves eyesight, black tea refreshes our mind, dark tea relieves greasiness, and white tea calms our mind. From raw chewing to cooking, tea leaves and grains are cooked together with "tea porridge" or "soup stamp", or boiled, picked up, and seasoned. Today, the people in Yunnan still have "cold tea dishes". In "Shen Nong's Materia Medica", it says that "Shen Nong tastes a hundred herbs, and encounters 72 poisons in a day: he gets tea to relieve them.” Brewing tea refers to tea being boiled in water and drank.

 

Tea Service

Tea Funnel : put it on the spout and leak the dry tea to prevent the tea from leaking out.

Tea tube: used to hold tea art supplies.

Tea spoon: used to hold tea leaves.

Tea pick: used to unblock the spout to prevent the tea dregs from clogging and causing poor water flow.

Tea scoop: it assists the teaspoon to transfer tea leaves into the teapot.

Tea Pincer: used to clamp and wash cups, and also to clamp the bottom of the leaf for easy appreciation.

Water boiler: including kettles and charcoal stoves, as the time to boil water with charcoal stoves is relatively long, so now it is more convenient and quicker to use hand-soaking.

Tea tray: the base is used to place the teapot. The water leaking from the teapot flows into the tea tray to avoid wetting the table. It is used for wet methods.

Hu Cheng: the same function as the tea tray, the difference is that it is used for the dry brewing method.

Tea towel: when there is tea in the cup, the fair rim or the bottom of the cup, you can wipe it with a tea towel.

Teapot: this is the tea utensil used to make tea. Commonly used are tureen and purple clay pot.

Tea serving pot: it is used to hold the tea in the teapot and distribute the tea evenly to the guests.

Tea filter: it is used to filter tea leaves and tea residues on the fair cup.

Waste bowl: it was used to empty the cold tea and dregs in teacups before refilling with hot tea, as there were often tea leaves in the bottom of the cups.

Tea lotus: it is used to hold tea, and can be used to watch the dried tea for guests.

Teacup for smelling: it is usually used in tea art performances. It is used to smell the aroma of tea soup, and it is used with tea cups.

Teacup for drinking: teacup, especially for the guests to drink tea.

Tea saucer: used to cushion the tea cup.

 

Books

"The Classic of Tea" is a work on tea written by Lu Yu from the Tang Dynasty, and it is the earliest monograph on tea in the world. The book is divided into 3 volumes and 10 chapters. It summarizes the processes and tools of tea cultivation, picking, production, identification, and brewing, and collecting historical materials related to tea in history. It is a masterpiece of tea knowledge at that time. "The Classic of Tea" has influenced and advocated the Chinese people's tea drinking habits and greatly promoted the establishment and development of Chinese tea culture. "Tea Classics" mentioned: the botanical characteristics of tea trees, the shape and name of tea, the planting and growth environment of tea trees, the identification of the quality of fresh tea, the function of tea drinking, the tools and techniques of tea picking and tea making, and the identification of tea quality Tea-making methods, tools and techniques for making hot tea, the role, history of tea drinking, nine major issues affecting the quality of tea tasting, historical materials related to tea from ancient times to the Tang Dynasty, including medicine, poems, and anecdotes Etc., the tea-producing areas in the Tang Dynasty, the quality of tea in various places, and information about the tools for picking, making, and brewing tea that can be omitted when tasting tea in specific situations such as mountains and plains.

"The Classic of Tea" has promoted the prevalence of Chinese tea-drinking habits and established the leading position of tea in China's three major beverages (water, wine, and tea). The "Tea Classic" also reformed the tea production technology and drinking methods. In the tea finishing, explore the fine steaming method. In terms of drinking, the sencha method is advocated. Put the ground tea into boiling water, stop heating after a little decoction, and then scoop it into a tea bowl to drink, instead of the rougher, "vegetable with husband" in the past. "Different" (there is no difference from cooking vegetables and soup).

"The Classic of Tea" is the world's first monograph on tea. Before this, there were many records related to tea in China, but they were scattered fragments in various books. It was not until the emergence of "The Classic of Tea" that there was a complete and systematic monograph on tea studies. "The Classic of Tea" also led the trend of writing tea books. Since then, a large number of special books on tea and tea-drinking knowledge have appeared, and "The Classic of Tea" itself has become the model of tea books for later generations.

"The Classic of Tea" also influenced the writing of the word "tea". In more ancient times, the word "tu" was generally used to mean tea. The calligraphy book "Kaiyuan Character Sound and Meaning" made by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty uses the word "tea" minus one horizontal line, but the word "tu" is still dominant in daily writing. "The Classic of Tea" uses the word "tea" uniformly. Affected by this, in the late Tang Dynasty, the special word "tea" has been widely used.

 

Tea Making Method

rough old aged tea, old tea, post-fermented dark tea, cooked Pu Erh, Pu Erh tea cake, Fuzhuan, small green mandarin, fully fermented black tea, aged Tieguanyin, and aged rock tea are all suitable for brewing. However, green tea, yellow tea, and new oolong tea are not suitable for brewing.

Finishing: "Green" refers to fresh leaves. Tea green is also called "tea cyanine", "(tea) fresh leaf", etc. It is the general term for the raw materials used to make tea. Cracking is one of the key processes in tea-making technology, and its meaning is to destroy the organization of fresh leaves. The curing process takes high temperature measures to quickly transform the contents of the fresh leaves; curing destroys the activation of enzymes, so if it is not curing, the tea will be oxidized and then spoiled. Finishing is one of the primary processes for green tea, yellow tea, black tea, and oolong tea. The main methods are: stir-frying, steaming, soaking, radiation curing (microwave curing), etc.

Stir fixation is the unity of finishing and drying. In the long-term process of using tea, people discovered that when the tea is fried, the green air in the tea is basically released, and there is a ripe fragrance, which smells more comfortable and easier to accept. There are two forms of stir-frying, manual and mechanical. The production of high-grade famous tea is usually done by hand frying, while the large-scale production of tea farms and tea factories requires the use of a cracking machine. There are generally three types: pot, grass, and rotating drum. Stir fixation tea refers to green tea that is finished and dried using a roller or pan frying method. The shape is tight, the color is green, the aroma is high, the soup is green in color, and the taste is strong and refreshing.Stir fixation tea has the largest output among green teas, and can also be subdivided into long-stir fixation (after being refined, it is called eyebrow tea. Representative teas include Zhenmei, Gongxi, Yucha, Zhenmei, Xiumei, etc.), round-stirred fixation tea (After being refined, it is called pearl tea, which is divided into Pingchaoqing, Quangang Huibai and Yongxi Huoqing, etc. due to different origins and production methods), Bianchaoqing (the representative tea is West Lake Longjing) and so on.

 

Steaming is one of the oldest ways to make chinese green tea. The shape is tight and thin, needle-like, bright green in color, or dark green but oily and shiny, the water is clear, with the light yellow-green, with a delicate fragrance, and the taste is mellow or slightly astringent. Compared to stir fixation, steaming will let the tea have astringency, and it doesn't taste fresh, so from the Ming dynasty, people changed steaming to stir fixation.

 

Hot air fixation is one of the methods of drying. After the fresh leaves are fixationed, they are dried by charcoal fire, electric oven and other equipment. Hot air fixation green tea refers to green tea that is dried in a drying cage or dryer. Hot air fixation green tea has a complete appearance, dark green color and oily color, high aroma, clear and bright soup color, and delicious taste. Dry green tea is mostly in the three provinces of Anhui, Zhejiang and Fujian. Among them, famous products include Huangshan Maofeng, Taiping Houkui, Lu'an Gua Pian, Jingting Luxue, Tianshan Green Tea, Jiangshan Green Peony, Emei Maofeng, Nannuo Pekoe, etc.; but a big part of the hot air fixation green tea is used to make scented tea.

 

Sun fixation is one of the methods of drying. Drying tea leaves is the oldest and most natural drying method. After the fresh leaves are picked, the ancestors used sunlight to seal them in order to be easy to preserve. This practice is still used in Pu'er tea. After the fresh leaves are finished, they will be spread out under the sun and dried, which is called sun fixation. In addition, the sun wilting of white tea and black tea actually belongs to the concept of sun-greening to a certain extent, but manual intervention is required to a certain extent. Sun fixation green tea is green tea that is dried in the sun, mainly distributed in Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and other provinces with a small amount of production. The sun fixation green tea has a thick appearance, dark green color and oily, high aroma, bright yellow-green soup, strong and mellow taste, and strong astringency. Among them, the Yunnan large-leaf species has the best quality, which is called "Dianqing''. However, Most of them are used as raw materials for pressing tea.

 

According to the shape of the pot, it can be divided into:

-   Lift the pot sideways: The pot handle is shaped like an ear, opposite the spout.

-   Handle pot: The handle of the pot is like a rainbow above the lid.

-   Flying pot: The handle of the pot is on the top of the pot body, flying in the form of ribbons.

-   Handle pot: The pot handle is like a handle, at right angles to the pot body.

-   Handleless pot: Without a handle, hold the head of the pot to pour tea.

 

According to the shape of the lid, it can be divided into:

-   Glanded pot: The lid is pressed flat on the mouth of the pot, and the mouth of the pot is not exposed.

-   Pot with embedded lid: The lid is embedded in the pot, and the edge of the lid is flat with the mouth of the pot.

-   Pot with cut lid: The lid and the body of the pot are integrated with only the slits.

 

According to the different shapes of the bottom of the pot, it can be divided into:

-   Bottom pot: The bottom of the teapot is recessed into a concave shape without additional feet.

-   Nail-foot pot: There are 3 protruding feet on the bottom of the teapot.

-   Add bottom pot: add a circle foot to the bottom of the teapot.

 

According to the morphological characteristics of teapots, they can be divided into:

-   Roundware: A teapot mainly composed of curves with different directions and curvatures. The flesh and blood are well-proportioned, the turning round is round, and it is timeless and enduring.

-   Square vessel: A teapot mainly composed of straight lines of varying lengths. The line and surface are very smooth and well-defined, showing the beauty of masculinity that is clean and crisp.

-   Plasticware: a teapot modeled after various natural animals and plants and decorated with embossed semicircles. It is characterized by ingenious shape and color, ingenious workmanship, ingeniously conceived, Xiao-shaped and not conventional; both rational and interesting, and clever use of the natural color of purple sand mud, to achieve the effect of both god and shape. Such as tree gall pot, pumpkin pot, plum pile pot, pine dry pot, peach pot and so on.

-   Ribbed pot: The body of the teapot is made of cloud water texture, and the mouth part is still round. Such as fish-shaped dragon pots, lotus core pot and so on.

-   In addition, teapots are divided into ordinary pots (without inner pots) and filter pots according to whether they have inner pots. The Chaozhou dialect is called "punching can", and there is also "su can" because it comes from Yixing, Jiangsu, and it is the smallest kind of Yixing purple clay pot.

 

The Qing Dynasty developed to its peak with enamel pots. Stir-fried green tea was produced in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, pan-fried green tea was widely used. Steamed green loose tea was gradually replaced by stir-fried green loose tea. By the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th century, the same type of stir fixation tea was basically formed. A teapot is a spouted vessel for making tea and pouring tea. It consists of four parts: the lid, the body, the bottom, and the foot ring. The size of the teapot can be selected according to the number of people drinking tea, and it also depends on the characteristics of the tea being brewed. According to the King's World Records, the world's largest purple sand teapot can be found in Yixing City, Jiangsu Province, China. The pot is named "Supo Tiliang".

Many master craftsmen crafted teapots into various shapes and painted inscriptions on them

In the late 17th century, the appearance of the pot had a new transformation, focusing on the decoration and innovation of the pot table. In the first half of the 18th century, this fashion became more and more popular; craftsmen did not focus purely on the shape of the vessel, but tried different techniques to make purple clay pots, such as painting, stacking flowers, decals, printing or carving (hollowing) with different muds on the pot body.

The teapot existed before the Tang Dynasty. People in the Tang Dynasty called the teapot "Zhuzi", which meant to pour water from the spout. According to the "Zixia Lu": "Yuan Hechu (806 AD, during the Tang Xianzong period) still used a bottle when drinking wine... Zhuzi, its shape is like a poppy, and the lid, mouth, and handle are all equipped."; Around the end of the Tang Dynasty, the world did not like the name "Zhuzi" and even removed the handle of the teapot. The whole shape looked like a "ming bottle." Because there is no handle, the "teapot" is also called "pianti". Later generations called making tea "point note", based on the fact that the teapot in the Tang Dynasty had a "note". In the Ming Dynasty, the art of tea ceremony became more and more refined, and it was more particular about making tea, observing the color of tea, drinking a cup, and pressing a pot. To meet such high requirements, tea sets must also be reformed and innovated. For example, Ming Dynasty teapots began to value sand pots, which is a new pursuit of tea art. Since making tea in an earthenware teapot does not absorb the fragrance of tea and does not damage the color of the tea, the earthenware teapot is considered a good product. According to the "Longwuzhi": "The teapot is topped with sand, and the lid does not capture the fragrance, nor does it have hot soup." When it comes to Yixing sand pots, almost everyone knows. The Yixing sand pot was famous in the Ming Dynasty. According to historical records, there was a potter named Gongchun in Yixing during the Ming Dynasty who was the first to make Yixing sand pots famous.

 

Making Tea

Brewing tea is a kind of tea art. It is to boil the tea and drink it. The color of the tea soup is one of the important criteria for the taste of tea soup. Before tasting the tea, there is a very important process called: turning the bowl and shaking the fragrance

[How to make tea]

1.  Prepare tea set: a set of teapot (boiling teapot and heater), tea, teaspoon, tea sea, cover bowl, tea strainer, teacup, etc.

2.  Weighing tea: the amount of tea must correspond to the number of people and the amount of water

3.  Boiled water: when the water is heated and bubbling, you can throw tea

4.  Wash the tea (optional): After the boiling water is boiled, put the tea leaves in a white porcelain covered bowl and pour the water out in about 7 seconds

5.  Brewing tea: When boiling the water to bubble, put the tea into the pot with the help of teaspoon, tea needle, tea clip and other tools; after that, the water and tea are boiled together for 1 minute, then stop heating, and let the tea infuse for another 2 minutes

6.  Out of the water: After making the tea, you can pour it out and drink it

7.  Renewing water (when many people drink tea): Renewing the water generally requires boiling water. If you continue to use cold or warm water, the tea will have a stronger taste and a bitter sensation; when you continue to boil the water to make the tea, the time It is a little longer than the first time, so that the taste of the following tea will not change much.

[Ordinary tea manufacturing method]

       After the hot air has withered, put it in a bamboo basket (kali), and let it stand for 60 to 120 minutes. After the cyan and odors are removed, gently stir it with your hands. The second time is also 60 to 120 minutes, and the third time is to stand. Afterwards, the "shaking cage" destroys its leaf veins so that oxygen enters the tea and ferments with the enzymes in the tea. After the fermentation is completed, the first step: stir-frying. Its purpose is to kill the enzymes and prevent subsequent fermentation. The second step: use a moon-shaped kneading machine to knead and shape, for two to three minutes, take out the tea leaves and unblock them. The third step: Use a type A dryer to dry the tea leaves. This is the "initial drying". After the initial drying is completed and the tea leaves are softened, they are fried over the dough and knead to "unblock". This action should be repeated ten times before drying. , This is "crude tea".

[Exquisite tea manufacturing method]

The tea juice and fines are removed first, and then the roasted tea machine is used. After the roasted tea is finished, the roasted tea is divided and packaged. This is "exquisite tea". Tea tree breeding and the main tea varieties to be promoted. Modern tea making can be divided into several important steps, such as picking, withering and stirring, frying, kneading, drying, and baking. Each step has its own function. However, different teas have different processing methods and processes for each step, such as packing seeds.