A short story about tea

As the old saying goes, there are seven things to open the door, "chess, calligraphy, painting and poetry" and seven things to open the door, "rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea", which are absolutely true!

I grew up in a pure Hakka town in western Guangdong, where Hakka people like to drink tea. Before liberation, tea trees were planted at the end of almost every mountain garden, but after liberation, with the constant change of rural system, the tea in the corner of the mountain was destroyed innocently and gradually faded out of the memory of most farmers. Terraces in some remote areas still maintain the pattern of "a few teas in a corner" and "a row of teas on the side". Tea trees have a history of many years, and the mottled branches are still telling the story of Cang Sang.

Hakka people love to drink tea, which is an important "homework" for Hakka people to entertain guests at home. Not only do you want to drink tea, but you also like to drink tea when you are free. There are many "tea drinks" among the guests. Before the reform and opening up, Hakkas basically used porridge as their staple food for three meals. But they also want to drink tea, so they left the saying "eat porridge and drink tea and fish".

In the past, when a guest entered the door, the host called the guest to sit down. The first thing was to make a steaming cup of tea, which was called "welcome tea". When you pour tea, you can't fill it, only seven minutes. This is called "wine is half full of tea", otherwise it will be regarded as disrespectful. In the process of talking with guests, we should always offer tea. After the guests finish eating, the host will hold a cup of tea, which is called "after-dinner tea". When the guest is leaving, the host should also hold a cup of tea, which is called "seeing the guest off tea". Probably because the Hakka people live in scattered places, and the distance to the guests is generally far, so they are afraid of drinking on the road.

Hakka people generally have three kinds of tea, namely, beautiful tea, good tea and ordinary tea. Usually people in the same village cook at home and make ordinary tea; Relatives come and make better tea; Distinguished guests come to make the best tea. There is also a kind of beautiful tea that the host can drink, and that is "knowledge (with cultural knowledge and tea knowledge)".

Like the villagers, I grew up sipping tea. After a long time, I have the habit of loving tea, and I like to sell my newly learned cultural knowledge and tea knowledge. I am a veteran of "rubbing tea", and I can easily let the Lord bring out the best tea to make me full of happiness.

I have an indissoluble bond with tea since I was a child, and I "drank" many interesting stories while drinking tea.

My family moved from my ancestral home to a remote mountain village more than ten miles away from my ancestral home in the year of liberation. There are only three or four uncles and brothers in the small mountain village, belonging to another township. Because of its remoteness, I have to go back to my ancestral home to study since the fifth grade of primary school. At that time, every weekend, I seldom went home and always went to my good classmates' home to play. Many times, I can see my classmates' elders making tea, and I have learned how to make Hakka green tea over time.

The production of Hakka green tea is very special and complicated. Really good green tea, choose fresh leaves, not too old. It is best to pick two pieces of a bud, not three or four pieces, otherwise it will be picked for nothing, and it will become a "yellow wing" when it is dry, and it should be picked before singing fire.

After tea leaves are collected, they must be dried, atomized and then immobilized. Pay great attention to the heat, too much or too little will affect the quality of tea. After the tea leaves are fixed, knead them carefully by hand. When they are kneaded until the tea juice can be grasped by hand, they can be fried dry. After the tea is completely fried, Hakka people call it "tea blank". According to Hakka customs, tea blanks can't be used for drinking. It's just a crude product of green tea, which is used to make tea. It's only sweet and cold without fragrance.

The essence of traditional Hakka tea-making technology lies in the blank "singing fire" technology. The so-called "singing fire" means that the tea blank is slowly fried in the pot, and the tea leaves should be turned slowly and evenly when passing through the pot, and the degree is from low to high, then from low to high, then from high to low, and so on.

"Singing fire" not only tests the skill of tea makers, but also tests their perseverance. That year, I went to high school and made a report with the commune report group after school. I drank the tea given to him by the Hakka tea king in the room of Mr. Ye, the report leader. That's really good tea. I remember that when Teacher Ye was making tea, there were fragrant teas in the room of more than ten square meters. I gently picked up the cup. The sweet taste really soaked my insides and made me feel very comfortable.

Teacher Ye told me that he regarded me as his "favorite pupil" because he saw my talent, so that he often gave me the kind of beautiful tea given by the tea king, which saved me the pain of drinking on the way out for an interview, otherwise there would be no "encounter" with me. At that time, the price of that tea was 15 yuan a catty. I remember that at that time, my "meals" for a semester was only 50 yuan, and that tea was really "sky-high". Teacher Ye told me many times that if you want to drink such good tea all your life, you must work hard and master the pen in your hand. From then on, I made up my mind to open a "road" with my pen to drink good tea.

During the years of "half-art and half-doctor traveling all over the rivers and lakes, taking photos and practicing medicine", I went deep into many mountain villages in several pure Hakka towns and met many "tea kings". I want to learn tea-making skills from them, but they all politely refuse, saying that I can't make good tea like them without their "concentration" because their "singing fire" process takes six to eight hours.

It really made them "unfortunate". In later life, I had five years of professional tea farmers and nearly ten years of "semi-professional tea farmers" experience. Up to now, there are many tea trees in my orchard. However, no matter how good the quality of tea is, it is impossible to make such good tea. My "singing fire", no matter how determined, only "sang" for two or three hours and then "tasted".

In the 1980s, I was "promoted" to "captain of family planning guerrillas". When my hometown couldn't get along, I went to a mountainous town in the coastal hometown of overseas Chinese and contracted a tea garden. I thought I had mastered the technology of making tea, so I could shine and sell tea at a good price. However, when I was happily picking tea to make tea, I wrote a brand of "terminal bud leaves, seiko production, abstinence from drinking and prolonging life" and chose it to sell in the market, but I didn't care. It turns out that at that time, people in this area drank black tea completely and rarely drank green tea. It would be strange if I had "business"!

"Hakka Tea Classics" has become crooked monk classics, and "Hakka Tea Fun" is self-defeating. In desperation, I had to learn the production process of black tea again from the beginning. Every craft, from novice to proficient, from layman to expert, has a difficult process. From this, I tasted the ups and downs of making tea.

The technological process of black tea is picking-rolling-rolling-fermentation-drying-Benoit. Every process must be mastered, otherwise all previous efforts will be in vain. Except picking can be sloppy than making green tea, everything else is much more complicated than making green tea. There are two ways to make green: air drying and sun drying. The purpose is to remove the tea leaves for kneading. After kneading, it needs to be fermented. Fermentation is very particular. Excessive and insufficient fermentation will affect the texture of black tea. Insufficient fermentation, black tea soup is not red and bright. The fermented tea has a faint pig smell and is difficult to eat. Drying is quite hard. If it rains, there is no east wind to borrow. All black tea should be dry. Tufama's drying equipment can dry up to 30 kilograms a day. Black tea, like green tea, needs to be perfumed, that is, the process of "singing fire" or "Benu bird", otherwise there is no fragrance at all. The process of "Benu bird" is also very important. If "Benu bird" is insufficient, tea will have no fragrance, while if "Benu bird" is excessive, it will "stink", which also determines the failure of black tea production.

In order to make a living, my wife and I experimented repeatedly, mastered the production technology of black tea as soon as possible, and adapted to the production and sales of tea in black tea producing areas. During more than ten years of professional and semi-professional tea-making career, I have mastered all kinds of tea-making techniques except black tea and white tea, and I am an expert in making a living.

Not long ago, a group of more than 10 people went to a famous tea producing area "Red Tourism". During this period, the tour guide took us to a teahouse for shopping. The shopping guide took out a cup of excellent "oolong tea" for us to taste. I felt something was wrong at first sight, but it was even more wrong after tasting it. Subsequently, Xiao, the shopping guide, made a good "gourmet oolong tea" for us to taste. After I tasted it, I felt very much like the black tea I made more than ten years ago. Xiao, the shopping guide, is asking a staggering price. In desperation, I politely declined her shopping guide so as not to cause unnecessary losses to the group members.

Wandering around the commercial street in the scenic spot, one shop after another keeps selling "Oolong Tea" to us, telling us how their tea is rock tea and how good it is. An expert, when I looked around, thought that this tea was very similar to the black tea I had made for more than ten years, and the workmanship was quite rough, so I said that this tea was ugly. A shopkeeper dragged me to the inner hall and said that he had a batch of refined oolong tea recently picked, but the price was relatively expensive. I grabbed a handful, looked at it, put a few more pieces in my mouth and chewed them, just shook them and said nothing.

The shopkeeper saw my strange behavior and asked why. I use an old saying to answer: "the gentleman's unhealthy tendency." . The shopkeeper seems to be a real tea farmer, but he didn't understand what I said, just asked him how his "oolong tea" was. I smiled faintly and said in a very low voice, "Brother, you are not oolong tea. You are the authentic black tea. To put it bluntly, you are still sunburned black tea. "

This time, the shopkeeper was completely impressed and gave me a big finger: "Brother, you are really good, you are right. Is your brother tea fairy? "

I listened and smiled: "I am full of bitterness and have no reason to complain." The boy turned out to be a tea farmer ... "

The shopkeeper murmured, "fortunately, it took decades to meet someone who knows the tea ceremony." Otherwise this business really can't be done ... "

Exactly: Lu Yu's tea classics are difficult to understand, and he spelled black tea into an oolong; Passers-by all over the world, who explored black and red? ...

The legend of oolong tea

It is said that oolong tea originated in Anxi County, Fujian Province. Legend has it that a long time ago, in the deep mountains of Anxi, there lived a hunter named Hu Liang. One day, he came to a mountain with clusters of small dark green trees and lush foliage, so he picked one and put it in a basket to cover his prey. He climbed the mountain and crossed the ridge until the sun went down. When I got home, I made a fire and water, and the mountain wind blew, and suddenly I smelled a fragrance. Then when I cleaned up the prey, I found that the fragrance came from the leaves in the basket. Hu Liang tried to pick a few leaves, brew them with boiling water and drink them into his mouth. Not only is he mellow, but he also feels that his breath is full of saliva and his irritability is gone. Hu Liang thinks it must be a fairy tree. I immediately got up and went back to the mountains to collect a large bundle of branches and leaves, but the leaves became bitter and astringent when soaked in water. Hu Liang thought for a long time, why the branches and leaves collected from the same tree taste different? After careful consideration, I understand a truth. The original branches and leaves withered for a long time, producing a fragrance, so I decided to explore the method of processing and making fragrant tea. After repeated trial production, we finally found a method of drying, kneading and frying the collected tea leaves into fragrant tea. After the successful production of fragrant tea, it spread all over the country, and Hu Liang's name was widely known. According to Anxi dialect, "Hu Liang" is similar to "Oolong". Later, people called the famous tea produced here "Oolong Tea", which is famous at home and abroad.

The Legend of Longjing Tea

Legend has it that when Emperor Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River, he came to the foot of Shifeng Mountain in Longjing, Hangzhou, and watched the country girls pick tea to show their affection. On this day, Emperor Qianlong saw several country girls picking tea at more than a dozen shady tea tables. He was very happy and learned to pick tea. Just picked one, suddenly the eunuch came to report: "The Queen Mother is ill, please return to Beijing as soon as possible." When Emperor Qianlong heard that the Empress Dowager was ill, he put a handful of tea leaves in a bag and returned to Beijing day and night. In fact, the Queen Mother was not seriously ill because she ate too many delicacies. At that time, she got angry, her eyes were red and swollen, and her stomach was upset. At this time, when I saw the arrival of the prince, I felt a faint fragrance and asked what good things I had brought. The emperor was also surprised. Where does the fragrance come from? He touched it casually. Ah, it turned out to be a handful of tea from Shifeng Mountain in Hangzhou. After a few days, it was dry and the rich aroma came out. The queen mother wants to taste this tea. The maid-in-waiting made tea and sent it to the queen mother. Sure enough, the smell is fragrant. The queen mother took a sip and her eyes felt much more comfortable. After drinking tea, the redness disappeared and her stomach did not swell. The queen mother said happily, "Hangzhou Longjing tea is really a panacea." Emperor Qianlong was so happy to see the Empress Dowager, and immediately ordered the eighteen tea trees in front of Gong Hu Temple under Shifeng Mountain in Longjing, Hangzhou to be named imperial tea, and the new tea was picked every year to pay tribute to the Empress Dowager. Up to now, these eighteen kinds of imperial teas are still preserved in front of Gong Hu Temple in Longjing Village, Hangzhou, and many tourists from Hangzhou come to visit and take photos as a souvenir.

The spread of Tieguanyin

Anxi, a county near Xiamen in the southeast of Fujian Province, is the main producing area of oolong tea in southern Fujian. It has a long history of growing tea, dating back to the Tang Dynasty. Anxi has abundant rainfall and mild climate, which is suitable for the growth of tea trees. Moreover, through the efforts of tea substitutes, a series of improved varieties of tea trees have been cultivated. At present, there are more than 60 improved varieties preserved in Anxi, among which Tieguanyin, Huang Dan, Benshan, Eriocheir sinensis, Dayeoolong and Meizhan are all well-known varieties in China. Therefore, Anxi is known as the "treasure house of improved varieties of tea trees". Among many excellent varieties of tea trees, Tieguanyin is the best and most famous one. Tieguanyin originated in Xiping Town, Anxi County, with a history of more than 200 years. There is still a story about the origin of Tieguanyin varieties in Anxi. According to legend, during the reign of Qing emperor Qianlong. Yin Wei, a tea farmer in Xiping Shangyao, Anxi County, made a good cup of tea. He made three cups of tea every morning and evening to worship Guanyin Bodhisattva for ten years, which shows his sincerity in worshipping Buddha. One night, Yin Wei dreamed that there was a tea tree with orchid fragrance on the cliff. When he tried to pick it up, a dog barked and woke up his good dream. The next day, I found a tea tree exactly like my dream on the cliff stone. So I picked some buds and took them home to make them carefully. After the tea is brewed, it tastes sweet and refreshing, which makes people feel refreshed. Wei thought this was the king of tea, so he dug this tea home to cultivate it. A few years later, tea trees flourished. Because this tea is as beautiful as Guanyin and as heavy as iron, it is also a dream of Guanyin, so it is called "Tieguanyin". Tieguanyin became famous all over the world. Tieguanyin is the best oolong tea, and its quality features are: the tea strips are curved, round, thick and even, the color is sand green, and the overall shape is like dragonfly head, snail body and frog leg. After brewing, the soup is yellow, moist and rich like amber, and has a natural and fragrant orchid fragrance. The taste is mellow and sweet, and the sweetness has a long history, commonly known as "rhyme". Tea has a long pitch, which can be described as "seven bubbles are more fragrant".

The legend of Lushan Yuncha

Wuyun tea is produced in Lushan Mountain, Jiangxi Province, with rich aroma and fresh taste. It is really a famous camellia and enjoys a high reputation.

Legend has it that when the Monkey King was the Monkey King in Huaguoshan, he often ate Xiantao, melons and fruits, and wine. One day, he suddenly remembered to try the fairy tea that the Jade Emperor and the Empress Dowager had drunk, so he fell to the sky and looked down in Xiangyun. When he looked carefully, there was a tea tree in the south of Jiuzhou. At this time, it is the autumn season, and the tea tree has seeded, but the Monkey King doesn't know how to collect the seeds. At this time, a group of affectionate birds are flying around the horizon. When they saw the Monkey King, they asked him what he wanted. The Monkey King said, "My Guo Huashan is very good, but there is no tea tree. I want to pick some tea seeds, but I don't know how. " Hearing this, the birds said, "Let's help you collect the seeds." So he spread his wings and went to the tea garden in the south of China, holding tea seeds one by one and flying to Guo Hua. The affectionate bird, with tea seeds in its mouth, flies through the clouds, mountains and rivers. Who knows that when flying over Lushan Mountain, the majestic scenery of Lushan Mountain attracted them deeply, and the leading bird couldn't help singing. When the leading bird sings, other birds sing along. Tea seeds fell out of the mouth and fell straight into the crevices of the Lushan mountain peak. Since then, tea trees have grown on Lushan Mountain, producing fragrant cloud tea.

The Legend of Biluochun

A long time ago, there was a strange smell on Moli Peak in Dongting Lake. People mistakenly believe that there are goblins and dare not go up the mountain. One day, a brave and stubborn girl went to Molly Bee to chop wood. Halfway up the hill, she did smell a fragrance. She was also surprised. She looked at the top of the mountain. She doesn't seem to find any strange monsters. Driven by curiosity, she took risks and climbed to the top of the mountain along the cliff. I saw several green tea trees growing in the crevices, and the fragrance seemed to come from among the trees. She approached the tea tree, picked some buds and leaves, put them in a bad place, and came down the mountain. Who knows, the tea in my arms exudes a strong aroma all the way, and the more it goes, the stronger the aroma, which makes her a little dizzy. When she got home, the girl felt tired and thirsty, so she took out the tea in her arms, but she felt that the room was full of fragrance. The girl shouted, "scare people, scare people!" " Squeeze some bud leaves and soak them in a cup to drink. Bowl to the mouth, sweetheart spleen, swallowed in one gulp, full of fragrance; Swallow two times and your throat will be clear; After swallowing for three times, fatigue was eliminated. The girl was overjoyed and determined to move the precious tea tree home to plant it. The next day, she took a hoe, dug up a small tea tree, transplanted it to the foot of the stone mountain in Xidongting and carefully cultivated it. A few years later, the tea tree grew strong and leafy, and its fragrance attracted neighbors from far and near. The girl entertained everyone by making tea with the picked bud leaves, but when she saw that the bud leaves were covered with hair, they were fragrant and delicious, and everyone was full of praise. Because she asked what kind of tea it was, the girl casually replied, "It's scary." Since then, the fragrant tea that made people tremble with fear has been gradually introduced and propagated to the western hills and eastern hills of Dongting, and the processing technology has been gradually improved, gradually forming a "Biluochun Tea" with "one tender and three fresh" (that is, tender buds, fresh color, fragrance and fresh taste), green and clear, spiral and full of hair.

As for scaring people, how can it be renamed "Biluochun"? It is said that when the emperor went down to the south of the Yangtze River, he tasted this kind of tea and found it fragrant and mellow, sweet and green, crystal clear, and he couldn't put it down. Because the name of tea is too vulgar, it is named "Biluochun". Because it looks like a snail, it will be called "Biluochun" in the future.

The Legend of Huangshan Mao Feng

Huangshan Mountain, located in the south of Anhui Province, is a famous tourist attraction. The famous tea "Huangshan Mao Feng" produced in mountainous areas is of good quality. Speaking of this precious tea, there is an interesting legend!

During the Apocalypse of the Ming Dynasty, Xiong Kaiyuan, the new county magistrate of yi county in the south of the Yangtze River, took a very young man to Huangshan for a spring outing. He got lost and met an old monk with a bamboo basket on his waist and spent the night in a temple. When the elders were making tea to entertain guests, the magistrate of a county looked at it carefully. It was yellowish brown, shaped like a sparrow's tongue, covered in white hair and brewed with boiling water. I saw that the hot air bypassed the edge of the bowl and reached the center of the bowl, about a foot high, and then turned into a Bai Lianhua in the air. The Bai Lianhua rose slowly, turned into a cloud, and finally dissipated into plumes of hot air, and the fragrance filled the whole room. When the magistrate asked, he realized that the name of this tea was Huangshan Mao Feng. When he left, the elder presented this tea with a bag of Huangshan spring water and a gourd, and told him that he must brew it with this spring water in order to see the wonders of white lotus. When Xiong Zhi returned to the county government, he met an old classmate and friend, Taiping magistrate of a county, to visit him, so he gave a performance in Mao Feng, Huangshan. Taiping county magistrate was very surprised. Later, he came to Beijing to report to the emperor and wanted to offer immortal tea as a reward. The emperor ordered a performance in the palace, but there was no sign of Bailian Sect. The emperor was furious, and the Taiping magistrate had to truthfully say that it was presented by Xiong Kaiyuan, the magistrate of Yixian County. The emperor immediately ordered Xiong Kaiyuan to enter the palace for trial. After Xiong Kaiyuan entered the palace, he knew that he had not brewed with Huangshan spring water, explained the reason and asked to go back to Huangshan for water. Xiong Zhifu came to Huangshan to see the elder, who gave him a mountain spring. In front of the emperor, Huangshan Mao Feng made another jade cup. Sure enough, the wonders of Bai Lianhua appeared. The emperor smiled and said to Xiong Zhijun, "I think you have made some achievements in providing tea and promoted you to the governor of Jiangnan." Take office in three days. " Xiong magistrate had mixed feelings and thought, "Huangshan famous tea is still of high quality, let alone being a man?" So, he took off his jade belt and came to Huang Shanyun Valley Temple to become a monk, whose legal name was Zheng Zhi. At present, there is a site of Master Bo 'an's tomb tower, which is said to be the tomb of Zheng Zhi monk, by the roadside under Yungu Temple where pine trees enter the clouds and bamboo forests are shaded.

The legend of the origin of Dahongpao

Dahongpao (one of the top ten famous teas in China) is a famous treasure in Wuyi Rock Tea (Oolong Tea) in Fujian. It is the best quality of Wuyi rock tea, produced in Wuyishan, southeast of Chong 'an, Fujian. There are many kinds of tea trees planted in Wuyishan, including Dahongpao, Lohan, Celosia cristata, water turtle and so on. In addition, there is a key table named after the tea growing environment. Drunken begonia, drunken Dong Bin, scarab, Pteris, etc. Named after the shape of a tea tree; Melon seeds named after the leaf shape of tea tree, such as gold, money, bamboo, gold wicker, willow, etc.

The legend of the origin of Dahongpao is very good. It is said that a poor scholar in ancient times went to Beijing to catch the exam. Passing through Wuyi Mountain, he fell ill on the way. Fortunately, the old abbot of Tianxin Temple saw him and made him a bowl of tea. Sure enough, he recovered. Later, he won the top prize, won the top prize, and was recruited as Dong Chuang Xu. One spring day, the champion came to Wuyishan to give thanks. Accompanied by the old abbot, they swarmed around and arrived in Kowloon. But he saw three tall tea trees growing on the cliff, with lush foliage and clusters of buds shining purple in the sun. Very cute. The old abbot said that this kind of tea cured your abdominal distension last year. A long time ago, whenever tea trees germinated in spring, they would drum a group of monkeys, put on red clothes, climb the cliff to pick tea leaves, fry them and collect them, which could cure all diseases. The champion listened to the request and made a box of tributes to the emperor. The next day, the temple burned incense, lit candles, beat drums and rang bells, summoned monks and nuns and set off for Kowloon. Everyone came to the tea tree to burn incense and worship, shouting "tea buds!" " "Then pick the young leaves, make them carefully and put them in an iron box. After the champion brought tea to Beijing, the queen had a stomachache and abdominal distension in bed. The champion immediately offered tea for the queen to drink, and sure enough, the tea was gone. The emperor was overjoyed and gave the champion a Dahongpao, so that he could raise the prize in Wuyishan on his behalf. Along the way, the salute rang and the candles were brightly lit. Arriving at Jiulong Pavilion, the champion ordered a woodcutter to climb halfway up the mountain and put the Dahongpao given by the emperor on the tea tree to show his gratitude. Strange to say, as soon as Dahongpao was opened, the bud leaves of three tea trees flashed red in the sun, and everyone said it was Dahongpao's red. Later, people called these three kinds of tea trees "Dahongpao". Someone also carved the three characters "Dahongpao" on the stone wall. Since then, Dahongpao has become a tribute tea every year.

The legend of jasmine flower

A long time ago, Chen Guqiu, a Beijing tea merchant, studied with a tea tasting master what kind of tea northerners like to drink. Chen Guqiu suddenly remembered that a southern girl gave him a pack of tea. He had never tasted it, so he found it and asked the master to taste it. When brewing, as soon as the bowl cover is opened, there is a strange smell. Then, in the rising heat wave, I saw a beautiful girl holding a bunch of jasmine in her hands, and soon it turned into a hot air. Chen Jiaqiu was puzzled and asked the master. The master said, "This tea is the best in tea". Chen Guqiu remembered the experience of buying tea and staying in an inn in the south three years ago and meeting an orphan girl. The girl complained that her father's body was parked at home and there was no money for the funeral. Chen Jiaqiu showed deep sympathy and gave her some money. Three years later, when he went to the south again this spring, the innkeeper handed him this packet of tea, saying that it was given by the girl three years ago. It wasn't brewed at that time, but it was a treasure. "Why is she holding Molly alone?" The two men brewed again, and the girl with jasmine in her hand appeared again. While sipping tea, Chen Gulai realized, "In my opinion, this is tea fairy's suggestion that jasmine can be used in tea." The following year, jasmine was added to tea, and there was a new jasmine tea (one of the top ten famous teas).