What does it mean to talk about poetry and tea in the early Ming Dynasty?

Tea before tomorrow is as expensive as gold. In the hearts of tea lovers, drinking a cup of this year's new tea may be the real beginning of this year. Green tea has become the favorite of tea drinkers in China for hundreds of years because of its simplicity, clarity and elegance. Even now, cups of green tea wake up and release like dancing in the water, which is still a kind of enjoyment for tea drinkers.

Quiet, a beauty in tea

Tea before tomorrow is a new tea picked before Qingming. It is called "the beauty of tea" because of its fine buds, tender leaves, fragrance and beautiful shape. The beauty of tea before Ming Dynasty lies in color, shape and taste. Before the Ming Dynasty, Biluochun was silvery green, Longjing was flat and slippery, and Huangshan Mao Feng was shaped like a sparrow tongue. When brewing, I saw the tea in the cup ups and downs, stretching, blossoming into Yun Lan. Tea before the Ming Dynasty was even better. Qing people praised "true tea as sweet as orchid, quiet but not bitter, indifferent to sip, as tasteless." After drinking, I feel that there is a peaceful breath between my teeth and cheeks, which is tasteless and even tasteless. "

Tea before the Ming Dynasty often refers to spring tea in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, such as the well-known traditional famous teas such as West Lake Longjing, Biluochun and Huangshan Mao Feng. Longjing tea is known as green, fragrant, sweet and beautiful. Longjing tea produced in the West Lake mountainous area has different growth conditions, slightly different natural quality and frying skills, and has formed different quality styles. There are three categories: lion, dragon and plum, and Shifeng Longjing has the best quality. "The shape is thin, flat and slightly curly, like a sparrow's tongue covered with silver, the soup is clear and transparent with apricot yellow, and the fragrance lasts like a white orchid" is people's description of Huangshan Mao Feng. It is understood that the picking standards of Mao Feng in Huangshan Mountain are exquisite, the picking standards of Mao Feng in super Huangshan Mountain are one bud and one leaf, and the picking standards of Mao Feng in 1-3 Huangshan Mountain are one bud and one leaf and one bud and two leaves respectively. A bud, a leaf or two; A bud, two or three leaves began to appear. Biluochun was listed as a tribute as early as the end of Tang Dynasty and the beginning of Song Dynasty. 100 the yield of more than one tea tree is less than one catty, and the yield is very small. The more white hair, the better the quality of tea. Before the Ming Dynasty, tea was the smallest and hairy.

Fragrant fragrance, gradually Zen mind.

Tea tasting depends on the taste, and more importantly, the mood of tea tasting. People who love and understand tea are pursuing not only the best in tea, but also the peace of mind brought by tea fragrance. The tea before the Ming Dynasty in the white jade porcelain cup, such as Bitan, is fragrant, moist as jade, calm and plain, and has an extraordinary artistic conception. Look at his heart and smell his calmness. When he tastes it, he will gradually realize it. Good tea should be like this.

Before the Ming Dynasty, tea needed slow, fine and quiet products to drink its color, fragrance and appreciate the beauty of tea ceremony. And making a pot of good tea before tomorrow is an art, but also a state of mind. Tea is good before tomorrow, and it needs the company of famous springs. In the use of water, it is necessary to control the water temperature before making tea, and it is appropriate to use water from 75 degrees Celsius to 85 degrees Celsius. Zhang Dafu in the Ming Dynasty said in Notes on Plum Blossom Cottage: "Tea must be born in water, eight times as much as tea, and when it meets ten times as much water, tea is also very good;" Eight points of water, try ten points of tea, and only eight points of tea. " In history, there have been sayings such as "Longjing tea, tiger flowing water", "Mengding mountain tea, Yangtze river heart water", and now tea drinkers can only envy. In addition, we must balance the weight of tea, which is bitter at most and tasteless at least.

Xihu longjing Daiyu private tea

Daiyu smiled and called Zijuan, "Make a bowl of Longjing tea for Sir Zhong. Sir Zhong is studying now, not his opponent. " -Chapter eighty-two of A Dream of Red Mansions

Daiyu was born in the south of the Yangtze River. She likes to drink green tea and is good at Longjing. Longjing tea is probably the most famous tea in China. When it comes to the West Lake, people will naturally think of Longjing tea. Emperor Qianlong came to Hangzhou for the third time, and named the 18 tea tree in front of Gong Hu Temple as "Imperial Tea", hence the saying "Imperial Tea 18 Tree". Even if it is not the imperial tea tree, this year's head tea of West Lake Longjing hit a sky-high price of 6.5438+0.8 million yuan/kg in the pre-sale bazaar, which is really a luxury in tea.

Appearance: flat, smooth, sharp, even, neat, green and fresh, generally less than 3 cm long, with even bud leaves, small and exquisite without clips and fragments.

Origin: Hangzhou West Lake

Soup color: clear and bright is the best, followed by dark yellow.

Aroma: fresh, pure, tender, smooth, mellow and lasting.

Dongting Biluochun Gong Zizhen's Tea Poems

"Tea is the best in the world with Dongting Mountain' Biluochun', which was unknown to the ancients. Close to people, I know Longjing, but I don't know Biluochun. "

Biluochun has always been favored by celebrities and literati. Gong Zizhen visited Dongshan friends for tea many times before his death. In the ninth episode of Huiji Tea, he talked about "Biluochun" in Dongting Mountain. If he comes to Dongting Mountain during the Qingming Festival, he must taste the most precious "Biluochun Tea". During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi praised this famous tea, which was green in color and rolled like a snail. The title is "Biluochun", also known as "Biluochun in Dongting".

Appearance: silver buds are exposed, one bud and one leaf. The total length of tea leaves is about 1.5 cm. The teeth are curly with white hair, the leaves are curly and green, and the leaves are tender, uniform and bright.

Origin: Dongting Mountain, Taihu Lake, Suzhou

Soup color: green and clear.

Aroma: The aftertaste is long and refreshing.

Tribute tea sought after by the rich in Lu' an melon slices

World famous mountains will produce Cao Ling. Jiangnan is warm and only suitable for drinking tea. North of the great river, it is called Lu 'an.

Lu 'an tea has been a tribute for generations, especially in the Ming Dynasty. It has the function of clearing stomach and promoting digestion, which is probably suitable for people who drink too much. When making tea with Luan melon slices, the fog is transpiration and the aroma is overflowing. Li Bai has the reputation of "Yangtze River water, tea at the top of the mountain" and "Qishan Yungua slice". Lu 'an needs to take stronger and more tender leaves on 10 days before and after "Grain Rain" to win by "slice", which is the only green tea slice with stems and buds removed in China.

Appearance: the single piece is flat and even, the leaf edge is rolled back, there is no bud stalk, it looks like melon seeds, and the color is bright green.

Origin: Lu 'an, Anhui

Soup color: clear and green, clear and bright.

Aroma: The fragrance is rich and lasting.

Beautiful and gentle alpine tea in Mao Feng, Huangshan.

"In front of the bowl chopsticks without memorial tablet, she offered a lamp to Huangshan Mao Feng. Everyone knows who she is offering sacrifices to and what she means by doing so. Everyone is looking for a drunken day in the crowd, but he is not there. "

Jia Mu in the South, an award-winning novel of the 5th Mao Dun Literature Award, is a novel reflecting tea culture. Taking Hangzhou, the capital of green tea, as the background, this paper tells about the ups and downs of a romantic and elegant tea merchant in the south of the Yangtze River in the late Qing Dynasty, and Mao Feng in Huangshan Mountain is also mentioned in the book. Huangshan Mao Feng is a famous tea in Qing Dynasty, which was created by Xie Yutai Tea House in Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty. Mining every year during Qingming Festival in Grain Rain. Because the newly-made tea is covered with white hairs and sprouted, it is named Huangshan Mao Feng.

Appearance: it looks like a sparrow's tongue, with yellow in the green, oily and shiny, with exposed silver hair, sharp buds close to the leaves, and golden fish leaves (commonly known as golden slices).

Origin: Huangshan, Anhui

Soup color: clear and light yellow, with vibrant yellow-green leaves.

Aroma: fresh and mellow, with long lasting appeal.

Wu Wenming qiancha

Where does "tea before tomorrow" come from?

Many people generally believe that tea before the Ming Dynasty was picked and made in Tomb-Sweeping Day. In fact, tea before the Ming Dynasty was called spring tea at different stages in Jiangnan tea area of the Yangtze River valley in China according to solar terms, mainly including Zhejiang (Weibo), Hunan, Jiangxi, southern Anhui, southern Jiangsu and southern Hubei. The main categories of tea before the Ming Dynasty were green tea and a small amount of black tea, but there were no such tea before the Ming Dynasty as Tieguanyin, Dahongpao and Pu 'er.

According to climate differences, the distribution of tea-growing areas in China can be divided into southwest tea-growing areas (including Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan), south tea-growing areas (including Guangdong, Guangxi (Weibo), Fujian, Taiwan Province and Hainan), jiangbei tea-growing areas (including Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu (Weibo) and Shandong provinces, as well as northern Anhui, northern Jiangsu and northern Hubei) and Jiangnan tea-growing areas. Among them, Jiangnan tea area is the main tea producing area in China, and its annual output accounts for about 2/3 of the total national output. Some famous traditional teas in China, such as West Lake Longjing, Dongting Biluochun and Huangshan Mao Feng, are all produced in this area.

From this point of view, consumers can easily distinguish Qianming tea, and Qianming tea is mainly produced in Jiangnan tea area. Spring tea in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan and other regions, although picked before Tomb-Sweeping Day, can not be called tea before Ming Dynasty. Because most of the tea-producing areas in Southwest China and South China are located in the south of China, the temperature rises early in spring, and tea picking often begins during the traditional Chinese New Year every year, and it has been nearly two months since we arrived in Tomb-Sweeping Day. However, due to climatic reasons, tea picking in Jiangbei tea areas, such as Henan and Shandong, often starts after Tomb-Sweeping Day, so there is no tea before tomorrow.

In the same way, "tea before rain" refers to the tea picked before Grain Rain after the Qingming Festival in Jiangnan tea area.

Tea before tomorrow is very expensive. Where is it?

Scarcity is the most precious: in Jiangnan tea area, due to the generally low temperature before Qingming, tea trees generally began to sprout at the vernal equinox, and tea picking began before Qingming. Due to the limited number of germination and slow growth rate, the yield that can meet the picking standard is very small. Usually a very skilled tea picker can only pick half a catty of fresh leaves a day. And 4 kg fresh leaves make 1 kg dry tea. Finally, after screening and refining. Facts have proved that there are usually more than 60 thousand buds per catty of dry tea. Things are rare, so the value of "before tea tomorrow" is reflected.

Nutrient-rich: in Jiangnan tea area, tea trees sleep for a long time in winter. After the end of the spring tea season, tea farmers are mainly busy with the management of tea gardens, including pruning, fertilizing and spreading grass. In the long winter, the nutrients in tea trees have been fully accumulated, and the temperature is low in early spring, so the growth rate of tea trees is slow. Therefore, there are many buds, dense buds, strong buds, good tenderness and thick leaves. In addition, the tea leaves in this period are rich in inclusions, high in water extract and high in chlorophyll, especially chlorophyll a, so the green tea made is green and moist in color, with upright roots after brewing, beautiful and good visual effect. Furthermore, the content of amino acids is higher than that of tea in the later stage, and some volatile components with faint scent or ripe chestnut scent are higher, while the content of bitter tea polyphenols is relatively low, which makes tea taste high and mellow.

Health and pollution-free: before Qingming, the temperature was low, generally there was no harm of pests and diseases, and there was no need to use pesticides, so tea was pollution-free. Therefore, spring tea, especially early spring tea, is often the best quality green tea in a year. Therefore, many high-grade famous teas, such as West Lake Longjing, Dongting Biluochun, Huangshan Mao Feng, Lushan Wu Yun and so on. , all collected from the early stage of spring tea, especially before the Ming Dynasty, are the best among famous teas and become the "darling" respected by tea lovers.

How to buy "tea before tomorrow"

As an ordinary consumer, Xiaofang has three ways to buy authentic and high-quality tea before tomorrow.

First of all, you must go to a well-known tea house with a brand, because brand stores have a reputation base and will not easily bear the risks brought by counterfeiting.

Secondly, pay attention to the origin of tea. For example, only green tea and some black tea will have money to make tea, and only Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangxi, southern Anhui, southern Jiangsu and southern Hubei will have money to make tea.

Finally, if you have tea friends who have a basic taste in tea, you must sit down and have a taste before buying tea tomorrow. Before making tea, look at the shape, color and taste the aroma of tea. Spring tea leaves are generally tightly wrapped, plump, hairy, bright in color and rich in aroma; Then after brewing, we can further judge by smelling the fragrance, tasting and looking at the bottom of the leaves. When new tea is brewed, the tea leaves sink faster, with rich and lasting aroma and mellow taste; Green tea soup is green and yellow, and black tea soup is red and gold; The bottom of tea is soft and thick, and there are many normal buds and leaves. In terms of taste, Qianming tea must have a soft taste and will not have a strong bitterness.

How to brew tea before tomorrow is very particular.

Drinking spring tea is not as fresh as possible. It's best not to drink freshly fried tea before tomorrow. If you leave it for a week or two, it will taste better. New tea generally has a "fire" flavor. If you brew it right away, your throat will be dry and the taste will not be good. In addition, there is still residual moisture in the newly fried tea, which is not conducive to preservation. After proper storage, it can not only remove the "fire" taste, but also reduce the moisture of dry tea.

Don't brew Qianming tea with boiling water. Because Qianming tea is very tender, it is generally appropriate to use about 80 degrees. The more tender and greener the tea leaves, the lower the brewing temperature, so that the tea soup can be light green and bright, and the taste is fresh and refreshing, and the nutrients in the tea leaves are not easy to be destroyed. As usual, the high water temperature will "burn" the tea. It is best to pour boiling water into the cup first, and then pour it into the teacup for brewing, so that the water temperature can be easily controlled. Before the Ming Dynasty, Biluochun tea had to be flushed first and then poured.

It is best to brew in a glass. Tea before tomorrow requires not only green soup, fresh taste and rich aroma, but also beautiful appearance. The dry tea shape of Longjing tea should be flat, flat and straight, and the shape of "Biluochun" dry tea should be "curled into a snail". After brewing, the bud leaves of tea slowly spread out and float up and down in the glass, which is also a special enjoyment.

What's the difference between "tea before tomorrow" and "tea before rain"?

In recent years, when people buy tea, there is a preference, that is, to buy the earliest and most tender tea, or even only to buy tea made of single bud. In fact, high-quality tea is not as tender as possible. Bud tea made from a single tender and tiny tea bud is really beautiful in appearance, but in terms of content, it is not as rich as a bud and a leaf. Take Longjing tea with a long history as an example. The raw material of its super tea is a bud, a leaf or two, and never picks a single bud as raw material.

In society, the abstract concept of "tea before Ming Dynasty" is greater than its practical value, and its aesthetic significance is greater than its drinking value. The vanity of tea drinkers plays an important role in it. Because the quantity of "tea before tomorrow" is small and precious, it is often a symbol of status and taste to drink it.

In fact, "tea before rain" is not as delicate as "tea tomorrow", but because of the high temperature, relatively rapid growth of bud leaves and rich accumulated inclusions, "tea before rain" often tastes fresh and strong, and is resistant to foaming. The tea collected in this period is neither early nor late, because it is just right and has the essence of the season, so it is good tea.

Furthermore, tea trees are affected by climate, varieties and cultivation management conditions, and the time of tea harvesting is different every year. Generally speaking, it is always delayed gradually from south to north, and the mining time between north and south is 3-4 months. In addition, even in the same tea area or even the same tea garden, the picking time may be 5-20 days different due to the differences in altitude and water and fertilizer management. Therefore, when buying tea, you can't judge the quality of tea only by the season of picking tea. Tea gardens with high temperature may have been mined 2-3 times before Tomb-Sweeping Day, but some places with high altitude and north of tea gardens have not been mined once after Tomb-Sweeping Day. Isn't it ridiculous to judge the quality of tea simply by the time of picking?

"Before tea tomorrow", early and tender, good-looking; "Tea before rain" is delicious. It's just that consumption pursues different things.