First, the quality characteristics of Wuyi rock tea
Wuyi rock tea is the top grade of oolong tea, with compact shape (not tender), some dragonfly heads, jewel luster, moderate length and heavy body. After brewing, the taste is sweet, without the bitterness of green tea, cold in nature, not bad after long-term storage, Qing Xiang, and long-lasting. The bottom of the leaves is soft and bright, with vermilion edges, and some of them have the characteristics of green leaves and red edges. The tea soup is golden yellow or orange yellow (refined tea is dark orange yellow), and the tea soup is fresh and gorgeous. High-quality Wuyi rock tea focuses on "rock rhyme", that is, "rock tea is superior to the" rock bone "referred to in" rock bone and flower fragrance ",which is popularly called" rock taste ". It is a kind of feeling that the taste is particularly mellow and thick, but the tongue (mouth) is long and the aftertaste is long, also known as the hard bottom of tea. It is also a good site condition for tea trees, which is generally more prominent in tea gardens with gravel and sandy soil. The "flower fragrance" in rock bone and flower fragrance is not the same as that in scented tea, but the flower fragrance naturally formed by green tea in the unique processing technology of Wuyi rock tea. Different varieties have a variety of unique fragrance varieties, but this fragrance requires sharp and long, clear and distant, which is like the victory of Lan Zhi.
Second, the evaluation method of Wuyi rock tea
It is best to have a quiet environment for tasting Wuyi rock tea, and a set of tea sets such as small pots and cups commonly used in clean mountain spring water is better. People should relax, avoid rushing to taste, and better appreciate the connotation and significance of Wuyi rock tea.
1. Tasting method: There are usually two methods: pot bubble method and cup bubble method. Use a pot when there are many people, and use a cup when there are few people. The soaking time should be adjusted according to the habits and hobbies of the drinker, and the amount and quantity of tea, brewing with high-temperature water and proper drinking methods can achieve the ideal effect.
Tea quantity: depending on the size of the container (pot or cover cup), it is generally half of the container quantity.
Water quantity: According to the quantity of tea leaves, generally 20-25ml of water is used for one gram of tea leaves.
Water temperature: it should be above the initial boiling temperature of 98℃, especially for the first time.
Soaking time: 65438+ 0 minutes for the first time, 2 minutes for the second time and 3 minutes for the third time is more appropriate. High quality Wuyi rock tea can be brewed for more than six times.
Brewing method: Pay attention to the boiling water is slightly higher than the surface of the container, scrape off the foam on the surface of the pot and cup, cover the cup after cleaning, and pour the cup down, which can reduce the elegant fragrance of tea.
Drinking method: Tea tasting depends on whether the water color is clear and gorgeous, orange yellow or deep orange yellow, and whether the water color has obvious three layers. It is best to have a "golden circle" on the surface and smell its fragrance again. It's best to taste it pure, three times. Slowly enter the mouth to appreciate whether the water fragrance matches the smell.
The second bubble: we should focus on the taste of tea, whether the taste of tea is mellow, and whether there is obvious bitterness or miscellaneous taste. Although the tea soup has been swallowed, there seems to be something left in my mouth, which is heavier than before.
Three bubbles: we should focus on rhyme, whether the tea soup has a fresh and refreshing feeling in the mouth, whether it has a natural charm, and whether it has a pleasant feeling of moistening the throat and refreshing. We haven't thought that we will slide down our throats when swallowing tea soup. Wuyi rock tea pays great attention to the rhyme of "rock bone" throat and cup bottom (smell the cup bottom after drinking water, etc.). ), and tea tasting is a kind of spiritual induction and high-level cultural enjoyment.
2. Contents and methods of evaluation: Liang Zhangju put forward the words "lively, sweet, clear and fragrant" in Qing Dynasty, because Wuyi Rock Tea belongs to the category of "emphasizing taste as fragrance" in oolong tea series, which is different from Anxi Tea's "taking fragrance as misfortune". This is the most important principle to identify Wuyi rock tea, pure and impure fragrance, sharp and short and long. There are differences in the thickness, exposure and persistence of rhyme. Appraisal is a meticulous and complicated work, and there are many influencing factors, which can only be briefly explained.
Lively: it means smooth, refreshing and pleasant, with no sense of stagnation and clear throat rhyme.
Sweetness: it means that the time to return to sweetness is short and fast, refreshing and sweet.
Clear: refers to clear but not miscellaneous, clear and appropriate, beautiful and bright (refers to tea soup and leaf bottom)
Aroma: refers to the fragrant smell of tea soup in the mouth, rushing out of the nose and leaving a fragrant feeling on the teeth and cheeks after drinking.
Strong: refers to the thick alcohol without obvious bitterness.
Thick: refers to the thickness of the tea bottom, with bones and long duration. It can be said that the tip of the tongue is always full of sweetness. Rhyme: refers to the rock bones in Rock Bone Flower.
Persistence: refers to the persistence of oral comfort and pleasure, not the persistence of bitterness and miscellaneous taste. Good tea should be drunk before meals, and it still smells good after meals.
None of the above can be learned at once, and it must be deepened through long-term practice. Some of them are still difficult to express clearly in words, such as the word "rhyme". I can only give a brief introduction, which should be a reference for rock tea lovers to understand and taste.
Method for brew Wuyi rock tea in a covered bowl
To make tea, you usually only need to prepare tea and water, and you can drink it after boiling water. However, it is not easy to bring the inherent color, aroma and taste of tea into full play and make it well. According to the characteristics of Wuyi rock tea, different brewing techniques and methods should be adopted according to different tea leaves.
1, tea-making utensils
The best appliance for brewing Wuyi tea, the first heavy tea has good performance and high heat transfer. Generally speaking, the white porcelain cup is good. It is often seen that tea shop owners and professional tea critics like to make tea with cups. In fact, it also shows that Wuyi rock tea can best show the true colors of tea soup! Covering the cup has an undisguised effect. The tea you make is good, and the tea soup and aroma naturally show; The quality of the tea you use is not good. Covering the cup is bound to make it look ugly. The poem says, "Plain porcelain is laid on a quiet night, full of fragrance and leisure." . It also shows that the porcelain cup has a great role in conducting tea fragrance! The white cup is great. Cover cups seen in the market are generally divided into three types: large, medium and small; Can be flexibly selected according to the number of tea drinkers and preferences.
2. Prepare water
Tea tasting will have great differences in aroma and taste due to different water quality. Therefore, water is the mother of tea. Without good water, you can't make good tea. Cha Sheng Lu Yu's Tea Classic classifies water: in mountains and rivers, well water is poor. Lu Yu lived in an era when mountains and streams were pollution-free and water was alive. Collecting the water source of mountain elites to make tea, there must be good soup. Now the mountains have been destroyed by soil and water, and the river water has been polluted by all kinds of sewage, so people today can't take water to make tea at will like the ancients. At the same time, for taking spring water to make tea, we should also pay attention to whether the water source is polluted. Tea lovers rarely have the opportunity to go to the countryside to fetch water and make tea like the ancients. At the same time, it is difficult to enjoy good natural water due to the inconvenience of acquisition and transportation. At present, the commonly used water is commercially available mineral water, purified water, filtered water and household tap water. For domestic tap water, we must use it carefully and choose to drink it according to the actual situation of local water quality.
3, the use of cups:
When using, the cup must be kept clean and high temperature. You can first fill the cup with boiling water, warm the cup like a kettle, and then add the right amount of tea. After the water is boiled, pour it into the cup and brew the tea leaves with hot water all around, so that every piece of tea can be properly moistened. It seems simple to cover the cup, but you need your fingers to resist heat and master the speed of pouring the cup. Only with more practice can practice make perfect! The use of the cover cup has been introduced in many places, so I won't repeat it here.
4. Buy tea:
Hold the saucer with both hands and shake it a few times to make the tea have a layered feeling, and hold the saucer with the left hand; Take a teaspoon in your right hand and put the rough tea on the surface aside. Scoop out the fine tea leaves and put them in a covered bowl, and then put the coarse tea leaves on it (the purpose is that the fine tea residue is not easy to pour out after brewing). Wuyi rock tea brewed with a bowl is rope-shaped. According to the different shapes and sizes of tea leaves and the strength of drinking habits, the amount of tea leaves is about the capacity of a general bowl (1/3-2/3). The ratio of water to dry tea is generally 1/(20-25).
5, tea time
Soaking time: 1 to 3 bubbles 10-30 seconds, and the soaking time is increased by 10-30 seconds per bubble. Tea leaves are in close contact with the water in the pot, and the tea soup poured out after a few seconds or minutes tastes the best. Beginners use a timer, which is too formulaic. Reminder: Not every kind of tea tastes the same, but it is good to have fun with tea friends. Generally speaking, the time of soaking in water for the first three times should not exceed 1 minute, and it is better to control it within 30 seconds. The soaking time of traditional rock tea with large roasting is shorter than that of rock tea with small roasting.
In addition, brewing techniques can be divided into several types:
Exotic varieties put fragrance first, generally taste poor, and it is easy to have bitterness after long-term soaking. The water outlet speed can be faster, and the soaking time can be shortened as much as possible, which can better reflect its advantages. Cinnamon, narcissus varieties and local famous Chinese fir are all very suitable for the growth of Wuyishan environment, with good taste and charm, and the soaking time can be relatively long.
Brewing skills can be divided from the degree of roasting: the degree of roasting of local varieties of cinnamon, narcissus and famous fir is low, and the soaking time of lightly roasted tea can be relatively long. However, cinnamon, narcissus or aged tea with high roasting degree can relatively shorten the water outlet time. If the time is too long and the taste is strong and bitter, it is generally difficult for novices to accept it.
You can learn the brewing skills of tea in different seasons.
Spring tea can be produced for a long time, and tea in other seasons, especially winter slices, can be produced faster.
The specific brewing methods are flexible and varied, and the individuals are different. Soak and drink more, practice more and master naturally.
Essentials of tea tasting: Rock tea is mellow in taste, rich in connotation and has a special "rock rhyme". The characteristics of tea varieties can be reflected in the taste; The fragrance is high or long, and the fragrance types are diversified; When tasting tea, smell its fragrance first, then taste it, and repeat it several times. There are dry tea fragrance, cover fragrance, water fragrance, cup bottom fragrance, leaf bottom fragrance and so on. When tasting tea, let the tea soup fully contact with all parts of the mouth and tongue, repeat it several times, carefully feel the mellow degree and various characteristics of the tea soup, and comprehensively judge the characteristics and taste of tea. Practice the smell and taste of tea often. Practice makes perfect. As soon as you smell it, you will know how to make its tea seeds and the degree of baking.
In addition, Wuyi rock tea is also suitable for brewing in large pots and cups, which is also a convenient brewing method. According to the water holding capacity of the teapot, the proper proportion of tea leaves will also lead to different depths of tea soup and different quality of tea soup.
The dosage of loose tea needs painstaking efforts and can be flexibly adjusted according to your own taste. Tasting tea is an art of life, with less rules and more ingenious ideas, and the consumption of tea is single-minded.
Evaluation method of Wuyi rock tea
1. The tea sample tray of the evaluation appliance is a white square tray, made of wood or plastic, which should be tasteless, with a notch in one corner. The evaluation cups and bowls are made of pure white porcelain, and the size, thickness and color must be consistent. The evaluation cup has an inverted bell shape and a lid, and the capacity is 1 10 ml, and the capacity of the evaluation bowl is 1 10 ml. White enamel plate or white porcelain bowl for leaf bottom bowl.
2. Method
(1) Take the evenly mixed sample and put it in the tea sample tray to evaluate its appearance;
(2) After fully mixing the samples in the tea sample tray, weigh 5g tea sample and tasting cup, add boiling water at 100℃ and brew for three times. The first soaking 1 min, the second soaking for 2 minutes and the third soaking for 3 minutes.
Every time: a, smell the aroma first (for the first time, check whether the aroma is normal, and distinguish between variety fragrance, regional fragrance and artificial fragrance; Smell the fragrance for the second time and evaluate the level, thickness and strength of the fragrance; The length and continuity of the third Pingxiang period).
B. After draining the tea soup and tasting bowl, look at the color of the soup (Wuyi Rock Tea Soup requires clear and bright color, which is golden yellow or orange yellow, and some finished teas require clear and bright color, which is relatively dark).
C. Evaluation (The taste of Wuyi Rock Tea requires a certain concentration, mellow degree, strong but not bitter, mellow and refreshing, strong but not astringent, rich in convergence, clear in rhyme and sweet and lasting. Usually, it is mainly to distinguish whether it is refreshing, bitter, astringent and hemp, especially to experience the sweet and comfortable aftertaste, and to distinguish the best after repeated comparison. In addition, it depends on its foam resistance).
D. smell the bottom fragrance of the leaves (mainly to make up for the lack of experience every time you smell the fragrance).
(3) Pour the tea residue into a bowl with a leaf bottom, and check the fermentation degree and softness of the leaf bottom.
3, the main factors of appearance review
It's rope, it's color, it's rolling, it's clear The main factors of quality evaluation are: aroma, taste, soup color and leaf bottom.
-
Wuyi cinnamon, one of the main varieties of Wuyi rock tea, is also called Yugui. Cinnamomum cassia is one of the famous Abies in Wuyi, which is a clonal, shrub-type, mesophyll late-growing tree species. The characteristics of the finished tea are: the rope is tight, the color is moist and sandy green, the aroma is rich, sharp and cinnamon-like, the taste is mellow, sweet and pungent, the soup color is orange to golden yellow, transparent, and the green leaves at the bottom of the leaves are bright, soft and bright. Because its aroma tastes like cinnamon, it is customarily called "cinnamon". According to the new records in Chong 'an County Records, it had its name in Qing Dynasty. This tea is oolong tea made from fresh leaves of Cinnamomum cassia seed tea tree and Wuyi rock tea, and it is a highly fragrant variety in Wuyi rock tea.
-
The Pearl of Wuyi Rock Tea-"Cinnamon"
Author: Gong Zhi Article Source: Excerpted from "China Oolong Tea"
At the end of Qing Dynasty, there was a gifted scholar named Jiang Heng in Jian 'an County, who grew up in a tea country and loved tea. He once wrote an article praising Wuyi Tea's talent, charm and superb technology, giving it a name and inscription, and writing a biography for Wuyi Tea.
Rock owners, tea farmers, Buddhist monks and feather scholars in Wuyishan enjoyed the biography after reading it. Whenever the Temple Forest held a tea banquet or a tea contest to comment on the tea preface, Jiang Heng was invited to participate in the tea banquet or tea contest, and became a celebrity of Wuyi for a while.
One early summer, Panlongyan mainly named the tea he made, so he invited Jiang Heng to Panlongyan, as well as the abbot of Hui Yuan Temple and the owner of rock tea in Ma Zhenfeng.
The host set out a tea set for drinking oolong tea, selected newly-made Panlong tea and spring water from Panyan, and made a feast for the guests by traditional brewing methods.
Jiang Heng took the handless small, a natural smell of rock. The abbot of Hui Yuan Temple took the small cup and smelled a thick fragrance of tea. He said, "Good fragrant tea has the natural aroma of tea." The host smiled and nodded.
Jiang Heng took a sip, feeling that the aroma was Xin Ruiyong, and his mouth was fragrant and cold. Jiang Heng said: "The quality of this kind of tea is different from Wuyi tea." The host said: "Mr. Jiang is really wily. This tea is selected from the exotic species of Panlongyan, which is really different. "
Jiang Heng went on to say: "High-quality Panlong tea has obvious cinnamon fragrance, and it is milky white and fragrant." The host respectfully said, "The name of this tea has not been decided yet. You have tasted many famous Wuyi teas. Please give me a name. " ,
The owner of Ma Zhenfeng Tea said, "This is called Panlong Tea." Jiang Heng said, "No, this kind of tea can't be named after rocks, but should be named after its quality. I think cinnamon is more suitable. " The owner of Panlongyan immediately said, "Well, cinnamon is a valuable medicinal material, named after cinnamon, so this tea is so valuable."
Later, Jiang Heng wrote "Tea Song" and said: "The exotic species are natural and authentic, and the papaya is slightly fragrant. Why should we continue to sing new music, Yu Jia's second theory of ice buds? " Praise the quality of cinnamon.
In the long years before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the output of cinnamon was very small, and it was not until the early 1950 s that it regained its vitality and became a rising star of Wuyi Famous Brand Group.
Nowadays, Cinnamomum cassia is flourishing, distributed in water curtain cave, Sanyang Peak, Matouyan, Guilin Rock, Tianyou Rock, Shabayan, Shengyangyan Rock, Baihuazhuang, Zhuke, Jiulongke and other peak rocks, and cinnamon tea trees are almost all over the mountain.
Standard of high quality cinnamon
The rope is thick, tight and heavy.
The color is bright, the sand is green, and the red dot is obvious.
Uniformity of crushing degree
clean
Strong and persistent aroma, like frankincense or peach, or cinnamon.
The taste is mellow and fresh, and the rock rhyme is obvious.
The soup is golden yellow, clear and bright.
The leaf bottom is thick, soft, bright and even, with obvious red edge.