Exquisite variety: different production methods have different effects.
There are as many as 14 kinds of tea names recorded in ancient prescriptions and herbal medicines. At present, the classification standard generally recognized by scholars at home and abroad is to divide tea into green tea, yellow tea, black tea, white tea, black tea and green tea according to the production methods and quality characteristics of tea. Different types of tea have great differences in quality characteristics. A thorough understanding of the production technology and clear classification of tea is conducive to better grasping the functions of tea and drinking tea scientifically and reasonably.
As we all know, green tea is the most abundant tea in China. Common green teas are West Lake Longjing, Dongting Biluochun and Nanjing Yuhua Tea. The basic technological process is divided into three steps: enzyme fixation, rolling and drying, among which enzyme fixation is the most critical to ensure the bright green of tea.
After green tea is brewed, it is bright in color and mellow in taste. After the kneading step, the tea fragrance is easier to release, and the tea is clear and transparent. It is found that green tea is the healthiest among many teas, and it is suitable for people such as "three highs" to drink.
The main representatives of yellow tea are Junshan Yinzhen, Mengding Huangya and Huangshan Huangya. Its technological feature is that there is a yellowing process on the basis of the green tea production method. The so-called stuffy yellow refers to that fresh leaves are piled up while they are hot after being killed, twisted or first baked, so that they gradually turn yellow under the action of damp heat. After brewing yellow tea, the tea leaves are golden yellow and fragrant, and the brewed tea leaves are apricot yellow, sweet and refreshing. Yellow tea produces a large number of digestive enzymes due to the yellow stuffy process, which has the functions of strengthening the spleen and stomach and helping digestion.
Black tea is different from Yunnan Pu 'er tea, Hunan black tea and Guangxi Liubao tea in origin and technology. Its production process is complicated. After enzyme fixation and twisting, the tea leaves were left standing for a long time and fully fermented, and the tea leaves were oily black. This process is called heap fermentation. Pile fermentation is very important, and it is also the most critical step to determine the quality of black tea. After brewing black tea, the tea leaves are straight, dark brown and full of tea fragrance. Black tea is the raw material of pressed tea, which can help digestion, soothe the nerves and relieve hangover, and is also suitable for people with "three highs" to drink daily.
The main representatives of white tea are Baihao Yinzhen and Bai Mudan. Tea varieties with many white hairs on bud leaves are often selected. The production method is not frying or kneading, but generally drying. The former is the process of fermentation. The withered tea leaves are directly dried and molded, so the white tea leaves are white and tender, and the original leaf shape is basically maintained. The brewed tea leaves are slightly colored, light in taste and slightly sweet after drinking. According to the nature of white tea, it has the effects of clearing away heat and reducing fire and dispelling summer heat.
The main representatives of black tea are Qi Hong, Dianhong, Chuanhong and other varieties, and its production process is the most complicated, which mainly includes four steps: withering, rolling, rolling and drying. The so-called "Wohong" means that after transformation, colored substances such as theaflavins and thearubigins and substances with special fragrance are produced. After the tea leaves are brewed, the color is moist, the aroma is overflowing, the taste is sweet and fresh, and the leaves are bronzed. Black tea is mild in nature and suitable for stomach deficiency or winter drinking.
Green tea, also known as "oolong tea", belongs to semi-fermented tea, which is divided into four types: northern Fujian oolong, southern Fujian oolong, Guangdong oolong and Taiwan Province oolong. Its production process includes withering, deactivating enzymes, frying, rolling and drying, among which deactivating enzymes is a unique process of green tea, that is, under the action of mechanical force, it destroys the edges of some fresh leaves, promotes the oxidative polymerization of their contents, and produces red edges of green leaves. After green tea is brewed, the tea is clear orange and yellow, and the taste is mellow and fresh. It has the advantages of green tea and black tea, and is a perfect combination of them.
In addition to the above six kinds of tea varieties, there are special kinds, that is, a kind of tea processed from the characteristics of tea, such as jasmine tea, osmanthus tea, rose tea and so on. Pressed tea, such as Pu 'er pressed tea, black brick, blue brick, etc.
Pay attention to drinking tea: cold and warm should avoid four seasons.
Because tea tastes bitter and cold, it is good at clearing heat and reducing fire, and treating heat syndrome. In addition, tea has the functions of waking up, quenching thirst, promoting digestion, resolving phlegm, clearing brain and inducing diuresis, and different kinds of tea parties will focus on its functions. For example, as recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica, tea before rain (Longjing tea) not only has the above-mentioned tea functions, but also has the functions of benefiting the pharynx, reinforcing the middle energizer and invigorating qi. It is worth noting that due to the bitter and cold taste of tea, doctors in previous dynasties did not advocate excessive drinking of tea, believing that tea has some disadvantages such as cooling the stomach, cutting the spleen, consuming essence and blood, and eliminating human fat cream.
In addition, both wine and salt enter the kidney meridian, so drinking tea after drinking, or drinking tea with salt, may lead to the cold of tea entering the kidney meridian, leading to symptoms such as low back pain. In the field of tea science, there is a saying that "green tea is cold and black tea is warm", but through the study of ancient documents, it is found that "tea" has two meanings in ancient books. One refers to the medicinal properties of "cold, hot and cool" in traditional Chinese medicine. At this level, tea belongs to bitter and cold taste; Another meaning is the expression of the characteristics of tea in literature. However, the viewpoint that "black tea is warm in nature" is not recorded in the literature of traditional Chinese medicine, so this viewpoint has nothing to do with excessive cold and heat in traditional Chinese medicine, and most of them refer to tea being warm in nature.
Drinking tea for health preservation should not only pay attention to the coldness and warmth of tea, but also conform to nature and make the four seasons different. Most parts of China have a monsoon climate with four distinct seasons: high temperature in spring, hot in summer, cool in autumn and cold in winter. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that health preservation should conform to the seasonal climate changes in nature, maintain a harmonious balance with the yin and yang of heaven and earth, and make the internal and external environment of the human body harmonious and unified. The principle of four-season health preservation is "nourishing yang in spring and summer, nourishing yin in autumn and winter" in Su Wen's theory of regulating qi and spirit. According to this principle, in the specific health care practice, it is necessary to adapt to the climate of the four seasons to regulate the qi of the five internal organs; In different seasons, the selected tea varieties should be optimized according to seasonal factors.
In spring health care, we must master the characteristics of spring qi and pay attention to protecting the yang in the body to make it constantly abundant. Anything that hurts the yang spirit and hinders it should be avoided. When choosing tea, you can choose scented tea, such as jasmine tea, which is pungent, sweet and cool, which is helpful to dispel cold evil in winter and promote yang to grow hair. Healthy in summer, due to steaming and sweating in summer, with developed pores, it is vulnerable to the evil of wind and cold; At the same time, dampness is yin evil, which is easy to hurt Yang Qi. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the invasion of dampness, especially the spleen and stomach of Yang Qi. At this time, green tea should be given priority to, which is conducive to clearing away heat and reducing fire, especially hot tea. In autumn, dryness is the main qi, which is easy to hurt human body fluids, so the key to keeping healthy in autumn is to prevent dryness and protect yin. At this time, you can mainly drink green tea, which has both the fragrance of green tea and the mellow taste of black tea. Neither cold nor hot, it is most suitable for moistening the throat and promoting fluid production. In winter, cold evil invades and everything sleeps. In winter, health preservation focuses on "hiding", mainly on kidneys, and food should be warmed up, so it is better to drink tea or black tea in winter. Black tea is warm and sunny, and it is also rich in protein and sugar, which enhances the ability to keep out the cold.
Tea drinking culture in China has a long history. As a health drink, tea has become an indispensable part of people's lives. Long-term scientific drinking tea can really keep you healthy. However, it is worth noting that tea is not a drug after all, and it cannot be expected to have immediate effects, let alone the "three high" people as a drug substitute. At the same time, because everyone's own physique is different, drinking tea has a preference and cannot be generalized. Summarizing the taboos of tea drinking in past dynasties can be summarized as follows: drink less tea, drink hot tea, drink good tea and drink tea after meals; Avoid drinking too much tea, drink herbal tea, drink tea on an empty stomach, drink tea after drinking, and drink salt and tea with the weak.