Tea drinking began in China. Tea is washed with boiling water, which is natural, elegant and tasteful. Seeking the inherent taste of tea, we should focus on artistic conception. This is the characteristic of tea tasting in China. Tea of the same quality, such as different water, different tea sets or different brewing techniques, will have different effects. China has attached great importance to tea brewing since ancient times and accumulated rich experience. To make tea well, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of various teas and master the scientific brewing technology, so as to fully display the inherent quality of tea.
People in China pay attention to the word "quality" when drinking tea. "Tea tasting" is not only to identify the advantages and disadvantages of tea, but also to daydream and appreciate the taste of tea. Making a pot of strong tea in your busy schedule, choosing a quiet place and taking a sip by yourself can relieve fatigue, relieve boredom, refresh yourself, sip slowly, enjoy beauty and sublimate the spiritual world to a noble artistic realm. The environment for tea tasting is generally composed of buildings, gardens, furnishings, tea sets and other factors. Drinking tea requires quietness, freshness, comfort and cleanliness. China's gardens are world-famous, and the scenery is even more numerous. Use gardens or natural mountains and rivers to set up tea rooms, so that people can rest and be full of interest.
China is an ancient civilization and a country of etiquette, which attaches great importance to etiquette. When the guests come, the etiquette of making tea and offering tea is essential. When guests come to visit, you can argue and choose the best tea set that best suits the taste of the guests. When offering tea to guests, it is also necessary to mix tea properly. When drinking tea with guests, the host should pay attention to the tea residue in the guest's cup and pot. Generally speaking, tea is brewed in a teacup. If you have already drunk half of it, you should add boiling water to make the concentration of tea basically the same and the water temperature appropriate. When drinking tea, it can also be properly accompanied by tea, candy, dishes and so on. To achieve the effect of regulating taste and snacks.
It is not easy to buy tea. If you want to get good tea, you need to master a lot of knowledge, such as the grade standard, price, market, evaluation and inspection methods of various teas. The quality of tea is mainly identified from four aspects: color, fragrance, taste and shape, but for ordinary tea drinkers, when buying tea, they can only look at the shape and color of dry tea and smell the fragrance of dry tea, which increases the difficulty of judging the quality of tea. Here is a rough introduction to the method of identifying dry tea. The appearance of dry tea is mainly seen from five aspects, namely tenderness, rope, color, broken and clean.
-1. Tenderness
Tenderness is the basic factor that determines quality. The so-called "dry appearance, wet ass" means tenderness. Generally, tea with good tenderness is easy to meet the appearance requirements of this kind of tea (such as "light, flat, flat and straight" in Longjing). In addition, it can also be identified from the presence or absence of tea seedlings. Good pre-seedlings and white hair shows show that they are tender and well-made. If the tenderness of raw materials is poor, no matter how good the workmanship is, there will be no white hairs on the sharp seedlings and tea strips. But tenderness can't be judged only by the number of fine hairs, because the specific requirements of various teas are different. For example, the high-quality Lion Peak Longjing is fluff-free. Moreover, fuzz is easy to fake and operate by hand. The tenderness of bud leaves is judged by fluff, which is only applicable to "fluff" teas such as Mao Feng, Maojian and Yinzhen. What needs to be mentioned here is that the most tender fresh leaves should also sprout, and it is not appropriate to pick the bud heart unilaterally. Because the bud nucleus is an imperfect part, its content is not comprehensive, especially the chlorophyll content is very low. Therefore, tea should not only be made into buds in pursuit of tenderness.
-2. Cable
Cord is a certain shape and specification of various tea sets, such as fried green strips, round pearl tea, flat longjing tea, granular red broken tea and so on. Generally, long strip tea is elastic, straight, strong, thin, round, flat, light and heavy; Round tea depends on the elasticity, uniformity, weight and ethereal degree of particles; Flat tea to see if it is smooth and meets the specifications. Generally speaking, the rope is tight, heavy, round (except flat tea) and straight, indicating that the raw materials are tender, the workmanship is good and the quality is excellent; If the appearance is loose, flat (except flat tea), broken, smoky and burnt, it means that the raw materials are old, the workmanship is poor and the quality is poor. Take the standard of Hangzhou green tea as an example: Grade I, Grade II, Grade III, Grade IV, Grade V, Grade VI, fine grain, fine grain, compact grain, compact grain and slightly loose grain.
-3. Color
Tea color is closely related to the tenderness of raw materials and processing technology. All kinds of tea have certain color requirements, such as black tea, green tea, oolong tea and black tea. However, no matter what kind of tea, good tea requires consistent color, bright luster, oily and fresh. If the colors are different, the shades are different and dull, it means that the raw materials are old and tender, the workmanship is poor and the quality is poor.
The color of tea also has a great relationship with the origin and season of tea trees. Such as alpine green tea, the color is green and yellowish, fresh and bright; Low camellia or flat tea is dark green and shiny. In the process of making tea, due to improper technology, the color often deteriorates. When buying tea, you should judge according to the specific tea you buy. For example, Longjing, the best Shifeng Longjing, had natural brown rice color and light yellow tea before the Ming Dynasty. This is a major feature of Shifeng Longjing, which is obviously different from other Longjing in color. Because the price of Shifeng Longjing is extremely high, tea farmers will create this color to pretend to be Shifeng Longjing. The method is to fry the tea a little more to make the leaves yellow. The difference between true and false lies in that the real lion peak is symmetrical, bright and clean, light yellow and light green, with a faint fragrance in the tea fragrance; The fake lion peak angle is loose and empty, the hair is rough and yellow, and the tea smells like fried soybeans. It's really hard to judge without many comparisons. But once brewed, the difference is very obvious. The over-fried fake lion peak is not as rich and tender as Longjing.
-4. decisive
The whole crushing is the shape and degree of tea crushing, with uniformity being the best, followed by crushing. The standard tea tasting is to put the tea in a plate (usually made of wood), so that the tea can be layered in turn according to its shape, size, weight, thickness and crushing degree under the action of rotating force. Among them, the thick ones are at the top, the tight ones are concentrated in the middle, and the broken ones are deposited at the bottom. All kinds of tea, medium-grade tea is the best. The upper layer is generally thick and old leaves, with light taste and light water color; There are many broken teas at the lower level, and the taste is often too strong after brewing, and the soup is darker.
-5. Clear
Mainly depends on whether tea is mixed with camellia oleifera. , tea stalks, tea powder, tea seeds and the amount of inclusions such as bamboo chips, sawdust, lime and sediment mixed in the production process. Tea with good purity does not contain any inclusions. In addition, it can also be identified by the dry aroma of tea. No matter what kind of tea, there must be no peculiar smell. Every kind of tea has a specific aroma, and the dry aroma and wet aroma are also different, depending on the specific situation. Green gas, burnt smoke and cooked stuffy smell are not desirable. The above text is only a very general introduction. It is the taste, aroma and color of the brewed tea soup that is the easiest to judge the quality of tea. So if you can, try making tea. If you have a special preference for a certain kind of tea, you'd better find some information about this kind of tea, accurately understand its color, fragrance and shape characteristics, and compare the tea you buy every time, so that if you have more times, you will easily get to the point quickly. Domestic tea varieties are loaded, and non-professionals are unlikely to judge the quality of each kind of tea, just choosing what they like. I don't buy tea in tea shops everywhere. I usually buy them at the place of origin or in a teahouse, so I go everywhere in spring. Generally speaking, locally produced tea is pure, but the quality of tea is different due to the difference of tea making technology. Tea in the teahouse is much more expensive than outside, but it is easier to find good tea here. First of all, you can try to know its quality. Second, the teas in better teahouses are carefully selected. If you can't buy tea from the place of origin, it is still an option. There are also some big tea houses where you can try tea on the spot. If you have a good eye for a certain kind of tea, you can go to the tea wholesale market to buy it. Compared with small tea shops, the tea there is relatively new, with many kinds of choices and cheaper prices. But from my own experience, it is generally not easy to find very good tea here, especially green tea. Because of the high price of premium green tea, tea wholesale markets and small tea shops operate less because of cost problems, and most good tea is bought by big tea houses and tea companies.
Tea culture knowledge
Without scientific instruments and methods, the quality of tea can be evaluated by color, aroma and shape. Using these four aspects to evaluate the quality of tea is usually identified by looking, smelling, touching and tasting. That is, look at the appearance, look at the color, smell the aroma, touch the bones and taste the soup.
① Color-Different teas have different color characteristics. Fried green tea should be yellow-green, baked green should be dark green, steamed green should be emerald green, and Longjing should be bright green with a slight beige color. If the color of green tea is dark and dark brown, the quality must be poor. The vapor color of green tea should be light green or yellowish green, clear and bright; If it is dark yellow or turbid, it is definitely not good tea. Black tea should be black and glossy, and the soup should be red and bright. Some top-grade Kung Fu black tea can form a yellow oil ring around the teacup, commonly known as "golden ring"; If the soup is dark and turbid, it must be inferior black tea. Oolong tea should be green, brown and shiny.
2 aroma-all kinds of teas have their own fragrance, such as scented green tea, top-grade green tea with orchid fragrance and chestnut fragrance, and black tea with fragrance, sweetness or floral fragrance; Oolong tea is cooked in Momoka and other places. If the aroma is low, it is classified as inferior tea; Old tea is old; Deteriorated tea leaves have bad smells such as mildew. Even Kuding tea smells natural. Scented tea attracts tea customers with its rich fragrance.
(3) Taste-or the taste of tea. The taste of tea itself consists of bitter, astringent, sweet, fresh and sour ingredients. If the proportion of ingredients is appropriate, the taste will be fresh, mellow and delicious. Meanwhile, different teas have different tastes. The first taste of superior green tea has its bitterness, but the aftertaste is rich and mellow, which makes your mouth full of saliva. Rough and inferior Chaze is tasteless and even has a dull mouth and tongue. Excellent black tea with rich, strong and fresh taste; Low-grade black tea is tasteless. Kuding tea is bitter to eat in the mouth, but sweet to drink.
④ Appearance-The quality of tea can be judged from the appearance of tea, because the quality of tea is directly related to the fresh leaves picked by tea, and also related to the tea making, which is reflected in the appearance of tea. For example, good Longjing tea, smooth and straight, looks like a bowl nail; Good pearl tea has round, compact and uniform particles; Good kung fu black tea is tight, and the red broken tea particles are neat and uniform; Good Maofeng tea, more buds, more buds, and so on. If the rope is loose, the particles are loose, the leaves are rough and the bones are light, it is not good tea.