What tips should I pay attention to when getting started to drink tianguanyin tea?
31 May 2024
I like drinking Tie Guan Yin tea. What should I pay attention to when getting started?
Attention question 1: Distinguish the different fragrance types of Tie Guan Yin
The fragrant Tie Guan Yin can be mainly divided into three types: Zhengwei, Xiaoqing, and dragged sour.
Tuo sour Tie Guan Yin, highlighting a sour character with a sour aroma and taste, has been highly praised by a small group of people and can be said to be a non mainstream in the Tie Guan Yin world. The sour tea aroma and mouthfeel are extremely strong, just like the non mainstream makeup that was heavily applied before, which can give people a strong nerve stimulation. However, just like the trajectory of non mainstream development in the real world, its rise and fall also fluctuate. Ultimately, this is not because this culture or tea itself is not good, but because later generations have deviated from it, thinking that being unique and dressed in strange clothes is non mainstream, so it becomes very low-level and low. However, non mainstream is not only rebellious, but also means being avant-garde and avant-garde. If we go to the era of emperors and generals to promote democracy and equality, people will see us as non mainstream. There are also good and bad aspects to sour tea, and good sour tea is also very high-end, but there are not many good ones, and it is easy to spoil, resulting in a foul green taste, dull green taste, and sour taste. Low fermentation, high irritancy, heavy green air, and easy nausea, especially for low-grade sour tea, so sour tea becomes darker and darker. In addition, even if stored at low temperatures, the quality of sour tea will significantly decrease after a period of time, with a cloudy and chaotic aroma, obvious odor, and rough and astringent tea soup. This is also an important reason why the sour tea process has been abandoned. After saying so much, because I don't make sour tea, I can't give you a picture. The color is very fresh and green.
Zhengwei can be said to have inherited the traditional system of Tie Guanyin. If Tuoan is an illegitimate child and Xiaoqing is a illegitimate child born after marriage, then Zhengwei can be considered the legitimate eldest son of the fragrant Tie Guanyin family. The superior family education and environment have shaped Zhengwei tea into a gentle and gentlemanly Confucian scholar. The label of Zhengwei tea is sweetness, refreshing, and nourishing, with a very elegant aroma of orchids. Because there is no competition, the personality is gentle, the entrance is comfortable, and soft and sweet. A gentleman's friendship brings a comfortable feeling of being bathed in spring breeze, neither delicate nor charming, with a clear and lingering fragrance. Having a wide range of books, profound knowledge, and having something in one's stomach, it has the best charm and sweetness, and is the most enduring to taste. Zhengwei tea has sufficient fermentation, but friends who have a bad stomach and enjoy drinking Tie Guan Yin tea are advised to choose Zhengwei tea as much as possible.
One of the most basic principles in the ancient Chinese patriarchal system was the system of legitimate eldest son inheritance. Due to the inability to inherit the family business, the illegitimate sons of Xiaoqing had no choice but to contribute to their careers by joining the army. By asking passersby, what is Huo Qubing like? Xiaoqing Tie Guanyin has become that heroic and domineering general. The Qingxiao process allows Tie Guan Yin to achieve a more oily and green appearance, a more fragrant and high aroma, a lighter green and transparent soup color, and a more fresh and rich taste. People who practice martial arts are more generous and loyal. Who wouldn't want to make friends with such people? It can be said that they are down-to-earth and have a high acceptance. But as for the fierce generals, they usually have a strong sense of masculinity, not gentle enough, not delicate enough. How can they compare to the talented scholars who are skilled in romance and know how to be gentle like water. Therefore, compared to other teas of the same grade, Xiaoqing tea may have a weaker flavor and a slightly greenish aftertaste.
If you ask me which craft tastes better? Everyone has a different taste, some people like to be sour, while others like to be green, so each type of tea has its own market to some extent.
After discussing the fragrance type, it is important to understand the strong fragrance type Tie Guan Yin and the light fragrance type Tie Guan Yin and the strong (high) fragrance Tie Guan Yin tea.
Strong aroma Tie Guan Yin can be understood as Tie Guan Yin with a relatively strong and high aroma, but to put it simply, Tie Guan Yin with a green color belongs to the essence of light aroma craftsmanship. Therefore, we give it a complete definition as a high aroma and light aroma Tie Guan Yin tea.
As for the strong aroma Tie Guan Yin, according to the authentic Baidu Baike account, the strong aroma craft Tie Guan Yin is a product made by roasting and processing traditional tea leaves. Nowadays, the strong aroma craft of Tie Guan Yin mainly refers to charcoal roasted Tie Guan Yin, also known as Tie Guan Yin ripe tea. The characteristic of the strong aroma type is that after roasting, the dried tea is relatively black and brown, and the tea soup has a golden color. According to different heating conditions, it can have the aroma of chestnuts, fried rice, burnt tea, etc., with a thick and heavy taste. So strong aroma equals high aroma, but high aroma does not equal strong aroma type craftsmanship.
The iron Guanyin that has been aged for a long time is called aged iron Guanyin, also known as old tea. Chen Nian Tie Guan Yin is not just about casually creating Tie Guan Yin and finding a place to put it away, it can only become Tie Guan Yin Chen tea. The aged Tie Guan Yin first has a good foundation. After baking the tea leaves over low heat, they are placed in a well sealed container. After several years, they are taken out and re baked. After a certain period of sedimentation, the tea flavor becomes richer and more pronounced.
On the whole, Tieguanyin does not have the extensive tradition of drinking old tea. Tieguanyin tea is characterized by fragrance (orchid fragrance) and rhyme (Guanyin rhyme), while the fragrance type Tieguanyin has become the mainstream product of Anxi Tieguanyin Tea due to its light fermentation and fresh water.
There are many claims on the market that they are aged Tie Guan Yin, but in reality they are "charcoal roasted Tie Guan Yin". There are also some old teas that were not sold back then due to various reasons. Whether it's tea farmers or tea merchants, they may not sell old tea due to low prices or other reasons, and the quantity of these old teas is relatively large. For example, Tie Guan Yin Group had a large number of Tie Guan Yin teas that were not sold back then, and now they have become old tea and treasures.
Attention question: 2: What is Maocha and what is Jingcha
Maocha
Pure tea
One kilogram of Maocha can produce over 6 liang of clean tea. During the manual picking season, it costs about 5 yuan per kilogram, while it usually costs 4 yuan per kilogram. After the first manual selection of stems, a second round of fine selection is required, calculated based on the number of days, with 100 or 150 per day. Machine picking stems is cheaper and costs a few cents per kilogram, but the tea particles picked by machine are smaller than those manually, so good tea requires manual picking of stems. Oh my, knowledge points, my friends!
Attention question 3: The combination of Tie Guan Yin Tea
Many tea enthusiasts turn pale when they hear about blending, and there is a strong belief that blending is not a good tea.
We know that due to differences in origin, high mountains and low mountains, and differences in tea tree nutrition, this can be collectively referred to as differences in raw materials. In addition, various variables during tea making and the level of experience and technology of the tea master, the appearance, aroma, and taste of each produced Maocha will also vary. It's just like Stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs. Are you sure you can taste the same from the previous dish to the next one? Not necessarily, did you put too much salt? Did you put too much MSG? Is this tomato older than the one in front? Are you shaking your hands? These are like variables when making tea. Without further explanation, just understand. How can I make two sets similar, mix them together and then divide them. Pairing is actually the same principle. Each time the semi-finished product is different, I can't just make one batch of tea with just a few pounds, and then another batch of tea with just a few pounds. When you buy it next time, you'll find out, oh why is this tea gone? Oh, why has this tea changed in price again.
In addition, assembly is not just about blindly trying it out. It is a meticulous and complex task, as well as a technical task. There are mnemonics here. The so-called one big trick is to focus on two things, have a clear understanding of three things, master four things, and pay attention to five points. In summary, it is to combine different types of tea according to a certain proportion, so as to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, and adjust and improve the aroma and taste of the tea (only by combining good tea with good tea can the effect of 1+1>2 be achieved). Only through reasonable mixing can we produce a stable quantity of quality, which can also be said to be batches, and form a stable price.
Of course, if you sneakily mix other teas and mix expired teas (new and old teas mixed together will have a poor aroma), it will definitely be strongly condemned!!
Attention question 4: How many tea seasons does Tie Guan Yin have? What is Tie Guan Yin's spring water and autumn fragrance
Tie Guanyin is harvested in four seasons throughout the year
From Gu Yu to Li Xia (mid to late April to early May) is spring tea
Summer solstice to light summer (mid to late June to early July) is summer tea
From the beginning of autumn to the beginning of summer (early August to late August), it is summer vacation
Autumn Equinox to Cold Dew (late September to early October) is the season for autumn tea
The spring and autumn seasons are the most important tea seasons for Tie Guanyin, accounting for almost 80% of the annual production. Most of Nei'anxi only produces the spring and autumn seasons. In low altitude areas, there are also five seasons of winter tea harvested in early winter, with a relatively small quantity of winter slices.
During the annual growth cycle of tea trees, they are affected by climate changes in different seasons, resulting in different qualities of green leaves, which in turn affects the differences in the quality of tea. A more obvious example of Tie Guan Yin is the "Spring Water and Autumn Fragrance".
In spring, the climate is warm and the water and temperature are suitable. After a winter and spring, tea trees accumulate a lot of nutrients, maintain their tenderness for a long time, and the various components in fresh leaves are rich. Therefore, the tea soup is rich in texture, mellow and refreshing in taste, and has strong endurance. Another reason is that spring tea needs to be fermented thoroughly, resulting in a thicker taste. Otherwise, there is more water in spring tea, which can easily turn green, and the aroma and taste will become lighter after a period of time.
During the growing season of summer tea, the temperature is high, photosynthesis is strong, and the water content in fresh leaves is low. The proportion of polyphenols in fresh leaves increases, and the main components that can cause astringency and astringency in tea are tea polyphenols. Therefore, the taste is lighter and astringent than spring tea, with a slightly coarse and aged aroma and lower quality.
The autumn tea climate has long sunshine, which is conducive to the growth of tea trees. A slightly lower temperature is also conducive to the formation and accumulation of aromatic substances in fresh leaves. In addition, the high and refreshing climate allows tea farmers to control the changes during the greening process, resulting in a particularly high aroma of autumn tea.
Q: Which is better, spring tea or autumn tea. Classmates, this is a comparison in the void. Now it's spring tea, and I cannot say that spring tea is bad. Otherwise, what if you don't buy it? However, as a sincere person, I always say, well, well, spring water and autumn fragrance have their own characteristics, it depends on their own preferences.
Hmm... Stronger than last year's spring tea
Note 5: Incomplete leaf base cannot be used as a basis for judging Tie Guan Yin
Nowadays, the production process of Tie Guan Yin is mainly based on a light aroma type, and a prominent feature of light fermented tea is its clear soup and green water, rather than the traditional golden color. To achieve this goal, when making tea, the red edge of the tea leaves should be removed to prevent damage to the leaf surface caused by human factors. Therefore, the breakage of the leaf edges is a result of the normal production process of Tie Guan Yin, not poor quality.
Attention question 6: What is Guanyin Rhyme
What is Guanyin rhyme? Let's not discuss it from the perspective of metaphysics. After drinking it, it's as graceful as a wandering swan, as graceful as a startled dragon, as wide sleeved and floating, where is my mind wandering? I'm sorry, I really don't have this spiritual realm.
I think Guanyin Yun is the taste of Tie Guanyin itself. When you drink this tea, you know you're drinking Tie Guanyin, not West Lake Longjing, Biluochun, or Dahongpao. Just like even if you cover your eyes, you can't distinguish between apples and pears, can you? Besides, they are all human beings. You can't just say I'm not human just because I look ugly. Do you have to be so cruel? So regarding rhyme, I think every tea farmer's Tie Guan Yin has its own rhyme, and every Tie Guan Yin also has its own rhyme. It's just the difference between sinking fish and falling geese and seemingly salt free. It's like apples, some are crisper, some are sweeter, some are very soft, but at least they all have an apple flavor.
Attention question 7: How is the aroma of Tie Guan Yin produced
In terms of overall performance, the fragrance similar to orchids is the most impressive, charming and important label of Anxi Tieguanyin Tea. So how did the aroma of Tie Guan Yin come about?
The aroma of Tie Guan Yin comes from two sources: the inherent aroma in fresh leaves and the production process. It can be said that all tea aroma sources include these two parts, which can be summarized as the ingredients themselves and later processing.
At present, there are nearly 50 known aromatic ingredients in fresh leaves. Because of different factors such as the geographical environment of growth, fertilizer management, season, picking standards, variety advantages and disadvantages, and the nutritional status of the tea tree itself, there are differences when fresh leaves are picked from the tea tree. (In addition, the characteristics of the soil make the special aroma and taste of tea, also known as "regional flavor" and "local unfashionable") For example, the common saying "mountain clouds produce good tea" is just like that native chickens are more delicious than broilers. However sweet and delicious the chicken may be, it is ignored by the Buddhist scriptures that it has not been steamed, cooked, boiled, roasted, stewed, stewed, or stir fried. Heroes have no place to use martial arts. Although tea is good, one must be a tea master to enhance its fragrance..
The most crucial step in forming the aroma and quality characteristics of Tie Guan Yin tea is shaking it green. The purpose of shaking green is to allow fresh leaves to rub and rub under external force, rubbing on this smooth ground~~Scratching the edge cell tissue, overflowing tea juice and coming into contact with air, causing local enzymes to promote oxidation of polyphenolic compounds.
After moderate shaking, the fresh leaves are kept in a static state by cooling them. The green grass gas emitted during shaking gradually dissipates, and the water in the leaves continues to evaporate. The water in various parts of the fresh leaves redistributes, and under the action of enzymes, it promotes the decomposition of amino acids and pectin into water-soluble pectin and pectin acid, as well as the volatilization of low boiling aromatic substances. High boiling aromatic substances are retained, and water evaporates quickly as the stomata on the back of the leaves open. During the process of making green tea, the alternation of movement and stillness is carried out, with a perfect combination of pearls and complements each other. Repeated operations cause the oxidation, polymerization, and condensation of polyphenolic compounds in fresh leaves, and their physical and chemical changes alternate, promoting the further emission of green odor and the formation of aromatic substances. This leads to the formation of the leaf state characteristics and floral fragrance of Tie Guan Yin, with green leaves and red edges. The color, aroma, and quality of the formed tea are then fixed by high-temperature frying.
Attention question 8: How to correctly taste the aroma of Tie Guan Yin tea
In the appreciation of Tie Guanyin, smelling fragrance is an important component
In different initial production techniques, varieties, and ecological environments, the Tie Guan Yin tea produced will also have different grades and different types of tea aroma. For example, the tranquility and subtlety of authentic tea, the dominance of light green tea, the aroma of roasted rice and charcoal fire in charcoal roasted tea, and so on. The terms commonly used to describe aroma include rich (strong), fresh (fresh), light (clear), pure (pure), peaceful (flat), low light (low), coarse old (coarse), and so on.
Many tea enthusiasts believe that as long as the tea smells fragrant, it is good tea and valuable. But to accurately evaluate the quality of Tie Guan Yin's aroma, one cannot simply judge the hero based on its fragrance. When it comes to aroma, Jin Jin Gui is much higher than Tie Guan Yin's. However, aroma can be classified into elegance, vulgarity, purity, and disorder. Some teas have a high aroma but only float on the surface, while some high-grade Tie Guan Yin may have a lighter aroma. However, upon careful observation, one will feel fresh and elegant, which is also an extremely important concept in Tie Guan Yin's aroma, "Qing". Tea with a mixed aroma, even if its aroma is high, is difficult to call top-quality.
In the process of smelling fragrance, one can first smell the height of the aroma and whether there is any odor; The type of secondary aroma, presence or absence of sound, and the elegance of floral fragrance; Smell the lasting degree of the aroma again. Of course, the aroma should be rich, full, elegant, and long-lasting, with a high, pure, and short aroma being average, a light, short, green, astringent, rough and aged aroma being poor, and a bad taste being inferior tea.
Attention question 9: Tea set selection for soaking Tie Guan Yin
The process of turning tea into tea soup requires tea utensils, and there is no right or wrong choice in what utensils to use to brew tea, only the appropriate and most suitable ones.
Large cup (including glass, mug, thermos, various bottles, jars, etc.)
Commonly known as Niuyin
The advantage of a large cup is its convenience and simplicity, allowing for shooting anytime, anywhere in any scene Bubble. The bottom of the leaves can also be easily stretched when brewed in a large cup, allowing the nutrients in the tea to be better released into the tea soup. But this is due to long-term soaking, where all the contents are precipitated in the first cup of tea soup, and it is also prone to accompanied by a bitter taste. The overall taste and charm of the tea have decreased by at least 10-20%. So it is not recommended to use a large cup to brew high-end tea, as it feels like a waste. Of course, it is also acceptable for you, the tycoon, to be capricious.
Some suggestions for brewing large cups: Firstly, boiling water must be boiled. Secondly, the amount of tea added can be reduced appropriately. For example, for a 120ml covered bowl, our tea amount is 7.5g (common small package amount). For a 400ml cup, only half a package can be used. You can experiment multiple times to find the appropriate amount. Thirdly, do not drink the first cup empty, leave some bottom before adding the second layer of water.
Piaoyi Cup and Kuaike Cup (these two have similar properties, put them together)
Commonly known as a must-have tea making tool for lazy people, the elegant cup and the express cup, on the basis of convenience and simplicity, have added the ability to separate tea leaves and soup, as well as the filtering effect, improving the shortcomings of soaking for too long and making tea taste bitter. Finally, the thickness of the tea soup can be freely controlled. It is the best choice for brewing tea for home travel and office use. The disadvantage is that the insulation is slightly poor, the water temperature drops quickly, and the aroma retention is not good enough. Then, friends who have high requirements for drinking may feel uncomfortable with any good tea that comes out of it!
Some suggestions for brewing elegant cups and express cups: do not use plastic
At this point, it can be said that one has entered the realm of tea tasting. The advantage of using a purple clay teapot to brew Tie Guan Yin is that it can absorb other odors in the water, making the water more mellow and the tea flavor stronger. The disadvantage is that this feature allows purple sand to mask some of the shortcomings of tea itself, and cannot truly restore the original taste of tea. In addition, the purple clay teapot is easy to absorb flavor and is not suitable for the fragrance of the light aroma Tie Guan Yin. The strong aroma Tie Guan Yin is still acceptable, as the primary product of the strong aroma Tie Guan Yin is tea soup. Therefore, tea brewed from high-quality purple sand does not have a lingering aroma or flavor, but rather a rich and long-lasting tea soup, which means it has a strong aftertaste.
Purple clay teapot brewing suggestion: It is recommended to use vermilion clay. The teapot for brewing Tie Guan Yin must be small at the bottom and large at the top, with a large space on the top, because Tie Guan Yin's leaves need to stretch. If the teapot is small at the top, it will inevitably cause the leaves to not open. Making tea soup can be faster than covering a bowl. If the time interval between two tea brewing sessions is too long, the lid of the pot should be opened after brewing, and the tea leaves should not be sealed in the pot. Otherwise, tea leaves will precipitate theophylline in a high-temperature sealed environment, and brewing tea soup will be bitter and astringent, making it difficult to drink. This is a major drawback
Covered bowl
Perhaps the most suitable tea set for brewing Tie Guan Yin, Mr. Lu Xun once wrote in his article "Drinking Tea": "When drinking good tea, you need to use a covered bowl. So you use a covered bowl. Sure enough, after brewing, the color is clear and the taste is sweet, slightly fragrant and slightly bitter, which is indeed good tea. The advantage of a covered bowl is that it is cheap. As long as the brewing method is correct, the tea soup it brews is the most authentic, especially in Tie Guan Yin's Gongfu brewing method, which refers to smelling the aroma of the lid of the covered bowl after brewing. Using a covered bowl to brew can better evaporate its aroma. Covering the bowl is also more conducive to the release of heat, so as not to cover the tea." Aging is also beneficial for the extension of the leaf surface, making it easier to appreciate the bottom of the leaves. The only downside may be that it is a bit troublesome and not very familiar, which can easily cause burns.
Suggestion for brewing covered bowls: Do not use coarse pottery to cover bowls!!! The water temperature must be boiled, and the soaking time should be adjusted according to personal tea set conditions (preference for strength, tender tea leaves, amount of tea added, lid capacity). There is no absolute standard for solidification. Referring to washing tea in seconds, the first and second brews take about 10-15 seconds, and the third brew starts by extending each brew by 10-15 seconds on top of the previous one. If you have to leave temporarily during the brewing process, you can wash (wake up) the tea again in a second; When pouring tea soup from a covered bowl to a fair cup, when it is almost finished, you can shake it a few times and pour out the tea soup from the covered bowl to avoid affecting the next tea soup.