My hometown, Luxi, Qimen, Wannan, Anhui Province, has produced Ancha for hundreds of years. Ancha does not come from Lu'an in western Anhui, and the production process is also very different from that of western Anhui tea. Maocha is between green and black tea, and the post-fermentation process of dark tea is added later. However, Lu'an tea became famous earlier. When An tea was mainly sold in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Nanyang in its early years, it was indeed true to use its name to expand the market. The existing old tea tickets of Qimen Ancha have the words "Select the buds in Lu'an before the rain". Nanyang's understanding of Ancha is often "Liu'an basket tea", so there is much confusion. Grandpa Wang Zhenxiang's research found that "Ancha" means "restoring the internal organs". Customers in eastern Guangdong firmly believe that aged Ancha for more than three years has the effect of removing dampness and relieving heat. Mr. Fu Hongzhen's "Tea Industry of Qimen" contains "Qinnan Township" Sun Yishun's products have a history of more than a hundred years...Lingnan medical doctors often use Sun Yishun tea as the basis for their prescriptions." This can be evidenced.

In the middle of the Republic of China, there were forty-seven tea houses in Qimen. The "Chinese Tea Classic" says that "Zhou Yishun" is the most famous. It may be a typo, it should be "Sun Yishun". "Sun Yishun" is not a personal name. It was founded in 1725 by Sun Qiming, starting with the surname Sun. In the past, doing business required loyalty and success, so it was named "Sun Yishun". In 1937, the Japanese army occupied Poyang Lake. It happened that the owner of Sun Yishun Tea Company was transporting tea here and was hijacked by the Japanese army. The shopkeeper escaped by chance, but was kidnapped by bandits on the way and asked his family to pay a ransom. However, he never thought that after paying the ransom, he would still be ripped off. In addition, the business road was blocked, and production was stopped. Teacher Shu Qingling of the Keemun Tea Research Institute wrote "A Brief Introduction to Ancha" in 1985, saying that in 1946, the last batch of Ancha produced in 1937 arrived in Foshan with unprecedented grandeur and was exported to Singapore at a high price of US$240 per load. It lasted more than half a century.

In the past few years, Ancha has become lively and chaotic. For the restoration of the Ancha variety, Grandpa and "Sun Yishun" are the names that cannot be avoided. Grandpa Wang Zhenxiang was born in 1950 and passed away last year at the age of 68. At the age of 25, I inherited my grandfather’s business. Here, I would like to talk about what I know about Grandpa and Ancha for everyone to understand.

Ancha recovered from memory fragments

In 1983, Mr. Guan Fenfa, the president of the Hong Kong Tea Foundation, searched for Ancha from the Anhui Provincial Tea Bureau, and went all the way to the Qimen County Tea Bureau. , and finally found Luxi. Local people have long been indifferent or forgotten about Ancha, leaving only the early tea leaves and incomplete tea tickets. At that time, my grandfather was learning how to make black tea at the Qimen Tea Research Institute and Qimen Tea Factory. He heard that the Qimen Agricultural Bureau organized the restoration of Ancha and sent it to Hong Kong. Mr. Guan replied that it did not taste like Ancha. This made my grandfather both curious and confused. He discovered that the Ancha restored in 1983 was made from old leaves, and the old tea ticket recorded that "I purchased the tender spring buds from Luxi before the rain, processed and selected them." Curiosity Driving grandpa up the mountain to pick buds for making. I sent tea samples to Mr. Guan and got a reply: they look similar. The taste is okay, but still not good.

Grandpa felt that it was not possible to restore the lost skills by relying on the strength of one person alone. So he went door to door looking for the living elderly people in Laochahao. Each old man can only remember part of the skills. They were too young at the time. Moreover, the families who opened tea houses in Luxi were very wealthy, and few people made tea by themselves. The old people rushed to remember some steps and practices, sometimes contradicting each other, and sometimes they couldn't remember the order. The problem is that if a step is missing or the order is out of order, all previous efforts will be wasted. Grandpa kept searching and experimenting, "like reassembling a pile of fragments of time into a puzzle of memory." A year later, the sample tea made based on the memories of the old people was forwarded to Hong Kong again. Soon, he received a reply from Hong Kong tea people. It had improved a lot compared to the previous year, but it was still far from the old Ancha.

At this time, the recovery of Ancha was at a deadlock, and my grandfather found the old man Wang Shoukang, the descendant of the Sun Yishun Tea Company. The old man's family was in decline, and his children and grandchildren were unwilling to make tea. Grandpa visited his home many times and wanted to restore Ancha. The old man was very moved and accepted his grandfather as his apprentice. When Ancha ceased production, Wang was about 19 years old. His father, Wang Risan, passed away before he could teach him all the skills. The nearly eighty-year-old man could only provide partial memories of Ancha. Combining his previous experience in making Ancha, as well as the techniques introduced by Master Wang Shoukang and several other elderly people, my grandfather worked tirelessly to research, trial-produce, organize, and list reasonable steps. It took three years, and finally in 1991, he got the Mr. Guan Fenfa’s approval.

Master Wang Shoukang was also very excited, saying that the tea made by his grandfather tasted exactly the same as his family's tea back then.

In 1992, Jiangnan Spring Tea Factory was established in Luxi Township, and my grandfather became the first factory director. Mass production of Ancha began, and the "Sun Yishun" brand name was used. This year, Ancha was once again selected as a high-quality special tea in the Anhui Provincial Famous Tea Selection (the first time was in 1988). A few years later, my grandfather no longer served as the factory director for various reasons and went home to recuperate. At that time, the family was poor and had no source of income, so my grandfather made a living by fishing. He worked in the water for a long time and developed signs of gout. After several years of transformation, the Ancha made by my grandpa has received a very good response. The dealers in Guangdong unanimously requested my grandpa to go out to make Ancha. So in 1997, my grandfather resigned from his position as director of the Enterprise Office and funded the establishment of the "Sun Yishun An Tea Factory" to concentrate on making tea. He invested the profits from several years of fishing and many years of wages into the tea factory. At the suggestion of a manager Chen who exported native livestock products in Guangdong, he applied for registration of the "Sun Yishun" trademark, and it was approved the following year.

At first, Ancha was not well known and was tepid. Until the SARS epidemic in 2003, the medicinal value of Ancha spread like wildfire in Guangdong, and the market broke through. In 2013, the Ancha made by my grandfather attracted a collector, Mr. Liu Ping, who started cooperation and investment in Ancha. He filmed "Chronicles of Ancha" and wrote a book "Searching for the Returned Ancha", which was presented in major exhibitions. The popularity of Ancha has increased again. "Sun Yishun" has once again become the most well-known brand name of Ancha.

Ancha’s baton

Ancha was mass-produced in 1992. I was born in 1993, which coincided with my grandfather going to Guangdong alone to sell Ancha. My grandpa only has two daughters. I am the eldest grandson. I have been following my grandpa since I can remember, watching him make tea. My grandpa, who has always been careful about everything, hoped that I could study hard, go to college, and major in economics and management. He often said: "The normal and stable operation and development of a tea factory cannot be separated from the management of managers and the support of the economy. The accounts must be clear and the economy must be under control. I have not made any miscalculations in the many years since I started the factory. This is not only your calculation, but also proves your intentions, so that everyone will trust you as a person." Maybe I had a premonition, but before I graduated from high school, my grandfather who paid great attention to education came to me. He made a U-turn, called me to his side and said earnestly: "I was very busy in the first half of my life. I came into contact with tea in my 40s and made Ancha. It was not an easy journey and I put in a lot of hard work and energy. I wanted to After you study economics and become successful, I will teach you how to make tea. However, tea making cannot be mastered in one and a half years. It would not be possible without three to five years, personally participating in every aspect of the production, and my personal guidance. Yes. I will teach you how to make tea step by step while my health is still good. You will have to come back to pick me up sooner or later. It is not easy to make tea by my side as soon as possible. , I have gone through many detours and setbacks, and I hope you can inherit my legacy and support my reputation after I leave, and you can be considered a successor." He said a lot. For several days and nights, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep at night. I looked at my grandfather who was increasingly tortured by severe gout. The joints in his hands were protruding and deformed, but it did not reduce my love and obsession with making tea. It seemed that I was freed from the shackles of physical pain, and my soul was happy. Indulge in tea and integrate it into your body and mind. Although it was difficult for me to understand my grandpa’s heartfelt love and obsession with making Ancha at that time, I thought that I could not live up to my grandfather’s upbringing and should be by his side, so I made up my mind to inherit my grandfather’s legacy and learn to make Ancha.

In July 2013, I officially started learning to make Ancha as an apprentice. Grandpa told me to do four things every day. 1. After getting up in the morning and washing up, you should respectfully offer incense to the God of Wealth at home. Second, sweep the floor and wipe the table. Third, observe the tea making process in the workshop. Fourth, guests are served tea and water, and a small bench is provided to listen. Around the time of Grain Rain in 2014, when the new year's Ancha was in its early stages, my grandpa said seriously: Everything must start from the basics. Only by having an iron-clad camp with soldiers and doing the tea yourself can you convince the public. The core is in your own hands and you can't be empty-handed. So the devilish learning began, and I personally participated in every process of making tea. Finishing, rolling, sun-drying, etc. are done day after day and year after year. My grandfather, who was extremely strict, rarely praised me. The most common thing I heard was: "I really hate iron but cannot turn it into steel, and I am as stubborn as a donkey." Even the smallest mistake will result in reprimand. But grandpa is gone and his voice can no longer be heard. Perhaps death is a kind of relief, but more of a reluctance.

In 2017, he mastered the Ancha craftsmanship and was recognized by his grandfather, officially starting the business.

2018 can be regarded as the first year of my independent tea production, with encouragement, support, doubts, and wait-and-see. My grandfather passed away not long ago. Can I, a young man in my 20s, make a stable tea business, take over the business, and sit still? Amidst the noise, I put away my grief, buried it deep in my heart, and arranged for the original team of the tea factory to focus on making Ancha according to the techniques taught by my grandfather. After 7 months, the new tea was produced, and the response was very good. Even if it is a satisfactory answer, I hope that my grandpa’s spirit in heaven can be happy and relieved. Everything is fine, I have grown up, don't worry, I am here and the factory is here, and you are here when I am. Maybe this is inheritance, not only the inheritance of materials and skills, but more importantly, the continuation and sustenance of the sense of mission and responsibility.

From "Sun Yishun" to "Gongsun Shun"

The "Sun Yishun" brand name was restored and carried forward in the hands of my grandfather. However, the historical reasons of corporate ownership caused confusion in the use of the "Sun Yishun" trademark. After SARS in 2003, Ancha experienced rapid development. At that time, many local tea factories and farmers in Luxi used the "Sun Yishun" trademark without permission. Many of them did not understand the production process of Ancha. , shoddy and shoddy. After 2008, Ancha became unsaleable, and many tea factories that rushed to it stopped production. Until my grandfather cooperated with Mr. Liu Ping to vigorously promote Ancha to a new height. "Sun Yishun" became famous day by day, and counterfeiting and piracy began to emerge again. There are countless crucian carp in the river. Many "Ancha" with "Sun Yishun" packaging and tea stamps are not only inferior in craftsmanship, but are even faked from other fake and inferior dark teas. Grandpa was kind-hearted. Apart from warning against misappropriation of brands, he did not take up legal weapons to protect his rights and interests. What worries me most about the Ancha that consumers buy is which company produced it, whether it is well-made and has long-lasting value. Regarding the strict use of the "Sun Yishun" trademark, I am also actively negotiating with the local government, hoping to find a way to rectify the source.

Comparison of real and fake tea tickets

In the past, there were more than 40 Ancha tea brands, such as Sun Tongshun, Kang Yangchun, etc., but now only "Sun Yishun" is the only one, and there are many counterfeits. . While inheriting my grandfather's business, I also want to venture out independently and create a new high-quality Ancha brand. My grandfather agreed with my idea, so I established the Qimen Gongsun Shun'an Tea Factory in Huangshan City with my grandfather. In the same year, we registered the "Gongsun Shun" trademark so that my grandpa could pass on Sun Yishun's skills and spirit of self-improvement and never giving up.

In 2017, my grandpa gave me the first start-up capital and said, "You have full control. I only need to see the quality of the tea produced at the end of the year." I have mastered the process of making tea. I make tea during the day, and at night I have to keep accounts, prepare raw materials, and plan the arrangements for the next day. My energy is tight, and I can appreciate my grandfather’s years of hard work. After 8 months, both Sun Yishun and Gongsun Shun'an teas were released, and the soups were reviewed by the public. Comparing the two, they were equally matched. The grandpa burst out laughing at the revelation: "This way I can rest assured that I can hand over the banner of Sun Yishun to you, but I must not insult my years of hard work. One specialty, two brands, adhering to tradition but also having the courage to open up, this is what I believe in Your expectations."

In the past two years, while producing "Sun Yishun" Ancha, I also produced "Gongsun Shun" Ancha on a small scale. Considering that there were too many fake "Sun Yishun" teas, I registered my grandfather's avatar and In 2018, I started to add my grandfather’s image to the “Sun Yishun” tea ticket pattern. I also hope that everyone will remember that my grandfather devoted his life to tea and will not be erased by time.

Grandpa passed away

In November 2017, my grandfather’s gout condition worsened and he was transferred to Tunxi via Qimen and then to Zhejiang for treatment. At that time, I thought that my grandpa would be back as usual after a period of treatment. Before setting off, my grandpa warned me: "You must take good care of the factory, pay attention to the charcoal fire, and be sure not to be careless. There are only a thousand catties of tea left in the factory, so you must prepare it well. I also believe in you, and you must ensure it." The quality is always the same, you must remember it!” Unexpectedly, the doctor told me that my grandpa’s bones and joints were severely deformed due to long-term gout, and his internal organs were overloaded. In addition, he had invested a lot of physical and mental energy in making tea for decades, and his vitality was greatly reduced. . In the early morning of January 6, 2018, my grandfather left his last words: "Take care of yourself, be a good person, and make tea well." He left quietly with relief and reluctance in the factory he had run for more than 20 years. Grandpa put a lot of effort into Ancha, and eventually devoted his life to tea. It is also a kind of fate and reincarnation, starting from tea and ending with tea, leaving only a touch of tea fragrance. As I write this, I am choked with tears, choked with sobs, and dare not recall.

So far, deep down in my heart, I still cannot accept the reality of my grandpa's death. I keep having the same dream over and over again. In the dream, my grandpa has not passed away, and he is still sitting in the hall drinking tea as usual.

The craftsmanship and grade of tea production

Grandpa often said: To make tea, you must first be a good person. If the people are good, the tea will be good. I was ignorant in the past, but I have deep feelings after experiencing it myself. People can deceive people, but tea cannot deceive people. How you treat tea, tea will treat you. You still have to be a good person and make good tea.

My grandpa passed down the art of making tea to me step by step, and I must not be careless in making it. I spend 8 months of the year preparing and making tea.

An tea production attaches great importance to solar terms.

The first stage of preliminary production starts around Guyu and ends at the beginning of summer. When Grain Rain begins, tea leaves grow vigorously, and green tea will have good expressive power when dried in clear sunlight. Purchase the buds and leaves of the local tea trees in Luxi before the rain, and then cure, roll, sun-dry and dry them. The Maocha made in this way is initially fermented and is between green tea and black tea. It used to be called soft branch tea.

In the second stage of screening, the raw tea is made, which requires selection, color sorting, grading and blending.

The third stage of refining must start after the white dew. Why must it be after Bailu? "On the eighth day of the lunar month, autumn belongs to gold, and gold is white. The yin energy becomes heavier and the dew condenses and turns white." It means white dew. At this time, the temperature drops and the water vapor goes down. After the tea is roasted with charcoal, it is dewed one night after the clear sky, absorbing the condensation of heaven and earth. After experiencing the baptism of dew, the later transformation of the tea will be more pure. Mellow and sweet aftertaste. Then fresh Ruo leaves are put into small bamboo baskets, steamed and pressed into baskets, and charcoal roasted on the baking pit for 24 hours. Finally, they are wrapped and packaged by the bamboo craftsman. At this time, Ancha can be considered the real meaning. finished product.

When my grandfather first resumed Ancha, the products were relatively single. As he gained a deeper understanding of tea and understood the market demand, he began to classify Ancha grades. Nowadays, the grades of Ancha are basically in accordance with the sequence set by grandpa.

Initially it was divided into tribute level and special level (later changed to first level). The tip of the tribute is a small basket of 250g, and the first level is a large basket of 500g. Grandpa looked through the books and found that during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, the word "Gong" was used as a tribute for drinking by the royal family. The word "Jian" means the tip of the tea, the bud, and the tea ticket was specified in detail. The raw material was purchased from Yu Qian Shang Shang Shang's tender true spring buds and high-quality hair tea.

Later, grandpa had a more detailed classification of grades. From high to low, they are respectively fine Tegong - Tegong - Gongjian - Maojian - first level. In 2013, the Anhui local standard "Ancha" used the grades defined by Grandpa as the prototype template, and the grades were Te Gong--Gongjian--Maojian-First Class--Second Class.

In 2014, my grandfather’s legs and legs were still strong, but many local tea gardens were abandoned and unmanaged, so he contacted the owners of the abandoned tea gardens to arrange picking and production. The unique long lasting charm and rich taste of the finished product are loved by tea drinkers, so it is named "Yerye An Tea". The annual output is limited, and it is basically bought out by one or two tea merchants. In recent years, the number of local Luxi productions of "wilderness" following the trend has also been increasing.

The altitude of Luxi is only 80 meters. In the past, the raw materials used for Ancha were not at a high altitude. In 2018, I found a tea mountain at a relatively high altitude. The fresh leaves are green in color, have a quiet fragrance and a rich taste. After the purchase and production, it was named "Gaoshan Gongming". The response was excellent and it was sold out by a tea lover in Hefei.

What does Laoan tea taste like?

In recent years, with the rise of Sun Yishun Ancha’s reputation, there are more and more so-called aged Anchas on the market. Many tea friends have sent me tea samples to share and exchange. In recent years, Ancha has been labeled as more than ten years old. There are countless.

I drink tea from various vintages in the factory every day, and I have some experience in grasping the vintage, which I would like to share with you.

- After 24 hours of charcoal roasting, Xin'an tea has a strong aroma of charcoal fire and rice dumpling leaves. Gradually it becomes sweet, the tea soup is orange-yellow, and the bottom of the leaves is brown with green in it.

- One-year-old Chen'an tea, the fire is reduced to half, the tea aroma is combined with the aroma of rice dumpling leaves, the bitterness is reduced, the sweetness is restored quickly, the tongue coating is smooth, the cheeks are stimulated, and the aroma in the cup is obviously slightly sweet, The fragrance lasts, the tea soup is darker orange, and the bottom of the leaves is brown with green.

- Most of the firepower of Ancha aged between two and three years has faded away, but the firepower remains. The unique tea aroma of Ancha gradually emerges, with a light woody aroma, a mellow and smooth entrance, full of charm, and the coolness of brown leaves. It has a distinct, refreshing and sweet taste, and the jujube flavor will become more prominent after about 7 soaks. The tea soup is dark orange, and the bottom of the leaves is brown and green with black.

- Three years later, Ancha will usher in a leap-forward change and officially begin to advance to the word "Chen". The dry tea is dark and shiny, and the aged aroma is prominent (the difference between aged and moldy: the aged taste is caused by the corresponding oxidation of the substances contained in the tea leaves, producing a unique aroma brought by a variety of aromatic substances, while the musty smell is generally manifested as a pungent smell , sour smell, unpleasant rotten smell). The mouth is mellow and rich, full of flavor, with the aroma of licorice, sweet and moist, and strong persistence. The tea soup is ruddy and transparent, and the bottom of the leaves is black with a little green.

- Ancha, which is about ten years old, has an oily black color and a full aroma, with aromas of betel nut, licorice and ginseng. The taste is thick and mellow, sweet and refreshing, with a slight gelatinous texture. The rhyme is long-lasting and reaches the lungs. It produces body fluids quickly. The soup is black, medium red and medium purple. It is oily and fresh. The bottom of the leaves are mostly dark brown and have a texture.

In 2018, two seniors in Taiwan’s tea industry, Zhou Yu and He Jie, had the honor to share their Lao’an tea. It can be described as a cross-time and space-time exchange of old and new Sun Yishun’an tea. I drank two high-aged Ancha, which is 40 years old and 90 years old. The soup is black and bright red, full of medicinal aroma, delicate water quality, rich gelatinous texture, smooth, sweet and sweet, and the tea aroma is quiet and elegant.

If you want to drink delicious Laoan tea, warehousing is also a big question. Teas of the same year and grade in the factory have different expressions in different environments. There is also a huge contrast between the northern and southern warehouses. The environment affects the changes of Ancha even more. How to store it properly to ensure that it can be transformed to a good degree while maintaining its original flavor? Will it be continuously extended and improved in this step? In modern times, people often only introduce the word "Chen" for the value of Ancha. It is not moldy when it is old, and it is not rotten when it is old. The older it is, the more precious it is. I think that in addition to the word "Chen", the value of Ancha is "change". way. The aging of Ancha is like the growth of a person. The new tea is strong and green, the tea is smooth and full after simmering, and the mellow and neutral after aging. Each stage has a unique charm, and the charm and experience of each node are full of surprises.

When the fragrance of tea accompanies me, it means that my grandpa is accompanying me. Like my grandfather, I am willing to grow up and grow old with Ancha.

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