Introduction

Latin name Camellia sinensis var.assamica (Mast.) Kitamura

Chinese name Pu'er tea (wild tea tree)

Latin Family name Theaceae

Chinese family name Theaceae

Protection level

Place of origin

Mainly produced in Menghai, Mengla, Simao, Geng, Yunnan Ma, Cangyuan, Shuangjiang, Lincang, Yuanjiang, Jingdong, Dali, Pingbian, Hekou, Maguan, Malipo, Wenshan, Xichou, Guangnan, Xishuangbanna, and its branches include Panxian and Rongjiang in Guizhou, Fusui and Zhaoping in Guangxi, Nanjing in Fujian, Ruyuan, Lianshan and Maoming in Guangdong, and Changjiang, Qiongzhong, Ledong, Baoting and Lingshui in Hainan. Born in tropical and tropical mountain forests at an altitude of 1,200-1,400 meters. It is also distributed in northern Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and India.

Rare species. Wild tea trees (including cultivated wild tea trees), also known as Pu'er tea, are distributed in southern Yunnan and Hainan. Among them, there is the "King of Tea Trees" in Yunnan, which is more than 800 years old and is currently the largest plant. Although local measures have been taken to protect it, the plant is still subject to human interference. If management and protection are not strengthened, there is a risk of being destroyed and killed. With the increase in population in Hainan, natural forests have shrunk sharply. At the same time, many people go to the mountains to pick wild tea leaves around the Qingming Festival every year, and the number of wild tea trees is also decreasing.

Lower limit of altitude (meters) 1200

Upper limit of altitude (meters) 1400

History

Pu'er tea is famous for its distribution center and place of origin. Pu'er County was named after it. Pu'er was named Buyi in the Tang Dynasty, which belongs to Yinshengjiedu (today's Simao and Xishuangbanna areas). Yinsheng tea is the predecessor of Pu'er tea. It was called Pu'er tea in the Yuan Dynasty and was named Pu'er tea in the Wanli year of the Ming Dynasty. The peak period was in the Qing Dynasty. "Pu'er Prefecture Chronicle" records: "Pu'er belongs to the six major tea mountains...800 miles around, and more than 100,000 people went to the mountains to make tea." This shows the grand situation at that time. Simao and Xishuangbanna are its main raw material production areas. Pu'er and Simao have become processing and distribution centers. During the Ming Dynasty, six ancient tea horse roads radiated outwards with Pu'er as the center, marketing Pu'er tea to mainland China, Tibet, Vietnam, etc.

Morphological characteristics

Evergreen trees or shrubs, 5 to 13 (-20) meters high, with a trunk diameter of more than 1 meter; young branches and leaves are finely pubescent. Leaves are leathery, oval or obovate-oblong, 4 to 8 (-12) cm long, 1.8 to 4.5 cm wide, apex obtuse, sometimes acute, base wedge-shaped, edges serrated, smooth and hairless on both sides; petiole long 3 to 7 mm. Flowers solitary or 2-4 in axillary cymes, white, 2.5-3.5 cm in diameter, fragrant, pedicel 6-10 mm long, downward curved; sepals 5 (-6), round, persistent during fruiting; petals 7-8 (-9), broadly obovate or round; stamens numerous, outer whorls of filaments united to form short tubes; ovary 3-chambered, outer coated with hair, style with 3 lobes at top. The capsule is spherical or oblate, about 25 cm in diameter, with a leathery texture; 1 or 2 seeds, nearly spherical, slightly angular, about 1.5 to 1.8 cm in diameter, light brown.

Living Habits

The Yunnan distribution area mostly belongs to the south subtropical mountain monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest. The main producing area, Nannuo Mountain in Menghai, has an annual average temperature of 17-19°C, an extreme maximum temperature of 22.3°C, and an extreme minimum temperature of -5.4°C (occurring in January); the annual rainfall is 1300-1400 mm. The soil is mostly red soil or yellow red soil. It likes hillsides and valleys, a small environment filled with clouds and mist in the dry season, humid air, deep soil, good drainage and rich in humus. The flowering period is from September to November, and the fruiting period is from April to June. Sometimes flowers and fruits coexist. Wild tea tree fruits are often harvested, natural reproduction is poor, and understory seedlings are rare. The main accompanying tree species include Schima wallichii Choisy, Lithocarpus truncatus Rehd. et Wils., Phoebe puwenensis Cheng, etc.

Conservation value

Wild tea trees are native to southern my country, especially in southern Yunnan. It is one of the ancient plants of the Cenozoic Era and is of great significance to the study of the origin and evolution of tea trees. Pu'er tea from Yunnan has been a famous beverage since ancient times.

Protection measures

Protective measures should be strengthened for extra-large wild tea tree plants, and leaf and fruit harvesting is strictly prohibited. It is recommended that the Nannuo Mountain in Menghai, Yunnan, where the distribution is concentrated, be designated as a wild tea tree protection site. Maintain the necessary ecological environment and create natural breeding conditions. There is still a wild tea Camellia taheishangensis F.S. Zhang in the Daheishan Mountains in Yunnan. Its origin and habitat are the same as the wild tea trees and should also be protected.

Cultivation Points

Propagate by seeds. Seeds have a short lifespan and should be sown immediately after harvesting. The cultivation method is the same as that of tea trees.

Types of Pu'er tea: Pu'er tea is a post-fermented tea, that is, post-oxidation will continue after the tea leaves are made, and the tea will become milder, less irritating, and will last longer after storage. The longer the time, the more complete the degree of oxidation, and the more mellow the taste of the tea soup, which is why it is said that the older Pu'er tea becomes more fragrant. Pu'er tea can be divided into trees and shrubs according to tree species. According to different production methods, it can be divided into raw tea and cooked tea. According to different storage methods, it can be divided into dry warehouse Pu'er tea and wet warehouse Pu'er tea.

Lecture 1: The History of Pu'er Tea

The birthplace of Pu'er tea is in Yunnan. However, it is a tradition in Guangdong Province to drink Pu'er tea by storing it and aging it, especially in Guangdong Province. In Hong Kong, old Pu'er tea is not only a daily drink for Hong Kong people, but is also exported to Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas in large quantities. Therefore, Hong Kong can be said to be the place where old Pu'er tea is promoted. Since the past few years, newspapers and media have continuously reported on the health benefits of Pu'er tea, including weight loss, anti-cancer, elimination of blood lipids, uric acid elimination, cholesterol reduction, etc., which have also been proven by medical research.

Lecture 2: Processing and Classification of Pu'er Tea

Processing of Pu'er Tea:

Pu'er tea is processed from the fresh leaves of Yunnan large-leaf tea trees. There are two production processes: traditional and modern.

1. Traditional Pu'er tea production process: greening (raw and sun-dried, pan-fried), kneading into strips (hand-made dough), and sun-drying

2. Modern Pu'er tea production process (artificial aging) : Finishing (frying, roller) kneading (machine processing) drying (drying) humidification and stacking (sprinkling water, tea fungus) drying

The forming process of Pu'er tea:

Picking Tea - fixing - rolling - drying - stacking - drying - screening and classification - pressing and forming.

Classification of Pu'er tea:

(1) Classification according to the production method

Raw tea: fermented in a natural way after picking, the tea is more irritating and has been stored for many years The nature of the tea will become milder later, and good old Pu'er is usually made in this way.

Mature tea: Scientific and artificial fermentation methods are used to make the tea mild, making the tea soft and delicious. Taking the period after 1973 as the dividing point.

(2) Classification according to storage method

Dry warehouse Pu'er: refers to storage in a ventilated, dry and clean warehouse to allow the tea to ferment naturally and age for 10 to 20 years.

Wet warehouse Pu'er: usually placed in humid places, such as basements and cellars, to speed up its fermentation. Since tea contains more damaged contents and often has a muddy or musty smell, although the aging speed of wet warehouse Pu'er is faster than that of dry warehouse Pu'er, it is prone to mildew and is harmful to human health. Therefore, we do not recommend selling and drinking wet warehouse Pu'er. Pu'er.

(3) Classification by appearance

1. Cake tea: flat disc shape, of which the net weight of each piece of Qizi cake is 375 grams, and every seven pieces are made into a tube, and each tube weighs 2500 grams, hence the name Qizi Cake.

2. Tuocha: The shape is about the same size as a rice bowl, with a net weight of 100 grams or 250 grams each. Now there are mini small Tuocha teas with a net weight of 2-5 grams each.

3. Brick tea: rectangular or square, mostly 250g-1000g. This shape is mainly made to facilitate transportation.

4. Pumpkin Tribute Tea: Pressed into half-melon shapes of varying sizes, ranging from 100 grams to hundreds of kilograms.

6. Loose tea: Pu'er tea that has not been compacted during the tea making process and has loose strips of tea leaves is called loose tea. It is divided into thick and fat leaf tea with ropes made from the whole tea leaf. , there are also thin strips of bud tip tea made from the bud tip part.

7. Most of the intermediate and high-grade Pu'er teas are Tuocha and cake tea.

Lecture 3: Brewing and Drinking Pu'er Tea

1. When brewing Pu'er tea, you should choose a teapot with a large belly. Because the concentration of Pu'er tea is high, use a teapot with a large belly. This can prevent the tea soup from being too thick. It is recommended that the material should be pottery pot or purple clay pot.

2. The amount of Pu'er tea brewed: When brewing Pu'er tea, the amount of tea leaves accounts for about 20% of the body of the pot. After spreading the tea bricks and tea cakes, expose them to the air for 2 weeks, and then brew them to taste better.

3. Brewing Pu'er tea: First flush hot water. This is an indispensable procedure for Pu'er tea. Because good aged Pu'er tea needs to be stored for at least ten years, there may be some dust in it. The hot water used to brew tea for the first time not only awakens the flavor of the tea, but also washes away the impurities in the tea. The first brewing speed should be fast, as long as the tea leaves can be washed, and there is no need to soak out the flavor; and the choice of intensity after the second time can be decided according to personal preference. Pu'er tea is still full of flavor even after it gets cold, so in summer it can be chilled or chilled before drinking.

4. To drink Pu'er tea, you must smell the aroma while it is hot. Hold the cup in front of your nose. At this time, you can feel the aroma of the old flavor coming to your nostrils like a spring. Its elegant and refreshing feeling is not limited to the quiet orchids. Under the chrysanthemum.

5. Pu'er tea needs to be tasted carefully and sipped in the mouth to get its true charm. Although the tea soup is slightly bitter in the mouth, you can feel the tea soup flowing through the mouthpiece after a while. It penetrates between the teeth, penetrates the gums, and produces ganjin from the root of the tongue and returns it to the surface of the tongue. At this time, the mouth is full of fragrance, and the nectar "generates fluid", which makes people feel refreshed and refreshed. The fluid overflows and lasts for a long time without leaving you thirsty. This is a great way to drink tea. The best feeling is "back to rhyme".

Lecture 4: The Age and Identifying Factors of Pu'er Tea

Pu'er tea is a type of tea where the older the better, so now some people are proud of flaunting the age of Pu'er tea and pursue long-term longevity. Pu'er tea, Pu'er tea involves how to identify the aging period of Pu'er tea. The following method is only for reference by Pu'er tea lovers:

1. Before 1950: This period is called "antique tea" such as The century-old Songpin name, Tongxing tribute cake, Tongqing name, Tongchang old name, Songpin tribute name. There is usually a piece of glutinous rice paper with the name printed on it, which is "Nei Fei".

2. 1950 ~ 1968: The so-called "Indian grade tea", that is, the word "tea" is marked in different colors on the packaging paper, with the red seal being the first batch and the green seal being the second batch. Batch, the yellow seal is the third batch.

3. After 1968: At this time, the tea cake packaging was no longer printed with the "China Tea Company" trademark, and was instead produced by each tea factory on its own, collectively known as "Yunnan Qizi Cake", such as: Snow-printed Green Cake, 73 green cake, large mouth, small green seal, small yellow seal, etc...

In addition, when tasting and identifying Pu'er tea, you need to pay attention to the "four key points" and the "six no policy". This element is for many professionals People’s experience is only for reference by Pu’er tea lovers:

The four key points are:

1. Clear: Smell it; the taste should be clear and not musty.

2. Pure: identify its color; brown is like jujube, not black like lacquer.

3. Correctness: Keep it in place; store it in a dry warehouse and do not keep it wet.

4. Qi: Taste the soup; the aftertaste is mild, not mixed.

Six Nos:

1. Do not use the wrong era as a benchmark.

2. Do not rely on counterfeit packaging.

3. Don’t use the color of the soup as an excuse.

4. Don’t pretend to add flavor.

5. Don’t take bad luck as a warning.

6. The age and leaf species of the tree are not considered.

Lecture 5: The Aroma of Pu'er Tea

Good Pu'er tea can have many delicate and subtle aroma substances, which are mainly divided into: orchid, date, and lotus. , camphor.

Camphor: There are tall camphor trees all over Yunnan. Most of these camphor trees are more than one to twenty feet high. The space under the big camphor trees is most suitable for the planting and growth of Pu'er tea. The big camphor trees It can provide appropriate shading opportunities for tea trees and reduce the occurrence of tea tree diseases and insect pests in a camphor tree environment. What's even more valuable is that the roots of the Pu'er tea tree grow intertwined with the roots of the camphor tree underground, giving the tea the aroma of camphor tree. At the same time, camphor branches and leaves also emit camphor aroma, and the tea tree directly absorbs the camphor aroma and stores it in the leaves.

Lotus fragrance: The young buds of Yunnan large-leaf tea are picked and fermented after appropriate aging. Good young buds remove the strong green leaf fragrance, leaving a light lotus scent naturally. Fragrance, lotus fragrance belongs to Piaotang tea fragrance.

Orchid fragrance: The green leaf fragrance of fresh Pu'er tea changes from the green leaf fragrance to the green fragrance after long-term aging. Those tea trees planted under the camphor forest get the camphor fragrance. After ginseng transformation, the weak camphor aroma is combined with the green aroma to become the orchid aroma. The orchid aroma is the most precious tea aroma in Pu'er tea.

Jujube aroma: Only tea trees growing in an environment with very lush vegetation, often shrouded in clouds and wild jujube trees can produce this aroma. Due to the frequent fallen leaves, natural fertilizers are formed over time, and the roots of the tea trees absorb the aroma. With the addition of these fertilizers and the tea leaves absorbing mist, the tea leaves develop a special jujube aroma.

Lecture 6: The Taste of Pu'er Tea

There are four requirements for good Pu'er tea: first, it must be clear (the taste must be clear, not musty); Red, not like ink), three must be positive (stored in a dry warehouse, no moisture), and four must be gas (mild, no mixed flavors). We emphasize. The quality of Pu'er tea cannot be judged entirely based on age. You will only know good Pu'er tea when you drink it.

Pu'er tea often has several flavors such as sweet, bitter, astringent, sour, watery, tasteless, etc. These flavors may exist alone in a certain brew of Pu'er tea, or they may have multiple flavors at the same time** *same.

Sweetness——Sweetness is what Pu’er tea drinkers dream of. After long-term aging, the bitter and astringent taste of Pu'er tea is gradually weakened or even completely eliminated due to oxidation, while the sugar remains in the tea leaves, and after brewing, the sweet taste is slowly released. The sweetness of good Pu'er tea becomes more obvious the further it is brewed. The light sweetness in tea is elegant and harmless to health, which is different from the sweetness of heavy sugar. Only Pu'er tea products made from raw tea chajing are pure, elegant and the most representative of Pu'er tea. The authenticity of Pu'er tea, indifferent and leisurely, elevates Pu'er tea drinking to the realm of art.

Bitterness - Bitterness and astringency are originally the unique taste of tea. In ancient times, tea was called "bitter tea". Bitterness is the original flavor of tea. The bitterness of Pu'er tea is due to the "caffeine" contained in it. , caffeine has an exciting effect on the human nervous system. The truly healthy way of drinking Pu'er tea is not to seek refreshment through the bitter taste, but to achieve the sweetness and sweetness of the throat through the slightly bitter tea soup. Pu'er tea made from relatively young tea green tea leaves has a bitter taste

Astringent - It is often said that "it is not tea if it is not bitter or astringent". In fact, it has been aged for six to seventy years. The above Chen Lao Pu'er tea is no longer bitter. Tea that is no longer bitter but can still express the taste of other teas is generally called good tea. Pu'er tea has a "masculine" Pu'er that has a stronger taste, and a "feminine" Pu'er that has a gentler taste. Distinguishing the two based on their degree of bitterness is the most specific way to identify them.

Acid and water - sour and watery tastes are bad tastes of Pu'er tea. Pu'er tea should try to avoid the taste of acid and water. Poor tea production or poor storage may cause the formation of Pu'er tea. Sour. Some of these sour Pu'er teas will gradually lose their sourness after being brewed for three or five times. The sour taste is a taste that tea drinkers are not willing to accept. It represents the inferiority of tea.

Generally, when making fresh tea leaves, if the "water leakage" process is not handled properly, the tea leaves will have a watery smell. The watery smell will give people a feeling of being weak, spoiled and not fresh.

Tasteless - Tasteless taste has a full Zen state. Most Pu'er tea tasting experts agree that Tasteless taste is the best Pu'er tea.

Lecture 7: The Nature of Pu'er Tea

The life course of Pu'er tea, in a narrow sense, refers to the long aging process that begins after the Pu'er tea is formed. Pu'er tea is different from many other teas in that it must have a historical process of storage (except Pu'er green tea). Only history that has passed through nature can express its authenticity. Pu'er tea must come naturally from the historical years to show its authenticity. Its authenticity is natural and fresh. How to taste the freshness of Pu'er tea? 1. Identification by aroma

Because Pu’er ripe tea has been piled, it will produce a ripe smell. Generally, only dry-cang ripe tea that has been aged for less than ten years (according to traditional saying, tea that has not gone moldy is dry-cang tea) can smell a ripe tea smell from the surface of the tea. In about ten to twenty years, the surface cooked tea smell has disappeared, and the cooked tea aroma can be felt from the tea soup. The first batch of cooked brick tea made from tight tea materials in 1973 was called "73 thick brick tea". It has been more than 20 years now. No matter whether the tea or the tea soup, there is no cooked taste. It feels like "agarwood". Agarwood is the best cooked tea aroma that has been transformed from a cooked flavor after long-term dry aging. The smell of cooked tea, cooked flavor and agarwood are one of the most direct and effective ways to distinguish raw tea from cooked tea.

2. Distinguish from the color of the soup

The soup of Gancang Pu'er raw tea is maroon red, close to the color of heavy fire oolong tea. Even old raw tea, such as eight or nine years old, The color of the tea soup of the 10-year-old Longma brand Tongqing Pu'er tea is only slightly darker than that of the 50-year-old Red Seal Pu'er round tea. The color of cooked tea is dark maroon, even close to black. Therefore, in the modern tea classification, Pu'er tea is classified as dark tea, which is related to the soup color of Pu'er ripe tea.

3. Identify from the bottom of the leaves

The bottom of the dry Pu'er raw tea leaves is maroon to dark maroon, which is very similar to the bottom color of Taiwan's Oriental Beauty tea. The texture of the leaves is plump and soft, full of freshness. A brew of Tongqing Lao Pu'er tea leaves reveals the freshness and vitality of a hundred years ago. The bottom of the leaves of ripe Pu'er tea are mostly dark chestnut or black, and the texture of the leaves is thin and hard. If it is heavily fermented, it will be obviously charred, as if it has been grilled by a fire. Some older leaves have cracked leaf surfaces and separated veins one by one, looking like dry leaves that have been soaked in water for a long time. However, if some ripe tea has not been piled for a long time and the degree of fermentation is not heavy, the bottom of the leaves will be very close to the bottom of the raw tea leaves. On the contrary, there are also some raw teas that cannot be dried immediately after being rolled, such as tea leaves, which are delayed for a long time during the production process. The bottom of the leaves will also turn dark brown, and the soup color will be thicker and darker, which is different from the slight fermentation. The cooked tea is the same.

Lecture 8: The health benefits of Pu'er tea

For thousands of years, Pu'er tea has been favored by consumers because of its excellent quality. At the same time, the unique flavor of Pu'er tea is also related to its natural transformation process. After the ripe Pu'er tea is processed through special processing procedures, it is cracked into tea balls of different sizes and shapes, and placed in a dry place to dry naturally in the shade. Then according to the transportation requirements, pack it into baskets and transport it to other places. Yunnan is located on the border of the motherland, and Xishuangbanna is located on the border of Yunnan, with high mountains and dangerous rivers. In ancient times, transportation was extremely difficult. Tea was exported only by caravans and cattle gangs. The delays on mountain roads were very long. On some sections, caravans could only make two trips a year, while cattle gangs could only make one trip a year. The long-term bumps on the back and back of the cow, as well as exposure to the sun, wind and rain, cause the substances contained in the tea to slowly transform, resulting in a brighter color and a stronger aroma of Pu'er tea. The efficacy and function of the medicine are doubled. Chai E's "Brahma Sky Lu Cong Lu" written in 1925 AD, Qing Dynasty Zhao Xuemin's "Compendium of Materia Medica", "Simao Interview", "Physical Knowledge", "Baicao Mirror", "Southern Yunnan Hearing and Seeing Records" and other ancient books, There are records of Pu'er tea detoxifying and curing diseases.

In recent years, more in-depth research has been conducted on the physiological and pharmacological functions of Pu'er tea at home and abroad, and the functions of Pu'er tea have also been further developed.

Emily Carrobi, director of clinical teaching at the Department of Medicine of Saint-Antoine in Paris, has proved through experiments that Pu'er tea has an unexpected effect on fat metabolism and can reduce triglycerides, cholesterol, and cholesterol in the human body. Hematuria, etc. have different curative effects. In addition, because drinking Pu'er tea can cause physiological effects such as vasodilation and reduced brain blood flow, Pu'er tea is also used to prevent and treat diseases in the elderly, hypertension and arteriosclerosis. Professor Bernard Giacotto of Henri Londo Hospital in Paris said: "This tea seems to have one or more special ingredients that play a role in the metabolism of lipids." The book "Pu'er Tea with Miraculous Effects" co-authored by Japan's Setseo Nono and Ichiro Masuyama set off a Pu'er tea craze in Japan. At the "International Academic Symposium on Tea and Health" held in Shizuoka, Japan, from August 26 to 29, 1991, participants reviewed the paper "Antioxidant activity of tetramethoxybenzene and its derivatives in dark tea" by Chinese and Japanese scholars. " showed great interest and aroused strong responses. Compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao believe that Pu'er tea can produce fluids and quench thirst, sober up the spleen and relieve hangover, whet appetite and eliminate stagnation, inhibit bacteria and lose weight. It is a treasure of health and a health drink that cannot be eaten every day. It is also believed that green tea is cold in nature and black tea is hot in nature; while Pu'er tea is neither cold nor hot, economical, and generally addicted to drink, so it is called "Baoli tea".

Pu'er tea is more neutral and upright, and is more suitable for the stomach and intestines of Hong Kong people. Most people like to drink it. Mr. You Yude, chairman of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Tea Traders Association, summarized the reasons why Hong Kong people like to drink Pu'er tea as follows: "Five points," (ten words): first, it is strong enough, second, it is impact-resistant, third, it is warm in nature, fourth, it is health-care, and fifth, it is cheap. , Pu'er tea imported from Japan is processed into exquisite small package tea, with Guifei tea. Beauty tea, bodybuilding tea, Qingqing tea, longevity tea and other reputations

Lecture 9 Collection of Pu'er tea

Those who like aged drinks and food should know that no matter how they store red wine , making medicinal wine, brewing aged plums, materials and production are important, but storage is even more critical. The impact of different environments and containers on its quality cannot be ignored. Therefore, high-grade aged Pu'er tea cannot only be obtained from high-quality tea materials and well-made tea, but can be obtained by randomly placing it in a ventilated place in a normal environment. Based on my personal experience, I can summarize the five key points for preserving tea: constant temperature, constant humidity, no exposure to light, no odor, and joy of excitement. The best aged Pu'er tea requires not only exquisite tea materials and production, but also gentle post-fermentation and storage. So the first three essentials are all for this. Everyone who stores tea knows the importance of proper temperature and humidity for tea, but they often overlook that stable temperature and humidity are more conducive to gentle post-fermentation. Of course, light cannot be ignored, which is the same as the first two principles.

Ten stories about Pu'er tea

Six major tea mountains: Gedeng Tea Mountain, Mangzhi Tea Mountain, Yibang Tea Mountain, Mansa Tea Mountain, Manzhuan Tea Mountain and Youle Tea Mountain, which are Yunnan Six Ancient Tea Mountains

Neifei: "Antique tea" before 1950 usually has a piece of glutinous rice paper with the name printed on it, which is "Neifei".

Seal grade tea: that is, on the packaging paper, the word "tea" is marked in different colors. The red seal is the first batch, the green seal is the second batch, and the yellow seal is the third batch.

Dry warehouse: refers to a ventilated, dry and clean Pu'er tea storage warehouse. The Pu'er tea stored in it is naturally fermented and has a long fermentation period.

Wet warehouse: usually refers to a relatively humid place where Pu'er tea is placed, such as basements and cellars, to speed up its fermentation time and speed.

Grade Tea Cake: It is used to identify the tea cake, tea age, grade, and production plant number. For example: 8582 cake is (the first two digits of 85 are produced in 1985, and the third digit of 8 is 8 grade tea, the last digit 2 is the code name of Menghai Tea Factory), tea factory code: 1. Kunming Tea Factory, 2. Menghai Tea Factory, 3. is Xiaguan Tea Factory

Discus: The relatively thick and hard pressed tea cake is called discus, which is the same name as the corresponding "fire cake" in the process flow.

China Tea Brand: The front of the outer paper of the tea cake is marked with 8 characters "中" surrounding the character "tea". It is the trademark of Yunnan Tea Branch of China National Native Produce and Livestock Import and Export Corporation.

Dayi Cake: The trademark of Menghai Tea Factory in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. There is a white word "Yi" in the middle of the word "大". There are different colors of trademarks according to different levels and years, such as "Red Seal" "Blue seal", "Yellow seal", etc.

Basic identification of Pu'er tea

Pu'er tea is divided into loose tea and pressed tea. Loose tea is divided into special grade and grade one to ten and extra-grade tea. Pressed tea includes cake tea. , brick tea, Tuo tea, pillar tea, pumpkin tea, human head tea, etc. At present, the quality of Pu'er tea on the market varies from good to bad, and consumers must pay attention to distinguish them when purchasing. How to identify the quality of Pu'er tea? Generally speaking, there are the following types:

Check the appearance

The appearance and color of good Pu'er tea are brownish red (commonly known as pig liver color), the strands are fat, tender and tightly knotted, and the smell is delicious It has a faint scent of longan, rose, camphor, jujube, lotus root, etc. accompanied by a special aged fragrance.

Pu'er loose tea is divided into grades based on tenderness, from outside grade, tenth grade to first grade and special grade. The tenderness is getting higher and higher. Generally speaking, the higher the tenderness, the better the quality. There are four main points to consider when measuring tenderness: First, look at the number of buds. If there are more buds, the tenderness is higher; Secondly, look at the tightness and thickness of the cords. Tightness and thickness will have higher tenderness; Thirdly, look at the smooth color. The degree, smooth color, moistness and high tenderness; fourthly, the clarity, uniformity, few stems and no impurities are better.

The appearance of Pu'er pressed tea requires moderate tightness, and the color is green-brown, tan, or maroon-red. Take green cakes as an example. Generally, in 3-5 years, the tea cakes are tightly knotted, with complete round edges, and the tea stems are lavender; in 5-7 years, the tea cakes are complete, and the tea stems are all purple; in 7-10 years, the tea cakes have light edges. , grains are falling off at the edges, and the tea stems are dark purple; more than 10 years old, the edges of the tea cakes are loose, and the edges of the leaves are blurred.

Look at the color of the soup

As the saying goes: Oolong smells the fragrance, Pu'er appreciates the color. Put 3-5 grams of Pu'er tea into a pot, brew with boiling water, pour the brewed tea into a crystal glass and watch the color of the tea. The soup color of Pu'er tea is red, transparent and bright. During the processing of Pu'er tea, about 80% of theaflavin (TF) and thearubigin (TR) are oxidized and polymerized to form theabrownin (TB). The high content of soluble sugar and water extract forms the base of Pu'er tea's rich flavor and reddish-brown soup color. Thearubigins are the main component of the "red" color of the soup. During the fermentation process, the peroxidase activity is enhanced, which promotes the oxidation of theaflavins into insoluble thearubigins. As the aging period of Pu'er tea increases, the fermentation time increases. , the insoluble thearubigin complex in Pu'er tea gradually increases, and the color of the tea becomes redder and redder. If the tea soup is green or yellow, it means insufficient aging. If the tea soup is brown, black, turbid, or has suspended solids, it means Pu'er tea has deteriorated. Observe the bottom of the leaves

After making the soup, look at the bottom of the leaves (tea residue) after brewing, mainly to see the softness, color and evenness. The leaves are soft, plump and elastic, and the color is brownish red and uniform. If the bottom of the leaves is inelastic, the flowers are unevenly mixed, black, or rotten like mud, and the leaves do not expand, the quality is poor.

Tasting the taste

The main thing is to taste the Pu'er tea soup, smell its aroma and taste it, which requires sweetness, smoothness, thickness and aroma. This is because during the post-fermentation process of Pu'er tea, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Aspergillus griseus, Saccharomyces and other microorganisms, especially Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces, have an effect on the tea. Here, thick means that the tea is thick but not thin, and the taste is fragrant but not bland. Chenxiang refers to the unique mellow aroma of Pu'er tea, which must be distinguished from the musty smell. Tea with musty smell is a tea that has failed to ferment and cannot be drunk. The aged aroma is the aroma produced by the formation of some new substances during the post-fermentation process of Pu'er tea. Various chemical components, mainly tea polyphenols, these microorganisms and enzymes form under the action of microorganisms and enzymes. The aroma of Pu'er tea is characterized by a significant aged aroma. .

Finally, the appreciation of Pu'er tea should also be related to its connotation, that is, the "five virtues", "four tastes" and "three principles" of Pu'er tea proposed by Dr. Wang Meijin of the Tea Culture Studio of the Institute of Cultural Industry of Yunnan University ".

Five Virtues: Health, Qi, Thickness, Harmony, and Truth

Jian: the health of health care; the health of "Tianxingjian"'s life values; Qi: the processing of raw materials from the place of origin and The wonder of old fragrance; the wonder of national cultural background; the wonder of charming changes;

Thickness: thickness of appearance; thickness of charm; thickness that accommodates different tea sets and tastes;

Harmony: sex It is neither cold nor hot; it embraces the harmony of different cultures; the harmony of people; the harmony of people and tea;

Truth: the truth of nature; the splendor of all kinds but pure and true nature; From the appearance of being as wise as foolish to the inner being, it is colorful and has four true qualities: taste, breath, rhyme, and scene.

Three principles:

The raw materials from the place of origin are processed in the same place (authentic theory), that is, "Three Principles of Good Tea".

Pu'er loose tea: Pu'er tea that has not been pressed and formed during the tea making process, and the tea leaves are in the shape of loose strips is loose tea.

Qizi cake tea: flat disc shape, each piece of Qizi cake has a net weight of 357 grams, and every seven pieces is a tube, each tube weighs 2500 grams, hence the name Qizi cake.

Brick tea: rectangular or square, mostly 250g-1000g. This shape is mainly made to facilitate transportation.

Tuocha: The shape is about the same size as a rice bowl, with a net weight of 100 grams and 250 grams each. Now there are mini small Tuocha teas with a net weight of 2-5 grams each.

Pumpkin tribute tea: pressed into half-melon shapes of varying sizes, ranging from 100 grams to hundreds of kilograms.

Qianliang Tea: It is pressed into compact bars of different sizes. Each tea bar weighs relatively heavy (the smallest tea bar weighs about 100 kilograms), hence the name: Qianliang Tea.

Guangyun Tribute Cake: In addition to Yunnan Province, Guangdong Province also produces a small amount of Pu'er tea. Some of the tea greens used are allocated from Yunnan Province, and some are tea greens produced in Guangdong Province. Call it "Cantonese cake". Most of the Pu'er tea in Cantonese cakes were made from Guangdong tea green or Yunnan tea green and Guangdong tea green after the 1960s, hence the name: Guangyungong

Commemorative cake (Brick, Tuo): A small batch of tea specially made to commemorate an event, with corresponding numbers and certificates. The more famous ones are: commemorative tea for the 50th anniversary of the founding of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture.

Dai Bamboo Tube Tea: Bamboo tube tea is called "Laji" in Dai language. Use sun-dried spring tea or raw tea that has been processed for the first time, and put it into a freshly cut bamboo tube that has a growth period of about one year.

Identify the year of Pu'er tea

1. Look at the appearance of the tea leaves

The appearance of new Pu'er tea is fresher, with pekoe and a strong taste; Pu'er tea has been aged for a long time After a certain amount of time, the appearance of the tea leaves will turn maroon, and the pekoe will turn yellowish brown.

2. Distinguish the color of the wrapping paper

Usually the white paper packaging of pressed aged Pu'er tea has become old over time, so the paper is slightly yellow, so you can Let’s start with the aging of the paper texture and printing color. This can only be used as a reference, not an absolute basis, because some unscrupulous businessmen may take advantage of this mentality and use old wrapping paper to package inferior products.

3. Understand the age of the tea

Generally speaking, the age of Pu'er tea is usually divided as follows:

Pu'er tea produced in this period before 1949 It is called "antique tea", such as the century-old Songpinhao, the century-old Tongxing tribute, the century-old Tongqinghao, the Tongchang old tea, and the Songpinjinghao. Usually, a piece of paper made of glutinous rice and printed with the above name is placed inside the tea cake, which is called "Nei Fei".

From 1949 to 1967, China's tea industry produced tea products with "different printing grades", that is, on the tea characters on the packaging paper, the red seal was marked as the first batch, and the green seal was the third batch. The second batch, the yellow seal is the third batch.

After 1968, the tea cakes produced at this time were no longer printed on the packaging with the China Tea Company name. Instead, they were produced by each tea factory at their own choice. They were collectively called "Yunnan Qizi Cake", including: Snow Print Green Cake 73 Green Cake , large mouth, small green seal, small yellow seal, etc.