Tea Talks on Paper No. 19: Raw Tea Is Definitely Not Sun-Dried Green Tea

Recently, the Yunnan Provincial Tea Industry Association issued an official document with eight suggestions for the tea industry in Yunnan Province (see below). At once, it stirred up a storm. The main focus of the controversy is that the document claims 'Pu'er raw tea is sun-dried green tea.' What does sun-dried green tea mean? It means green tea, just dried in the sun. In other words, the focus of the debate is whether Pu'er raw tea belongs to green tea. Once these eight suggestions were put forward, there were those who agreed, those who cursed, and those who openly opposed. I am one of the open opponents, but my words carry little weight and few people pay attention. Still, some people privately ask me why I say Pu'er raw tea is not sun-dried green tea. This year, my energy is mainly on Houyuehong company matters, and I haven't written the 'Tea Talks on Paper' series for a long time. I haven't calmed down to explain the reasons before. Today, let me slowly discuss it from the aspects of emotion, reason, law, industry, and future.

Suggestions for the Development of Yunnan Tea Industry

I. From Emotion, Raw Tea Cannot Be Sun-Dried Green Tea.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, Li Shi wrote in "Xu Bowu Zhi": "The use of Pu tea by the Western Regions (Tibet) dates back to the Tang Dynasty."

This is the earliest recorded history of Pu tea, but we know that Pu'er Prefecture was only established in the Qing Dynasty, so could this 'Pu tea' refer to another meaning? In Buddhism, 'Pu tea' means inviting everyone to drink tea together. So it might mean 'The Western Regions drank Buddhist tea, dating back to the Tang Dynasty.' I think it is not very reliable to consider this time as the earliest verifiable record of Pu'er tea.

In 1381, the 14th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Pu'er first clearly appeared in official documents. At that time, the Pu'er area was under the jurisdiction of Cheli Xuanwei Division of Yuanjiang Military and Civilian Prefecture, called 'Pu'er' (普耳).

In 1578, Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty wrote in "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Pu'er tea comes from Pu'er, Yunnan."

In 1620, Xie Zhaozhi recorded in "Dianlue" that at that time in Yunnan: "Both scholars and commoners use Pu tea. It is steamed and formed into cakes."

We can see that Pu'er tea has a history of more than 600 years from 1381 to 2017. But is this 600-year history the history of raw tea, or ripe tea, or neither raw nor ripe but other tea?

In "Manshu·Yunnan Zhi·Volume on Products within the Territory, Chapter 7", it is recorded: "Tea comes from the mountains around Yinsheng City, harvested loosely, without picking or making methods. The Mengshe barbarians cook it with pepper, ginger, and cinnamon to drink." This is definitely neither ripe tea nor raw tea.

In the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Xuemin's "Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "Pu'er tea tastes bitter and nature is harsh; it can remove greasy from beef and mutton, is bitter and astringent, resolves phlegm, lowers qi, and benefits the intestines and diarrhea."

"Tastes bitter and nature is harsh" - ancient writers liked neatness, matching taste with nature, bitter with harsh, roughly meaning the tea tastes bitter and fierce, not mild. I am more inclined to believe that the Pu'er tea mentioned in "Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica" refers to today's raw tea.

Ripe tea is a concept that only appeared after the successful trial production of artificial pile fermentation technology in 1975, just over 40 years ago. Only after ripe tea existed did the concept of raw tea emerge. But as elaborated earlier, the 600-year history of Pu'er tea refers to today's raw tea. It should be said that the term 'raw tea' is recent, but its history is long. A 40-year concept - ripe tea - wants to monopolize the claim to Pu'er tea (of course, they consider raw tea over ten years old as Pu'er tea), while a 600-year history wants to exclude raw tea from Pu'er tea and classify it as green tea...

Isn't this like a cuckoo occupying a phoenix's nest? Emotionally, I think such a statement is very inappropriate, extremely inappropriate.

Let me clarify: I have no intention to belittle ripe tea. On the contrary, this year we are vigorously promoting the second crowdfunded ripe tea of Houyue. You will see it later. But this does not affect my firm stance that raw tea is Pu'er tea. The Yunnan tea industry should advance on both raw and ripe legs, which is a dream for other tea industries. We must not destroy our own Great Wall and feel ashamed before future generations.

II. From Reason, Raw Tea Cannot Be Sun-Dried Green Tea.

Let me make an assumption. We know that Wuyi Mountain is the birthplace of black tea. Zhengshan Xiaozhong is the ancestor of black tea. Jinjunmei is a new tea of the last decade but has become famous across the country. Let's assume that a certain tea association in Fujian proposes the following suggestions:

To better develop Wuyi Mountain black tea and vigorously promote Jinjunmei, considering that Zhengshan Xiaozhong has a high-temperature kill-green process (red pan), it is now suggested to classify Zhengshan Xiaozhong as roasted green tea, and only Jinjunmei is Wuyi Mountain black tea; non-single-bud Jinjunmei is called Chigan.

I believe that the moment this suggestion is announced, it will be the bugle for everyone to curse this association. Everyone will attack it, and the relevant Fujian government officials will immediately refute it as complete nonsense.

Isn't today's statement 'raw tea is sun-dried green tea' similar to this assumption? Why then is there no universal outrage and condemnation in the Pu'er tea industry? I think there are many reasons. Let me simply list them without deep analysis.

1. The official document of the Yunnan Provincial Tea Industry Association has semi-official authority;

1. Dominated by tea industry bigwigs, with a certain high position advantage; recently, a bigwig's roar on social media made Lüxueya very embarrassed. Actually, when I went to Fuding and visited Lüxueya company, I learned that Lüxueya does have aged white tea and it is systematic. But I am not a party involved, and I don't know the rights and wrongs, so I won't comment further.

1. The moral inertia of Chinese people: 'Sit quietly and reflect on your own faults; in conversation, do not discuss others' wrongs.' Those who think it is wrong are unwilling to speak; those who think it is neither here nor there or right are even less likely to speak.

1. There is some truth to it. The statement 'raw tea is sun-dried green tea' has some reason; many practitioners feel the same.

1. If you oppose, you are considered to be considering your own interests. The bigwig's original words: 'The reason Pu'er tea has so many controversies is that the Pu'er tea industry is dominated by culture holding the discourse power, and many people mix in personal interests...' If you oppose, it is because you have stored a lot of new raw tea, because you have interests involved. Indeed, many practitioners store a lot of raw tea. They first put a hat on you; are you still embarrassed to oppose?

1. Many echo. The voices are loud, with interviews, videos, and even quotations. Those who want to oppose see their acquaintances and friends have voiced approval; how can they still oppose?

1. There may be many other reasons; welcome to add.

But many seemingly high-sounding people and things are not necessarily right.

Let's present some facts.

First, look at the national standard for green tea GB/T 14456.1-2008:

Using the buds, leaves, and tender stems of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.O.kunts) as raw materials, processed through kill-green, rolling, drying, and other processes... Green tea products are divided into pan-fired green tea, baked green tea, steamed green tea, and sun-dried green tea according to different processing techniques...

It can be seen that sun-dried green tea also meets the national standard for green tea.

But go to Yiwu and see: single-tree, high-stem, ancient tree teas are mostly made into raw tea. In hotels, inns, and tea shops, practitioners are tasting tea, drinking for a whole evening or even until dawn. As long as they are on the tea mountain, they drink every day, year after year. They drink new tea. This contradicts one of the important reasons for 'raw tea is sun-dried green tea' that new raw tea cannot be drunk. Some of these Yiwu raw teas even have one bud with five or six leaves. Go to other tea areas; it is common for raw tea to be picked quite old. This clearly conflicts with the national standard for green tea. Would we have to modify the national standard for green tea?

Mr. Zou Jiaju, President of Yunnan Provincial Tea Industry Association, holds the view of a knife

We know that green tea is meant to be drunk in the same year. Our association says that raw tea that is not suitable for drinking in the current year, or even within ten years, cannot be called raw Pu'er, and throws it to green tea. Green tea does not want to bear this burden. Green tea is drunk fresh. What is the point of making a raw tea that cannot be drunk fresh? Would we have to add new tea categories like 'raw green tea' or 'green raw tea', turning six major tea categories into seven? Mr. Chen Chuan, what is your opinion?

The President of Yunnan Provincial Tea Industry Association believes raw tea should be classified as green tea

Let's look at the storage of raw tea. Raw loose tea is usually stored in woven bags for a period at the initial processing site to let off moisture. This is completely different from green tea, which needs sealed storage. Compressed raw tea is packaged in bamboo sheaths or paper bags, also not sealed, and stored for years or even longer. Green tea cannot do that.

The most important point is that the advantage of the place of origin cannot be lost.

Moutai liquor is produced exclusively in Maotai Town, Renhuai City, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, China. It is a traditional specialty liquor of China. If you make a liquor with similar Moutai process elsewhere, is it Moutai?

According to the law, only sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France, using specified grape varieties and specified production methods, can be labeled as Champagne. Outside the Champagne region, even if you make a better-tasting sparkling wine, it is just sparkling wine and cannot be called Champagne.

Longjing is a famous historical tea with strict regional regulations. Only tea from the West Lake production area can be called Longjing. It is easy to learn the Longjing process, but you cannot make Longjing tea outside the Longjing production area. If the name is not proper, consumers may not accept it, and legal risks can destroy you in minutes.

This is the advantage of the place of origin!

If you leave the place-of-origin advantage of Pu'er tea, leave the culture and long history of Pu'er tea, and only talk about the process of Pu'er tea, you have not truly understood Pu'er tea, or you simply do not understand Pu'er tea. If tea made with Pu'er process outside Yunnan wants to be sold as Pu'er tea, the only way is counterfeiting. If you ignore the huge advantages of place of origin, history, and culture and only talk about process, isn't that like climbing a tree to catch fish? Does such a viewpoint make sense? I tell you that the phoenix only perches on the Chinese parasol tree, only eats the fruit of the bamboo, and only drinks from the sweet spring. You interrupt and ask: Is phoenix meat delicious? I am severely injured. Like the blind men and the elephant, you will always have only partial knowledge. Are we sure we want to do this?

Of course not! Absolutely not!

So, from reason, raw tea is completely not green tea.

III. From Law, Raw Tea Cannot Be Sun-Dried Green Tea.

The national standard for geographical indication product Pu'er tea GB/T2111-2008 clearly stipulates that Pu'er tea includes Pu'er tea (raw tea) and Pu'er tea (ripe tea).

Among them, the raw tea standard stipulates: Yunnan large-leaf sun-dried green tea

Fresh leaves of Yunnan large-leaf tea are processed through: spreading → kill-green → rolling → deblocking → sun-drying and other processes.

Fresh leaf spreading: Spread and grade fresh leaves until water content is about 70%, then kill-green.

Kill-green: Kill-green must be thorough and even, without grassy or smoky smell.

After kill-green, roll the leaves promptly into strips.

Rolling: The pressure should not be too heavy, and the time is 30 to 40 minutes.

Deblocking: Dissolve the clumped tea.

Sun-drying: Must be dried in the sun; during this process, it can be rolled once more to make the tea strips tight. The water content of sun-dried green tea should be ≤10%.

From law, it is easy to understand. The national standard has clear provisions and should be followed. From law, sun-dried green tea cannot be green tea.

If you have opinions or new views on the national standard, you can communicate through appropriate channels and apply for modification. As an association, you should not publish opinions that contradict the national standard to society. You should apply through normal channels and keep it confidential. Publishing a viewpoint that contradicts the existing national standard, even stamping it with an official seal and spreading it everywhere, is suspected of forcing the issue and violating the law.

IV. From the Current Situation and Future Development of the Industry, Raw Tea Cannot Be Sun-Dried Green Tea.

It should be said that today's Pu'er tea situation is hard-won. Pu'er raw tea and Pu'er ripe tea have become the two pillars supporting the development of the Pu'er tea industry. The Pu'er tea industry, walking on both raw and ripe legs, is still staggering and struggling forward. I also think the Pu'er tea industry has its dangers.

But we should see that raw tea, especially high-end ancient tree raw tea, has made great contributions to the promotion and output of the Pu'er tea industry. In my 'Tea Talks on Paper No. 2: The Temptation of Tree Age 1', I said that Pu'er tea benefits from two keywords: 'the older, the more fragrant' and 'ancient tree tea'. The former keyword should be attributed most to Mr. Deng Shihai from Taiwan, and the latter to the efforts of many practitioners. But ironically, the 'Eight Suggestions' deny both of these contributors. It is not impossible to hide the bow and cook the hound once the birds are gone, but before a new industry hotspot is stable, these two contributors are still the strongest driving forces. We must resolutely not destroy our own Great Wall and do things that harm ourselves and please our enemies.

Will the Pu'er tea industry develop better without raw tea?

I firmly oppose this. There are two reasons:

1. Consumers have to relearn.

Pu'er tea includes ripe tea and raw tea over ten years old; raw tea within ten years is sun-dried green tea... The banner of Pu'er tea that was hard to raise is forcibly torn in half. Practitioners understand easily, but consumers are absolutely confused. Can they just not drink it? The learning cost for consumers is too high. The day the standard 'raw tea is green tea' is set may be the beginning of a nightmare for Pu'er tea.

2. The foundation of ripe tea is built on raw tea.

It is like a building: the foundation is raw tea, and the above-ground structure is ripe tea. If you say the foundation is not good, it is something else, and only after ten years can it be considered the foundation of the building, can you live in this house with peace of mind? Raw tea is the foundation. If the foundation is not Pu'er tea but green tea, then how can Yunnan compressed tea become more fragrant with age? If ripe tea fermented from green tea is the only Pu'er tea, what kind of thing is that? It is simply absurd!

Yunnan large-leaf tea leaves

V. For the Future, Where Will Raw Tea Go?

Many times, people worry about unnecessary things. Raw tea has a history of several hundred years, and it has been in the market economy for over twenty years. In 2007, the Pu'er tea market crashed, but now it has recovered and is even stronger. Besides 'the older, the more fragrant', there is also the concept of 'ancient tree tea'. It should be said that this year's Pu'er tea industry, including raw tea, is relatively healthy. Of course, everything has multiple facets, and it is normal to have various problems during development. We should look at problems with a developmental perspective. If you nitpick and magnify anything, you can always find a lot of problems. Put your heart at ease and imagine: in the next hundred or even several hundred years, what will Pu'er tea look like, and what should it look like? Doing things in the trend channel is the best strategy.

I believe that Pu'er raw tea will develop in the following directions:

1. Sweet, fragrant, mild, and mellow raw teas that can be drunk immediately will become a major market trend;

Tea that is drunk is the real deal. Indeed, few people can drink raw tea that is cold, sharp, and thin. Sweet, soft, fragrant, and moist raw teas are already many in the market. Their later transformation remains to be verified, but there is no reason to reject tea that can be drunk now. Such tea soup is not necessarily red; raw tea with a mild and mellow taste, delicate aroma, and bright yellow soup will become a beautiful landscape in the market.

2. Raw tea with 'bitter taste and harsh nature' will still exist, stored for ten years or even longer to enjoy the later 'older, more fragrant' effect;

The charm of aged raw tea is indeed fascinating. The main problem with today's raw tea is the huge quantity and uneven quality. Have you ever seen high-quality, reasonably priced, delicious aged raw tea that cannot be sold? If so, send it to me to taste; maybe I will buy some for you. The storage of raw tea will certainly not disappear, but it will adapt to the market, paying more attention to quality and storage control.

3. Small packaging and convenient packaging will also become mainstream;

Raw tea is easy to get close to, and packaging forms will become more diverse. Convenient small packages of raw tea will definitely become popular. Whether compressed or loose, it does not matter; good taste and convenience are important.

4. Niche concepts will be everywhere;

Further processed raw tea forms such as small green tangerine, lemon, and tea paste have already appeared. Roasted raw tea, high-aroma raw tea, and even burnt-aroma raw tea may appear. Raw tea with added ingredients for drinking, like black tea, is not impossible. Various fancy raw teas will increase. Many unknown raw tea blends will emerge in large numbers. The richness of raw tea products will make the raw tea market more and more segmented. Currently, everyone does the same, selling bricks, cakes, tuos, and loose tea; this will be the main model for large factories.

5. More niche brands will appear, and a large number of family百年老字号 (century-old time-honored brands) will emerge;

Tea farmers selling tea will become more and more common. Today's Wuyi Mountain will be tomorrow's Yunnan. There will be more and more niche brands. Handmade tea will become the mainstream on tea mountains. The future tea masters will mostly be today's tea farmers or their second or third generation. High-quality and high-priced tea will be the business model of these niche brands. Coarse and cheap tea will become increasingly rare in tea areas.

There may be many more changes, but no matter how they change, one thing is certain: the future of raw tea will be better and better!

VI. Conclusion

The reason why this 'raw tea is sun-dried green tea' proposal has caused such a big discussion is that the Pu'er tea industry certainly has its problems. But everything has multiple facets; there is no absolute right or wrong. It is not that if I do not agree with you, I oppose you. It is not that today we want to promote aged tea and ripe tea, so we smear raw tea. The problems of raw tea lie in the guidance of processing, improvement of storage, and market control. Arbitrarily abandoning new raw tea and pushing it into the green tea camp is putting the cart before the horse. It is not the proper attitude to solve problems, nor is it a solution.

At the macro level, there is government management and policy support, and industry organization guidance; at the micro level, practitioners like us should honestly make good tea, not participate in speculation or malicious price manipulation, and do our duty. I think this might be better.

Finally, let's do a survey. You can give your own opinion: Is raw tea sun-dried green tea? (You can leave a comment below to discuss)

The article is original, and some pictures are screenshots from the internet; thanks to all! The author is Lü Jianfeng, WeChat: ynwuse, working at 51 Pu'er Net, initiator of Houyue crowdfunded tea, and convener of Yunnan Houyue Black Tea Co., Ltd.