"Tea Talk on Paper" Part 1: Making Tea and Cooking

I have long had the idea of writing some articles to talk about tea.

I have done a lot of cooking, and I have seen many people and many methods of making tea, but I have never made it myself, nor do I intend to make it in the future. However, that does not prevent me from making good tea; I do not plan to develop in this direction. My goal is to find people who can make good tea, form a team, and let professionals do professional things, so as to achieve one good tea after another.

It also does not prevent me from talking about tea. This series of tea talk articles is called "Tea Talk on Paper" (纸上谈茶), meaning I am only responsible for talking, not actually doing. I will interpret what good tea is from another angle. It may not be correct, but even if there is controversy, it is a good thing. Controversy leads to discussion, which leads to integration of multiple perspectives, which promotes improvement in craftsmanship and the industry. That is a good thing.

First, let me talk about my understanding of cooking.

The discussion here is limited to green vegetables. Meat dishes, I think, are far from tea, so I will not compare them. Wash and trim the greens, drain the water, and place them on a plate. Heat the wok until the water is completely dry, add salad oil (a bit more is fine), heat until it just starts to smoke, turn the heat to maximum, put the whole plate of greens into the wok, stir-fry quickly, turning a few times so that the greens are evenly coated with oil and heated. When they are just cooked through and a little liquid comes out, turn off the heat, quickly add salt and turn evenly. Do not add any MSG or chicken essence. Remove from the wok and serve. The color is bright green, and it tastes crisp and refreshing. How delicious!

Notes for stir-frying greens: Do not cover the wok; the heat must be high; the greens must be drained of water before going into the wok; stir-fry quickly, preferably mastering the skill of tossing the wok with one hand; add salt after turning off the heat.

Now let's talk about making tea (discussion limited to Pu'er sun-dried green tea; I have little experience in other tea regions, so I will not show off my skills there).

1. Handling of Fresh Leaves

Fresh leaves are not too delicate; they do not easily absorb odors, so they can be transported down the mountain with ventilation. Withering is the key to fresh leaf handling. If this step is done well, there is a possibility of making good tea. I understand the whole tea-making process as a process of water loss, expelling impurities, and transformation. Regarding water loss, my personal understanding is that withering removes a quarter of the water, fixing removes another quarter, and finally sun-drying removes another quarter, leaving the last quarter as the dry tea. Of course, these numbers are not absolute; it depends on the tea.

Withering must be done off the ground. If conditions allow, use a withering trough; if not, use bamboo sieves placed on racks or stools to elevate them. It must be off the ground. Fresh leaves should not be piled too thinly during withering, and they should be turned regularly.

2. Fixing (Kill-green)

Fixing is stir-frying the tea. Generally, the stir-frying process is relatively long, around 20 minutes. It is appropriate to fix 7-8 kilograms of fresh leaves per batch. I personally think that drum fixing is not necessarily worse than hand stir-frying (except for small batches of special tea made by top masters). I recommend drum fixing for about ten minutes, then finishing with a few minutes of wok stir-frying. This ensures stable quality and allows for larger quantities. When stir-frying, it is important to clean the wok after each batch and to have a dedicated person control the fire to regulate the wok temperature. Stir-frying is a skill that relies on experience; the key is the stir-fryer's feeling, and knowing when to turn quickly or slow-roast is crucial.

(The picture is of a rough processing facility in Nannuo Mountain; the tilt of the wok seems insufficient.)

3. Rolling

Rolling is very critical. How much pressure and how many times you roll directly affect the quality of the tea. It still depends on the tea. Generally speaking, after stir-frying and removing from the wok, I suggest manually tossing the leaves to cool them down quickly before rolling.

4. Sun-drying

Sun-drying is relatively simple but also very critical. After fixing, both rolling and sun-drying require great attention to cleanliness and avoiding off-odors, because once the tea absorbs other smells, it is nearly impossible to remove them. Sun-drying should be done off the ground; it is best to use bamboo mats placed off the ground directly in the sun. Now plastic drying houses are very popular, and they are not impossible, but if the height is insufficient or ventilation is poor, odor becomes a big problem. Even if the height is sufficient and ventilation is good, on non-rainy days it is best to dry the tea outside the plastic house with direct sunlight.

With these four steps, and never letting the tea touch the ground, the tea is finished. Whether it is good or not, you will know when you drink it.

The reason I compare making tea with cooking is to tell you that making tea is not too easy. Unlike cooking, knowing how to cook does not mean you know how to make tea.

Some images are sourced from Baidu. The article is original. Author: Lü Jianfeng. WeChat: 673998. Works at 51 Pu'er Net. Initiator of Houyue Crowdfunding Tea.