"Tea Talk on Paper" Chapter 15: The Light Tea Life of Yunnan Ancient Tree Tea

"This tea is too strong," you often hear people say, for example in the following situations.

"I can't drink it down. Is this tea? Medicine, right?" Similar remarks are the most common;

"Drink less, it's bad for your health," is often said by tea industry practitioners and seasoned tea drinkers who have become sensitive to strong tea over the years.

But there are also many who say: "This is exactly the flavor; this is how tea should be drunk to feel it." Such remarks are not few, mostly from tea addicts and some old tea drinkers who have been drinking tea for years;

Lao Wang is from Yunnan, nearly forty, and has been making tea for a short time. He said that before college, his food was salty and spicy. I've been to his hometown for meals; he specifically told them to make it lighter, but it was still very salty and spicy, which shows how heavy his taste was before. Later, Lao Wang stayed in other provinces, married a Zhejiang wife, settled in Hangzhou, and sold tea to support his family. Now Lao Wang eats very lightly. When he returns to his hometown, he finds it very uncomfortable because the flavors are too strong. He often places a glass of water beside him during meals to rinse the dishes before eating. Lao Wang said that when he first left Yunnan, he found it very hard to get used to the food outside; everything seemed tasteless, with dishes basically without salt or chili. So he would eat with chili sauce and pickled vegetables. When there were no pickled vegetables or chili sauce, he would occasionally have a light meal, which seemed quite tasty, allowing him to taste the original flavor of the ingredients, making the meal more fragrant. Later, he was unwilling to eat such heavy flavors, and gradually his meals became lighter until now. In the past decade or so, Lao Wang has brought Pu'er tea from Yunnan to Hangzhou every year to give as gifts, but he didn't drink it himself; friends would ask for it after hearing about Pu'er tea, and Lao Wang often accompanied them in drinking. In the first few years, he didn't like it at all. But at some point, as Lao Wang put it, he suddenly fell in love with Pu'er tea, especially some ancient tree raw teas. When returning to Yunnan, Lao Wang often went to tea mountains to buy tea, mostly ancient tree tea. At first, friends led Lao Wang to drink tea, but later Lao Wang led friends, becoming the tea expert in the circle. Friends increasingly asked Lao Wang to buy Pu'er tea on their behalf, and in 2014, Lao Wang simply opened a tea shop.

Mr. Sun works in electronic components in Shenzhen. He has had a light taste since childhood, doesn't drink alcohol or smoke, and loves tea. Initially, friends led him to drink aged raw tea. In recent years, he has pursued ancient tree tea, needing to drink several infusions daily to fall asleep. But now he is increasingly picky; many teas make him uncomfortable, feeling weak, some even causing bloating or headaches. Later, Mr. Sun found that drinking ancient tree tea made him feel comfortable, so he exclusively drinks new ancient tree tea and also stores more. Eventually, Mr. Sun noticed that the tea he bought was not as good as in previous years. Unable to find good tea, he went to the tea mountains himself, supervising the making of some ancient tree tea for his own drinking and to give to friends. He basically doesn't try or dare to drink other people's tea.

Mr. and Mrs. Li are both white-collar workers who often drink tea. Later, media reports about pesticide residues exceeding standards scared them, and they hardly dared to drink. Then they learned that ancient tree tea doesn't need fertilization or pesticides, so they gradually started drinking ancient tree tea. They found it tasted better, not so strong but with more aftertaste, and have been drinking ancient tree tea ever since. Under their influence, many people around them have also started drinking ancient tree tea.

There are many people chasing ancient tree tea; these are the main categories.

From a health perspective, 107-year-old academician Bei Shizhang said that his only dietary requirement is lightness. Lightness is regarded as the foundation of healthy eating.

"Cai Gen Tan" also says: If you can taste the flavor of vegetable roots, that is called light but not bland.

Now let's examine the light diet for health in Taoist dietary culture: Throughout history, Taoism has had a special affinity for "lightness." Tracing its roots, it goes back to Laozi, the founder of Taoism in the pre-Qin period. The "Tao Te Ching" says: "The Tao when spoken is bland and without flavor." It also says: "Tranquility and lightness are supreme." Taoism not only regards "being indifferent to fame and fortune" as the highest realm of life but also advocates a light diet. It believes that light flavors are not only the true natural delicacy but also can regulate and nourish the internal organs, strengthen the body, dispel pathogens, prevent and treat diseases, and prolong life. The "Huang Ting Jing" says: "Bland and without flavor is the food of heaven and man." Su Shi in "Yao Song" records: "The Taoist taught me to abandon flavors, abstain from strong-smelling foods, and overcome with purity." The "Bao Sheng Tie" says: "With lightness as the main, one can clear the qi, release desires, calm the spirit, and enhance blessings." In the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Lujing, styled Yizhi, also known as Meidian Taoist, said in "Yi Ling Dan": "One should eat lightly; eating light refreshes the spirit, while excessive flavors harm the five organs." Laozi also said: "The five flavors make the mouth dull." Here, "dull" means damage; excessive and strong flavors easily disturb the mouth and harm the stomach.

Now let's talk about the "thickness" and "concentration" of tea soup.

Regarding thickness, I discussed it in "Tea Talk on Paper" Chapter 14: Ten Indicators of Ancient Tree Ripe Tea. I'll quote it in full here.

Thickness

I like drinking hot rice porridge; the mouthfeel and throat sensation are excellent, full and flavorful. Cold porridge feels less flavorful and watery. This is the most vivid metaphor I can find for the thickness of tea. Some say concentration is thickness, others say strong flavor is thickness. I think both have some truth but are not comprehensive. Thickness is concentration or intensity wrapped in pectin. Tea with pectin and thickness generally has smoothness. Only concentration or intensity is not right; I personally believe such tea is harmful to the body.

According to research in "Food Chemistry" extended to tea, the main factors affecting the thickness of tea soup are amino acids, soluble sugars, and pectin substances. I think that's reliable.

After understanding "thickness," let's talk about "concentration." Concentration is generally related to brewing time and the amount of tea leaves, and it doesn't necessarily correlate with thickness. That is, a concentrated tea soup may not be thick, and a thick tea soup may not be concentrated. A thick tea brewed lightly may lack concentration but still has thickness. We often drink teas that are light but very full. A vivid metaphor: the slow-cooked soup at home has a great taste, full and fresh, with thickness. In contrast, the broth from a street-side hot pot, even with added MSG and chicken essence, is only strong in flavor. Eat enough chicken, and you understand. Drink enough tea, and you'll also understand. The better the tea, the richer and more lingering the flavor.

Finally, let's talk about the taste of ancient tree tea.

Related research shows that the ratio of tea polyphenols to amino acids (abbreviated as phenol-ammonia ratio) in wild tea, ancient tree tea, ecological tea, and terrace tea shows an upward trend, with the bitter and astringent effects of tea polyphenols gradually strengthening. Overall, ancient tree tea has a high freshness, low bitterness and astringency, and is lighter and more refreshing. Wild tea is not recommended for daily drinking due to its lack of domestication.

Reference: "Fujian Tea": The experiment used sun-dried green tea (ancient tree tea, ecological tea) from 10 townships in Menghai County. It studied sensory quality, main chemical components of taste, and polyphenol monomer content. The results showed that the participating sun-dried green teas generally had tight and sturdy strips, with visible pekoe and moist color, a relatively strong taste, mellow and sweet aftertaste, and ancient tree tea tasted better than ecological tea. In chemical components, both ancient tree tea and ecological tea had higher content than ordinary sun-dried green tea or raw Pu'er tea, especially amino acids, tea polyphenols, catechins, and GA, which were more obvious. Substances with a coefficient of variation greater than 15% were EGC, C, EC, and amino acids. Comparing the same substance content and its variation between the two, ecological tea had higher amino acid and EC content than ancient tree tea, while the other eight components were higher in ancient tree tea. Moreover, the coefficient of variation for most chemical substances in ancient tree tea was smaller than in ecological tea, indicating relatively stable component content.

Some people think ancient tree tea is light because its theanine content is high, meaning higher sweetness and freshness, lower bitterness and astringency, and higher smoothness, making it feel light. In contrast, some counterfeit ancient tree teas, such as terrace tea, have high caffeine and tea polyphenol content, high bitterness and astringency, and strong stimulation to taste buds, making them feel strong.

Ancient tree tea has a light taste but with thickness and charm, soft yet powerful. Isn't it the same for many things?

This article is original. Reproduction must not delete the content of this statement. The article and images are original. Author: Lü Jianfeng, WeChat: 673998, working at 51 Pu'er Net, initiator of Houyue Crowdfunding Tea.

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