In the long history of China’s five thousand years, tea culture is a significant part, from the sayings ‘qin chess calligraphy painting poem wine tea’ to ‘firewood rice oil salt soy sauce vinegar tea’, it is evident that tea holds a vital position in the lives of Chinese people. Tea embodies the essence of Chinese taste. Among all types of tea, green tea has the longest history, and it can be said that the history of tea is the history of green tea.
Green tea is also the most popular in the country. Unlike other varieties of tea, green tea is valued for its freshness and newness. In ancient times, spring tea was divided into three categories: ‘pre-society tea’, ‘pre-fire tea’, and ‘pre-rain tea’. ‘Pre-society’ refers to before the Spring Society, which usually falls between 41 to 50 days after the ‘Start of Spring’, around the time of the Vernal Equinox (around March 20th); ‘pre-fire’ refers to before the Qingming Festival (ancient customs prohibited the use of fire three days before Qingming, hence the day before Qingming is also known as ‘Cold Food Festival’); ‘pre-rain’ refers to before the Grain Rain solar term. Bai Juyi, a famous poet, wrote, ‘A letter sealed with red paper, ten green shoots before the fire in spring’, in which ‘pre-fire spring’ refers to the spring tea before Qingming from his friend in Sichuan. The basic steps of making green tea include fixing, shaping (including rolling), and drying. ‘Fixing’ is the key process. Fixing methods can be divided into ‘pan-firing fixing’ and ‘steaming fixing’, and drying methods include ‘pan-drying’, ‘baking drying’, and ‘sun-drying’. The map of Chinese green tea is vast. Today, let’s review the most famous green teas.1. West Lake Longjing Core production area: Longjing Village, Hangzhou, Zhejiang ‘Comparing West Lake to Xi Zi, the best tea is like a beautiful woman’, West Lake Longjing, as the undisputed top among the top ten famous teas in China, has a profound influence. West Lake Longjing is best in quality before Qingming and Grain Rain. When brewing West Lake Longjing, there is no need to rinse the tea. You can use the bottom infusion method, which means putting the tea into the cup first, then pouring boiling water to submerge the tea leaves, and after the tea leaves are soaked and opened, pour water into the cup to about seventy percent full.
2. Dongting Biluochun Core production area: Dongting Mountain, Suzhou, Jiangsu Dongting Biluochun, known for its high and lasting aroma, was historically called ‘frighteningly fragrant’ and is the only historical famous tea in the green tea circle that can be compared to West Lake Longjing. It is said that Emperor Kangxi tasted it during his southern tour and found the name vulgar. Based on its green color and spiral shape, he named it ‘Biluochun’. The characteristic of Dongting Biluochun is early picking, the more white hairs, the better the quality. It emphasizes ‘one tenderness and three freshness’, tender buds, bright color, fresh aroma, and mellow taste. The top-grade Biluochun requires buds to be 1.6-2.0 centimeters long, and each pound of dried tea requires 50,000 to 70,000 tea buds, with large buds and small leaves, and the buds and leaves have not yet unfolded.When brewing Biluochun, it is best to use the top infusion method. This involves warming the tea cup with boiling water, then pouring it out, filling the cup with 80°C water to about seventy percent full, and finally adding the tea leaves. This allows you to observe the tea leaves dispersing in the water, resembling a dance.
Huangshan Maofeng, originating from the Huangshan, She County, and Xiuning areas of Anhui Province, is widely regarded as being of the highest quality from places like Fuxiang Township. Created by Xie Yuda Tea Firm during the Qing Guangxu period, Huangshan Maofeng is a spring tea, with the saying ‘tea before summer, grass after summer.’ Characterized by its tender and slightly curled appearance, resembling a ‘sparrow’s tongue,’ with buds like ‘sharp peaks,’ it has a greenish-yellow color, silvery tips, and golden fish leaves (commonly known as ‘gold leaves’). Its liquor is clear with a slight yellow tinge, with a sweet and mellow taste, and a lingering aroma. Due to its loose and open leaf structure, Huangshan Maofeng is typically brewed using the middle infusion method, which involves warming the cup with hot water, then adding one-third of the water, and finally adding the tea leaves. Taiping Houkui, the most distinctive-looking and longest-shaped green tea, ranges from about 8CM to 12CM or longer in length. The best quality comes from Houkeng in Xinming Township, Huangshan District, Anhui Province, from which the tea gets its name. Taiping Houkui leaves are flat and straight, with two leaves embracing the bud, naturally stretched, covered with white downy hairs, and with green veins tinged with red, known as ‘red thread. ‘ It is praised as ‘Houkui with sharp ends, not scattered, not curled, and not rolled.’ The main tea variety used for making Taiping Houkui is the persimmon large-leaf variety, with large leaves and strong buds. If made from other tea varieties, it would be called ‘Taiping Kuijian’ instead of ‘Houkui.’ Harvesting starts around Guyu and ends at Lixia, following the one-bud-three-leaves standard. Taiping Houkui is particularly enduring and has a unique orchid fragrance. After brewing, the buds stand upright, and it is best to use a taller glass cup for brewing. After warming the cup, add the tea leaves, then pour in one-third of 95°C water, let it steep for half a minute, and then fill the cup to seventy percent full. Lu’an Guapian is unique in that it is made purely from leaf pieces, without buds or stems, and is named after its resemblance to melon seeds, mainly produced in the Dabie Mountains area of Lu’an City. The picking period for Lu’an Guapian is usually from Guyu to Xiaoman, and its processing is quite special, which can be briefly divided into several steps: cooling, raw pan, ripe pan, coarse fire, small fire, return fatigue, and pulling the old fire. As a ‘no bud, no stem’ leaf tea, Lu’an Guapian is rich and enduring. High-quality Lu’an Guapian has a layer of white frost on its surface, which is due to the organic substances in the tea leaves being released when exposed to high temperatures during the frying process. The more white frost, the higher the quality.6. Core Producing Area of Zhuyeqing Tea: Emei Mountain, Sichuan
Zhuyeqing tea, also known as Qingye Ganlu, owes its fame to Emei Mountain, a renowned mountain under heaven. As early as over a thousand years ago, the green tea from Emei Mountain was already famous throughout the land. The Annotation of Wenxuan in the Tang Dynasty states, “Emei abounds in herbal medicines. The tea there is especially good and different from that in other places.” The most distinctive feature of Zhuyeqing tea is that it only selects the tender buds before the Tomb-Sweeping Festival. In early spring, the temperature is low and the sunlight is weak. The metabolism of tea trees is slow, so the content of tea polyphenols is relatively low while the content of amino acids is relatively high. This combination creates the golden ratio of phenol to ammonia in spring tea. Zhuyeqing tea has an obvious bitter taste, but the aftertaste is distinct. Its color and flavor are also stronger. After drinking it, one will feel particularly refreshed.
7. Core Producing Area of Anji White Tea: Anji, Huzhou, Zhejiang
The main producing areas of Anji white tea are distributed within Anji County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. It is a rising star that has only recently gained popularity. Quite a few novice tea lovers have been misled by its name and bought it as white tea. In terms of appearance, Anji white tea can be mainly divided into two types: “Dragon Shape” and “Phoenix Shape”.
8. Core Producing Area of Xinyang Maojian: Xinyang City, Henan
Xinyang Maojian, also known as Yu Maofeng, has a unique style of “fine, round, smooth, straight, with many white hairs, high aroma, strong taste, and green soup color”. The taste of the tea soup is “high and long-lasting aroma, strong and mellow taste, and a sweet aftertaste with saliva secretion”. The soup color is bright and clear. The main producing areas of Xinyang Maojian are distributed in Shihe District (formerly Xinyang City), Pingqiao District (formerly Xinyang County), and Luoshan County of Xinyang City.
9. Core Producing Area of Enshi Yulu: Enshi, Hubei
Enshi Yulu, also known as “Yulv”, belongs to the steamed green needle-shaped green tea. Steamed green tea is a type of tea first invented in ancient China. The techniques such as “steaming and baking” recorded in The Classic of Tea gradually disappeared after the Ming Dynasty due to their complexity. Only Enshi Yulu and some others still retain this traditional technique. The core producing areas of Enshi Yulu are Bajiao Township in the southern part of Enshi Prefecture and Wufeng Mountain in the eastern suburbs.
Generally, the picking starts before the Qingming Festival and ends before the Guyu Festival. Fresh leaves of one bud with one leaf or one bud with two leaves, featuring dark green leaf color, are required as raw materials. It has the quality characteristics of bright green dry tea, light green tea liquor, turquoise tea leaves at the bottom of the cup, and a fresh and brisk taste, commonly known as “three greens and one freshness”.
Lushan Yunwu Tea Core production area: Lushan Scenic Area, Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province Lushan Yunwu Tea dates back to the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was listed as “tribute tea” in the Song Dynasty and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing dynasties, becoming one of the main sources of income for local mountain residents and monks. The main production areas of Lushan Yunwu Tea are at altitudes above 800 meters, such as Hanpokou, Wulaofeng, Hanyang Peak, Xiaotianchi, and Xianrendong. Due to the relatively high altitude, water vapor transpiration forms clouds and mist. The sea of clouds is vast all year round, and there can be up to 195 foggy days in a year. Therefore, the temperature rises relatively late, and tea trees germinate mostly after the Guyu Festival. They can be picked and processed from late April to early May. Affected by the cool and foggy climate in Lushan and the short direct sunlight time, the tea leaves are thick, with many fine hairs, and are mellow, sweet, and resistant to multiple infusions. The brewing method of Yunwu Tea is also unique. When making tea, first pour half a cup of boiling water, control the temperature between 80 – 90 degrees Celsius, and do not cover the cup. Wait for the tea leaves to slowly unfold, and then add the second round of water. When tasting, the taste is mellow, the fragrance is fresh and brisk, and it is refreshing. There are many green tea production areas in China, and there are countless famous teas everywhere. Besides the above-mentioned ones, Duyun Maojian, Rizhao Green Tea, Jintan Queshe, Junshan Yinzhen, etc. are all famous historical teas. However, due to limited space, they will not be elaborated one by one. Now, let’s take a look at the storage methods of green tea together with the editor. Five Taboos for Green Tea Storage 1. Avoid humidity: Green tea is a porous and hydrophilic substance, so it has strong hygroscopicity and is prone to absorbing moisture and getting damp. When storing green tea, a relative humidity of 60% is more suitable. If it exceeds 70%, mildew spots will occur due to moisture absorption, and then it will acidify and deteriorate. 2. Avoid high temperature: The best storage temperature for green tea is 0 – 5 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is too high, amino acids, sugars, vitamins, and aromatic substances in the tea will be decomposed and damaged, reducing the quality, aroma, and taste. 3. Avoid sunlight: Sunlight will promote the oxidation of tea pigments and esters in green tea, and can decompose chlorophyll into pheophytin. 4. Avoid oxygen: Chlorophyll, aldehydes, esters, vitamin C, etc. in green tea are easy to combine with oxygen in the air. After oxidation, the color of the tea liquor will turn red and become darker, greatly reducing the nutritional value. 5. Avoid odors: Green tea contains high-molecular palmitase and terpenoid compounds. These substances are highly active and unstable, able to absorb various odors widely and the odors cannot be removed.
