Shucheng orchid is a historical tea, created in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties; it is a kind of green tea. Then there are two theories about the name: one is that the buds and leaves are connected to the branches, resembling an orchid flower; the other is that the harvesting is the blooming of orchids in the upright mountains, and the tea leaves adsorb the orchid fragrance, hence the name.
Shucheng orchid quality characteristics
Shucheng orchid, the shape of the buds and leaves are connected like orchids, the strips are curled hook-shaped, the color is emerald green and uniform, and the milli-sharp edge is revealed; after brewing, such as orchids open, the branches stand upright in the cup, there is a unique orchid fragrance, commonly known as "a fragrance on the hot air"; the tea soup is fresh and long-lasting, the taste is mellow, the soup color is tender and green, and the bottom of the leaf is evenly formed into flowers, showing a tender yellow-green color.
Shucheng orchid production method
The initial production technology of orchid tea is divided into three processes: greening, initial baking and foot baking.
(1) Picking: From the valley rain before and after the opening of the garden, one bud two, three-leaf small orchid tea, one bud three, four-leaf large orchid tea. After the fresh leaves are dried with surface water, they are copied in time and strive to be freshly harvested.
(2) Process: divided into three processes: greening, initial baking, and foot width.
(3) Killing green: killing green with a diagonal pot, two or three mouths in a group, masonry into a stove. The bamboo wire broom of the stir-fried tea is divided into three kinds: large, medium and small, the large broom bamboo wire is coarse and hard, the small broom bamboo wire is thin and soft, the bamboo wire and the handle are each longer than a foot, the diameter is three or five inches thick, and it is selected according to the different degrees of fresh leaves.
The temperature of the green killing, the bottom of the first pot is slightly red, and the temperature of the rest of the pot decreases in turn. The amount of leaves thrown is 100 to 150 grams, and it must not exceed 250 grams. After the fresh leaves are cooked, they are stir-fried with bamboo brooms, shaking the water vapor, and the action is slow and then fast. When the leaves are soft, use "tight handle" instead, and twist the leaves between the bamboo wires to play a kneading role. "Tight handle" and "loose handle" are combined, and the leaves are swallowed in a bamboo broom, that is, "tight handle" kneading, "loose handle" kneading. The two stir-frying methods are cleverly combined to make the leaves both rolled into strips and kept emerald green and fresh in flavor.
Three pots are used to kill Qingqing, requiring "one pot of frying, two pots of frying, and three pots of fine frying into strips". If the two pots are divided, the time of the first pot of frying is required to be appropriately extended to ensure that the progress is consistent and the operation is coordinated. After moderate greening, bake on the pan.
(4) Initial baking and foot baking: the initial baking temperature is high, the amount of leaves thrown is small, the temperature of foot baking is low, and the amount of leaves is more. While drying, turn over, turn it gently to prevent broken buds and broken branches. After the initial drying reaches 70%, after the cooling is picked, the foot baking is carried out, and after the foot is dried, it is loaded into barrels for storage.
Shucheng orchid tea origin
Shucheng County, Anhui Province, located at the end of Dabie Mountain, produces orchid tea with excellent quality and orchid aroma, and there is also a moving story about its origin.
Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a large manor at the foot of Qiyun Mountain in the Dabie Mountains, and the owner of the garden was called Li Zhanshan. Li Zhanshan wanted to forcibly occupy the maid orchid, but the orchid would rather die than follow, escaped with the help of her sisters, crossed the mountain, and came to the bat cave. There is a tea tree growing in the crevice of the cliff outside the bat cave, which is fertilized by bat dung all year round, and grows exceptionally leafy, and new shoots are drawn out during the Qingming Dynasty.
The little orchid plucked the young bud leaves, brought them to the home of a lonely old lady under the mountain, borrowed a pot and fried it dry, and carried it to the street to sell. A poor man saw that the tea was good, gave orchids five hundred dollars to buy tea, came to the tea house, brewed the tea to drink, felt that it was indeed good tea, tea customers all wanted to buy, the poor man gave the tea to everyone.
When the news came out, some people said that the bat fairy of Qiyun Mountain had appeared, and the tea seller girl was the bat fairy. After Li Zhanshan learned of this news, he sent Jia Ding to investigate around. After a few days, the orchid fried a bag of tea on the street to sell, but was unexpectedly seen by Li Zhanshan's housekeeper, who reported that Li Zhanshan said that the tea seller was an orchid.
The tea trees in the Bat Cave have finally been discovered, and the orchid girl has been pushed off the cliff by the family. As a result, the tea tree was occupied by Li Zhanshan, and the tea leaves were picked and fried and sacrificed to the county officials, the county officials were dedicated to the prefect, the prefect dedicated to the emperor, and after the emperor tasted the tea, Longyan Dayue, and the imperial pen personally wrote the four words "Qishan Yunwu".
Li Zhanshan made meritorious contributions to tea offerings and was appointed as the inspector of qiyun mountain seven-pin tea making. However, in the spring of the following year, the tea tree died, and Li Zhanshan paid tribute without tea, so he had to pretend to be true, and as a result, he committed the crime of deceiving the king and was killed. Later, in the stone crevice of the orchid falling rock, a tea forest grew, the local people picked the tea leaves, the quality after refining and processing is still the same, everyone in honor of the orchid girl, they named this tea orchid tea.
How to soak Shucheng orchids
Preparation: Shucheng orchid, 1 transparent glass or porcelain cup, teaspoon, tea towel, etc.
Tea: Use a teaspoon to place the emerald green Shucheng orchids in a glass or porcelain cup and pour a small amount of mineral water into the tea leaves.
Brewing: Pour boiling water into the cup to about three-quarters of the capacity of the cup, and the water temperature is generally maintained at 75 to 85 ° C.
Divide the tea: The tea soup is poured into the tea cup, and seven points are appropriate.
Tea appreciation: The tea soup is bright green and clear, and the bottom of the leaves is yellow and green.
Tea tasting: Shucheng orchids need to be quiet, slow and fine. One poinsettia soup taste, light and elegant; two pints of tea soup flavor, fresh and mellow.
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