丨This article was originally written by Xiao Chen Chashi
丨First published in the headlines: Xiao Chen Tea Affair
丨Author: Village Gu Chen
《1》
In the busy life, people always pursue a simple and quick lifestyle.
This is reflected not only in the daily diet, but also in the preferences for choosing drinks.
Whether it's coffee or tea, small packages seem to be the first choice.
Because they are portable, easy to store, and can quickly meet people's needs for drinks.
However, when you walk into a tea shop, especially one that specializes in white tea, the clerk may give a different advice.
They may smile and tell you, "If you really like tea, especially if you want to taste the essence of white tea, then buying by the box may be a better choice." ”
At first glance, you may be confused.
After all, small packages seem more convenient, so why would a store clerk recommend buying by the box?
Behind this suggestion is a deep understanding of the characteristics of white tea and thoughtful consideration of customer experience.
《2》
In the world of tea, there is a phenomenon that is quite interesting.
Whenever white tea and new tea are on the market, there is always a group of old tea customers who bring boxes of white tea home.
Outsiders may perceive this as extravagant.
But those who understand tea know that there is wisdom and foresight behind this.
First of all, tea is a consumable.
For old tea drinkers, tea is not only a drink, but also a part of life.
Old tea drinkers would divide a portion of the white tea in tin cans for daily drinking, while the remaining tea leaves would be sealed and stored in large boxes for slow aging.
Such a process can not only meet the daily needs of tea drinking, but also taste the changes of white tea at different stages.
Secondly, it is more economical to buy white tea by the box.
In the market, although the price of tea in small packages seems to be lower, in terms of price per gram, large packages are often more cost-effective.
This strategy of buying more and getting more discounts not only allows consumers to get benefits, but also allows merchants to sell products better.
Furthermore, the price of white tea is not static, it will increase year by year over time.
By hoarding tea by themselves, old tea customers can not only save costs, but also ensure that they can drink the old white tea with a real year and enjoy the quality of old tea at the price of new tea.
Finally, the storage conditions of white tea are very harsh, requiring a sealed, dry, dark, cool, and odorless environment.
This requires not only spacious and clean warehouses, but also advanced equipment to maintain constant temperature and humidity to ensure the quality of white tea.
And these will undoubtedly increase the cost of white tea.
Therefore, old tea customers choose to stock up on their own, not only to control the cost, but also to enjoy the more precious old white tea.
《3》
Finally, it has to be mentioned that no matter which of the six major tea categories, including white tea, pays attention to team aging one by one.
In short, it is to bring together many tea leaves and go through the process of aging together.
We have set foot in the production area of Fuding white tea, visited the hometown of Wuyi rock tea, and also walked into the production area of paulownia black tea.
In these places, we found a common phenomenon: local tea farmers all adopt the "team aging" method of processing their teas.
It's a valuable experience they've accumulated over the years.
I remember once in Wuyi Mountain, I happened to meet a tea farmer with a science and engineering background.
He told us that freshly made rock tea needs to be sealed in a box for a "redox reaction".
According to him, Wuyi rock tea is in a state of fully absorbing fire after roasting.
This stabilizes the quality of the tea and keeps it for longer.
However, during the roasting process, a large amount of fire gas will be left in the tea cells, which is difficult to dissipate in a short time.
If you are in a hurry to go on sale, you need to store the tea leaves in boxes and let them "fade" on their own in the boxes.
When the fire has almost subsided, the tea has no obvious fire taste, and consumers can accept it, it can be officially launched to the market.
This process is known as redox reaction.
The team aging of white tea can be seen as an enhanced version of the redox reaction.
Although the process of white tea is relatively simple and there is no roasting process, it is also necessary to seal the tea leaves in cartons layer by layer during the storage process.
At present, the most secure sealing method is the three-layer packaging method, using aluminum bags, food-grade plastic bags and standard five-layer thick corrugated boxes.
In this way, a large number of white teas are aged together in this carton, and over time, they are able to promote each other and produce more high-quality substances.
When brewing, these substances are fully released into the tea.
《4》
The team is aged, and this concept has been verified by many tea lovers.
Store the same batch of white tea in small and large boxes separately.
When you open the box after half a year, you can clearly feel the significant difference between the two.
The aroma of white tea stored in large boxes is stronger and more layered.
The white tea stored in the small box, although the aroma is still the same, is slightly thin.
After brewing, the soup of the large box of white tea is more plump, full, strong, mellow and full of pulp in taste.
In contrast, although the taste of small boxes of white tea is good, it is always slightly inferior.
This difference is surprising because their storage conditions and raw materials are the same.
The reason why the team's aged white tea is better is that many tea leaves are co-located in the same box, which makes the transformation of substances in the tea cells more active.
As a result, the nutrients produced by the transformation are more abundant.
Whereas, white tea in small boxes or single cakes, although stored properly and without spoilage or outgas, has limited transformation capacity due to its small quantity.
There is a lot of strength in people, and there are enough nutrients in tea.
This is the experience that tea lovers have summed up together over the years.
If you're in doubt, try it out for yourself, and the difference will become more pronounced over time.
《5》
For white tea, every choice is not just for immediate needs.
Although the small package of white tea is easy to carry, it cannot meet the long-term pursuit of quality and value of a person who really understands tea.
The benefits of hoarding tea go far beyond financial savings.
It allows us to find a way to slow down in our fast-paced lives.
At the same time, it is also an investment in the future, and the value of white tea will gradually become apparent over time.
Whether as a collection or for daily drinking, it can bring unexpected rewards.
So, the next time you are faced with the choice of white tea, you may wish to consider stocking up on tea by the box.
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Xiao Chen Tea Village Gu Chen, column writer, the original new media in the tea industry "Xiao Chen Tea Affairs" chief writer, has published a white tea monograph "White Tea Tasting Notes", and has written more than 4,000 original articles from 2016 to 2020.