quality varies with the different seasons, usually spring
and winter are the seasons for producing high-grade Baozhong tea, and autumn is
secondary. Because of the hot weather in summer, it is more suitable for
producing Bai Hau Oolong and black tea.
Tea leaf
production graph.
Discussions
in the computer classroom.
The procedure for producing
Wenshan Baozhong tea:
1.Picking
The best time for picking is noon at 12 until
3 in
the afternoon, different areas of
the leaves are picked for different teas, some pick the top shoot and the first
leaf called one shoot one leaf, some pick an extra leaf called one shoot two
leaves. Currently there are only one-man type and two-man type tea picking
machines, now that machines can be used to pick tea, it makes tea picking quick
and effortless.
When picking tea, the index finger and the thumb are used to
grasp the middle of the young stem between the leaves, and the elasticity of
the two fingers are used to break off the tea leaf.
2.Sun-dried
The tea shoots are sun-dried after being picked, or hot air is
used to allow the moisture in the tea shoots to evaporate, this reduces the water
content and activity level in the cells, and also removes the semi-permeable
membrane. Through the oxidation of enzymes, the various chemicals in the cells trigger
the fermentation process, after stirring they are laid flat on a flat round
basket.
3.Indoor wilting and mixing
The goal
of indoor wilting is to produce the unique aroma and taste of Baozhong tea;
stirring is to promote fermentation.
4.Pan-roasting
When the tea shoots wilt to a certain degree it is pan-roasted in
high temperature to disrupt enzyme activity, prevent the tea from further
fermentation, and keep the special aroma and taste of Baozhong tea. This can also
eliminate the bad shoot smell of the fresh leaves, and the fresh leaves will be
easier to knead because of the evaporated moisture.
5.Kneading
Placing the tea shoots
into the kneading machine after pan-roasting will allow them to roll and form a
curl-shape. Because the tea leaves are rolled and pressed, a portion of the
juices will be squeezed out and will stick to the surface of the leaves, this
can easily dissolve into the tea when it is being brewed; different teas have
different levels of kneading. Also, the tea leaves will curl through outer
force, allowing the appearance to be more beautiful and making them easier to
sell.
6.Drying
After kneading, drying uses the hot air from the drying
machine to dry the tea leaves so that the water content is lower then 4%,
making the tea leaves easier to store and ship. Usually in order to allow the
internal and external leaves to dry consistently, a two-time drying method is
used, allowing the tea leaves to first dry 70% to 80%, removing them and
re-placing them in the dryer, and undergoing a secondary drying process.
The procedure for producing
Wenshan Baozhong tea: