泰山之顛“女兒茶”

若有閑來(lái)到泰山，徒步自中路登山，沿途你會(huì)看到路旁一間間掛著“女兒茶”招牌的小茶館。帶著一身的興奮與疲憊，慢慢走入，好客的店主很快為你沏上一壺好茶，茶湯淡黃，味道甜甜，散發(fā)著一股藥味的清香。

“茶，薄產(chǎn)巖谷間，山僧間有之，而城市皆無(wú)，山人采青桐芽，號(hào)女兒茶?！?中國(guó)北方地寒，本非產(chǎn)茶勝地，但泰山卻因其特殊的地理位置而盛產(chǎn)女兒茶，且一枝獨(dú)秀，歷數(shù)百年而不衰。

“女兒茶”，是泰山所特有的一種青桐樹(shù)的嫩芽，茶葉肥厚堅(jiān)潔、茶色清澈剔透、碧綠嬌嫩，飲之回味醇美、沁人心脾、留香悠長(zhǎng)，常飲有清心提神、軟化血管的功效，有濃厚的板栗清香，素有\(zhòng)"茶中板栗\"之美稱(chēng)，極珍貴稀少，要經(jīng)過(guò)特殊的工藝和烹煮才能有獨(dú)特的味道。

泰山女兒茶歷史悠久，明代李曰華《紫桃軒雜綴》中已有記載?！都t樓夢(mèng)》第六十三回寶玉酒后即飲用此品，為歷代文人墨客、達(dá)官貴人所喜愛(ài)，特別是到明清時(shí)代，已經(jīng)成為帝王封禪朝拜泰山時(shí)的御用佳品，是上流社會(huì)難得的高檔飲品。

但凡帶有“女兒”二字的古今故事多是純凈的、動(dòng)人的、美麗的。女兒茶里無(wú)疑蘊(yùn)涵著一種特有的美。她亦應(yīng)是泰山文化底蘊(yùn)中的一屢清香。

雖然，泰山女兒茶最早在明代就有記載，但其成名并成為大清皇帝朝拜泰山的御用佳品是從康熙皇帝開(kāi)始的。傳說(shuō)清代康熙皇帝當(dāng)年到泰山封禪，上山至此，欲飲茶休息，但因泰安并無(wú)茶樹(shù)，于是官吏們選來(lái)美麗的少女，到泰山深處采來(lái)鮮嫩的青桐芽口含成茗，以泰山泉水浸泡，且用體溫暖水，獻(xiàn)給皇帝品嘗，為其泡茶消渴，茶香四溢，沁人心脾?？滴跎钍芨袆?dòng)，便為之起了這動(dòng)人的名字，名曰“女兒茶”。

從1966年起，泰安市開(kāi)始引種茶樹(shù)。在泰山東麓，以“泰山女兒茶高科技示范園”為中心的“泰山女兒茶生態(tài)農(nóng)業(yè)旅游觀光區(qū)”已初具規(guī)模；茶園面積以每年30多公頃的規(guī)模迅速擴(kuò)展。到2006年，已形成泰山周邊可采茶園總面積近300多公頃，年產(chǎn)干茶7萬(wàn)多公斤的生產(chǎn)規(guī)模?！笆痉秷@”、“泰山茶苑”有機(jī)地結(jié)合在一起，使已初集種植、觀賞、采摘加工、餐飲、休閑、娛樂(lè)于一體的觀光型茶苑，現(xiàn)已成為泰山旅游新的亮點(diǎn)。現(xiàn)在泰山腳下的女兒茶園成為目前中國(guó)最北方的茶葉種植基地。

Taishan Nu'er Tea

Taishan Nu’er (in ancient China Nu’er means young girls) Tea is made of the new buds of a kind of phoenix tree growing especially on Mount Tai. The tea leaves are full and clean， and the color of the tea is clear and green. After drinking this tea， you will feel it is fantastic， refreshing with a long lingering aftertaste. The effects of drinking Nu’Er Tea are heart-relief and softening of the arteries. Nu’Er Tea has a delicate fragrance of chestnut， so it is also called “Chestnut Tea”. After the special techniques and cooking process， you can taste the unique flavour of this tea.

Historical records of Taishan Nu’Er Tea can be tracked back to the Ming Dynasty， but it became famous in the reign of Kangxi Emperor. It is said that one year， Emperor Kangxi offered sacrifices to heaven on Mount Tai. He climbed the mountain for a period of time and then decided to have a rest and have a cup of tea. However， there was no tea plant in Mount Tai. So the officials selected some young girls and let them pick the fresh buds of the phoenix trees. The girls kept the buds in their mouths and then the buds became tea leaves. They used the spring water to make tea and used their body temperature to warm the tea water. Emperor Kangxi was refreshed after he drank this tea. He was deeply moved and gave this tea a beautiful name — “Nu’er Tea”.