Tea, Magic Leaves

Tea is hailed as a symbol of Chinese culture， a unique heritage， and also a special taste. Like Chinese porcelain， clothing， architecture， gardens and delicacies， Chinese tea is inseparable from the social environment， cultural atmosphere， international exchanges， and technological progress prevailing at every specific time. The 5，000-year history of tea also involves many interesting stories related to historical figures and famous tea allusions.

As one of China’s business cards， tea not only influences Chinese people’s living habits and attitudes， but also has a profound impact on the lifestyle of neighboring countries and those stretching along the Belt and Road initiative. The pronunciation of the word “tea” in other parts of the world is based on its dialect pronunciation in the north and south of China.

Tea， Magic Leaves

Cheng Guoping， Wu Fen

January 2022

China Intercontinental Press

128.00 （CNY）

Cheng Guoping

Graduated from Zhejiang University， general manager of Wulongjiang Tea Factory. He used to be a lecture professor of tea in Zhejiang University and published a large number of articles on tea.

Wu Fen

Graduated from the Journalism Department of Fudan University， former director of the Economic Department of Beijing Evening News， and the chairman and editor-in-chief of Music Weekly. She has traveled through famous tea producing areas and has hosted the tea column of Beijing Evening News.

As an old saying goes， “Water in the first infusion， tea soup in the second infusion， essence from the third and fourth infusions， fragrance in the fifth and sixth infusions， lingering fragrance in the seventh infusion， residual taste in the eighth infusion， and aftertaste in the ninth and tenth infusions.” Times of infusion vary from tea to tea. However， which infusion is the best？

It is better to drink immediately after the infusion as high temperature or long soaking time may destroy vitamins， tea polyphenols and other nutrients， while the fragrance will disappear. Generally， water heated to about 80℃ is preferred. Lower water temperature is preferred for more tender leaves， so that the liquid is green and tasty. The essence of Green Tea lies in the second and third infusions， while the taste is a little diluted after the fourth or fifth infusions.

As Black Tea is a fermented type， it would be better to make tea with boiling water at 100℃. Generally， a brewing time of 3–5 minutes is preferred. Shorter brewing time can secure a light color and mild taste; if it is brewed longer， the liquid tastes astringent， causing a loss of fragrance. For ordinary varieties of Black Tea， the best taste lies in the first two infusions， while the quality Gongfu Black Tea will taste well after three or four infusions.

Oolong Tea， such as Tieguanyin and Dahongpao Tea， is partially fermented tea. As the best Oolong Tea， Tieguanyin is well-known for a “fragrance that lingers after the seventh infusion.” It is compacted and strip-shaped， so Tieguanyin is made in large amounts and brewed by boiling water at 100℃ each time. Sometimes， in order to maintain water temperature， people will also pour boiling water over the tea set before brewing and over the teapot surface thereafter. Generally， tea leaves are spread out after three infusions， with the fragrance diffused; however， the fragrance will be at its mellowest in the fourth infusion and even lingers on after a sixth or even seventh infusion. However， to sum up， the fourth infusion will bring forth the essence of Tieguanyin.

The Dark Tea represented by Pu’er Tea is a post-fermented tea， which can still be naturally aged during storage over time. Within a certain period， longer storage secures mellower fragrance. The practice of brewing is quite exquisite. Generally， the first step is tea washing. After pouring boiling water over tea leaves in a cup， people drain the water， add boiling water again， and cover the cup with a lid. This process not only helps filter out any impurities in the tea but also makes the liquid taste mellower， with the fragrance gradually diffused over various infusions. Raw tea cake can be brewed for 8–10 times， but the tea amount and brewing time are decisive to the times of infusion of the cooked tea cake. As Pu’er is mostly the compressed tea variety， the tea leaves cannot be spread completely until the second infusion， so that the essence lies in the third infusion. Some believe that three or five infusions may secure the best taste of Pu’er Tea.

Normally， the aroma and taste of the brewed tea are highly relevant to the amount of dry tea， water temperature and brewing time. It is important to timely separate the tea and water in order to control the concentration of the liquid. Besides， drinking tea while brewing can maximize the aroma and taste.

A total of 343 natural aroma components of tea have been analyzed and confirmed. Among them， Green Tea features a faint scent and flower fragrance， while Black Tea is of fruity and sweet fragrance. Due to different “boiling points，” these aromas can only be volatilized at a certain temperature. Hence， temperature is decisive to aroma.

After tea leaves are brewed， you may pass the steam to the nostrils and smell its aroma. It is advised that one should move the teacup back and forth for three or four times in constant motion， rather than keeping it underneath the nose for a long time， in order to promote airflow. In doing so， one can feel the fragrance of the tea that is refreshing and pleasant.

Tea components create different tastes， such as sweet thearubigin， umami theanine， refreshing theaflavins， and bitter arginine. A mixture of tea components is decisive to tea quality. For example， Black Tea is “strong， mellow and fresh，” while Green Tea tastes “cool and mellow.”

The key step of tea-tasting is to taste the liquid with one’s tongue two or three times， rather than swallowing it immediately， allowing the liquid to come into full contact with the different parts of the tongue. This is the way the tea is tasted. That’s the reason for sipping the tea. A gulp will result in the inadequacy of mouth space to move one’s tongue to taste the liquid. If the aroma is inhaled from the mouth and exhaled from the pharynx through the nostrils， a person will become unwilling to rinse out his mouth for three days due to the lingering aroma.

The “Four Rules” refer to four states; harmony， purity， respect， and silence. The “Seven Principles” means seven things that need to be undertaken in tea-tasting： preparing elegant tea sets; boiling water appropriately; setting up a good environment; taking a "warm attitude to guests; thinking in advance; creating an artistic beauty for appreciation of tea ware artwork and paying the utmost attention to each guest.

The Oriental Beauty Tea is a special brand on the island of Taiwan Province， also called Pengfeng Tea. With its unique honey fragrance it stands out in the world of Oolong tea， and this special mellow fruit honey comes from the “harm” of nature.

The harvest time of Oriental Beauty Tea is around June and July. In Miaoli County and Shiping Township of Taiwan Province， where Oriental Beauty Tea is produced， are many mosquitoes in the hot summer. There is a small green leafhopper that loves to feed on tea cyanine. After being bitten by the small green leafhopper， this insect’s saliva reacts with the organic components in the tea leaves and produces a kind of special aroma， so the degree of the “injured” tea is proportional to the Oriental beauty tea aroma. In order to let the little green leafhoppers grow healthily and bite freely， Oriental Beauty Tea is never sprayed with pesticides during the growth process. In June and July every year， the local tea-picking girls carefully pick the one-bud and two-leaf tea leaves bitten by small green leaf cicadas. After stir-frying， the freshly–picked tes leaves are wrapped in cloth and placed in a bamboo basket or an iron bucket for the second fermentation. Then， the tea is rolled， disintegrated， dried and finally made into tea.

Oriental Beauty Tea was originally called Pengfeng tea， which in Taiwan slang means bragging. It is said that in the early years， a tea farmer’s tea garden was seriously damaged by small green leafhoppers. He was unwilling to throw away all the tea， so he made tea and sold it in the city. Unexpectedly， it was very popular because of its unique aroma. When he came back， he proudly told his neighbors about it， but they all thought he was bragging， hence the name of Pengfeng tea.

The name Oriental Beauty Tea is said to be given by Queen Elizabeth II of England. More than a hundred years ago， the British tea merchants presented the tea to the Queen of England. The brewed tea in the cup was like a gorgeous beauty dancing. After drinking it， the Queen admired its unique fragrance and the white， red， yellow， green， and brown tea leaves， and then she named it “Oriental Beauty Tea.” It is also said that around 1960， Pengfeng tea won the silver medal at the World Food Expo held in the UK and was presented to Queen Elizabeth II for tasting. After drinking， the Queen was full of praise， so it was named.

Oriental Beauty Tea is very popular in Europe and the United States. Some people add one or two drops of brandy into the tea soup of Oriental Beauty Tea and think that the flavor is better. They call the fancy drinking method of this kind of tea Champagne Oolong.