During the period of 1990, Yuexi County successively developed Yuexi Cui Ya and Yuexi Cui Jian, forming a series of famous teas in Cuilan Yuexi.
Cuilan Yuexi is a special kind of roasted green tea.
Green tea, also called unfermented tea. Tea is made from suitable tea shoots through typical technological processes, such as enzyme fixation, rolling and drying. The color of dry tea and brewed tea soup and leaf bottom is mainly green. More natural substances in fresh leaves can be retained. The process of making tea includes varieties, planting, plant protection, harvesting and other basic steps. Among them, the cultivation and management techniques before making tea include: soil, topography, seed selection, propagation, fertilization, picking and so on. There are eight manual production processes, such as picking fresh leaves, spreading, first pot, second pot, initial pot, hairy fire, re-spreading and full fire. Techniques include grasping, shaking, scattering, fishing, rolling, throwing, gathering, taking and grinding.
Fresh leaf standard: the picking standard is divided into three levels: the first level is single bud; The second stage is bud and leaf; The third stage is the initial development of one bud and two leaves.
Jade production techniques: including picking, spreading, fixing, shaping, spreading, hairy fire, spreading, full fire and so on.
Picking: Cuilan Yuexi has strict requirements for fresh leaves. Generally, before and after mining in Tomb-Sweeping Day, it requires "three essentials, three no belts and five no harvests", that is, the fresh leaves of the same level "require the same size, the same age, and the same strength; No old leaves, old terrier, simple leaves; Don't pick fish leaves, rain leaves, diseased leaves, purple bud leaves and sandwiched leaves. " Put the fresh leaves in the bamboo basket you carry with you and cover them with a thin cloth to prevent exposure to the sun.
Spreading and cooling: the collected fresh leaves should be spread and cooled in time, and the spreading and cooling place should be cool, dry and well ventilated; The requirement for bedding is clean bamboo plaque. Spread it evenly and thinly, and pick it as you spread it.
Head pot: the function of head pot is to emit green gas and form tea fragrance, that is, to kill green in the process of making emerald green. Deactivating is the first key process of making fresh tea leaves, which plays a decisive role in the quality of emerald green. By deactivating enzymes, the activation of enzymes in fresh leaves is destroyed, the oxidation of polyphenols is prevented, and the bud leaves are prevented from turning red, thus forming the quality characteristics of green tea "green leaf green soup". With the loss of water in leaves, the herbal substances in fresh leaves evaporate and disappear, and the tea fragrance is enhanced. The pot temperature of the first pot is 120℃- 130℃, and it is advisable that the leaves rustle after entering the pot. The amount of fresh leaves put into each pot varies according to the grade of tea. Cooking needs to be clean. Cooking is divided into three stages, and the techniques are "grasping, shaking, scattering", "shaking, taking and throwing" and "gathering, taking and throwing". When the leaves soften, the green air disappears, the tea fragrance appears, and it is swept into the second pot with a small brown broom.
Erguo: The function of Erguo is to arrange strips and increase fragrance. This is a process of shaping the shape of tea. The pot temperature is 80℃- 100℃, and it is advisable to touch the bottom of the pot to burn your hands. Its technique is "picking, taking, spreading, grinding and rolling" until the tea strips are formed, and the pot surface is swept out with a brown broom. Different grades of turquoise have subtle differences in plastic techniques, and the biggest feature of manual plastic surgery is that dry tea strips stretch naturally. After two steps of fixing and shaping, the tea has reached 70% dry.
Initial spreading: The initial spreading is to spread two pots of leaves evenly on mulberry paper to dispel the damp heat and make the water in the leaves evenly distributed. Let the moisture and grass fragrance of tea be further distributed. After completely cooling, dry with rough fire.
Cat fire: The tools used for cat fire are roasting cages and chestnuts with charcoal fire. This is the first process of tea drying, which mainly lies in evaporating water, sorting out appearance and giving full play to tea fragrance. The temperature at the top of the drying cage is 80℃-90℃. By spreading paper, spreading tea leaves and lifting paper, the tea leaves are rolled down the drying cage. On a hairy fire, turn it gently every once in a while. When it is 70% dry, dry it and let it cool.
Re-spreading: put a bamboo-woven baking cover (commonly known as baking cage) on the red charcoal fire, and cover the baking cover with a layer of leather paper to prevent the fine powder of tea from leaking from the gap of the baking cover, which will produce smoke and affect the taste of tea. The molded and cooled tea leaves are sandwiched in paper, the edges of the paper are pinched with both hands, and the tea leaves are gently sieved rhythmically, so that the tea leaves evenly fall on the leather paper in the baking hood for baking.
Foot fire: Foot fire is slow-drying at low temperature. The temperature at the top of the drying cage is 50℃-70℃. Wool baking can make tea 90% dry. Then put it in the tea stall until it is completely cool, and then stir-fry until 100% is dry. In the use of fire, we are also very particular about it. From fixing and shaping to igniting the foot fire, we all use smokeless and tasteless charcoal fire with even firepower. When baking, turn it regularly until it is dry enough, and then put it into the curing barn for installation.
Tools for making: The general tools include a set of tools, such as a shelf (several), a cooker (two), a poker (1), a small broom (two), a receiving tray (two), a drying cage (four) and a dustpan (bamboo plaque) (eight).
Other materials: dry wood and chestnut charcoal.
Producer: usually 4-5 people in a group.
Working hours: Generally, a group 1 hour makes about 0.8 kg of hairy fire tea and 0.6 kg of foot fire.
Names and allusions
Named "Cuilan Yuexi", the main reason is that this kind of tea is green in color and looks like an orchid, produced in Yuexi.
Other reasons include:
1. Cuilan tea is developed on the basis of the traditional technology of the famous historical tea "Little Orchid" produced in He Yao and Toutuo River in the northeast of Yuexi County. It is named because of its outstanding quality characteristics of "green and fresh".
2. Yuexi County belongs to the hinterland of Dabie Mountain, with a good ecological environment and bluegrass flowers everywhere, which attracts people's attention. In the ninth year of Emperor Chongzong in Ming Dynasty (1636), after Zhang Lingbing captured Yuexi, he named it "Lanjun". Because there are many orchids, the tea here naturally soaks with the fragrance of orchids. 1984, the new tea created by Yuexi County stood out in the famous tea appraisal in Anqing area, ranking first. In 1985, it was suggested that this kind of "green and fragrant" tea be called "Cuilan Yuexi", which was widely recognized.
3. According to legend, there was a girl named Orchid in He Yao Township, Yuexi, who was beautiful, elegant and ingenious, and the quality of fried tea was excellent. One year, a Huizhou merchant came to Xiaotian with a huge sum of money and bought fried tea with orchids at a high price. Because her family was poor and sensible, the orchid girl worked hard day and night to pick cooking dishes in order to make more money for her family. As a result, she broke down from overwork and died young. In memory of the orchid girl, the local people called her fried tea "orchid tea". Which is the predecessor of today's Cuilan Yuexi.