Speaking of camphor, it has always been favored in the world of Pu’er tea, reminiscent of old furniture that has been waxed. It is a player in the mystery of time, a manifestation of the good quality of an old tea, and also a symbol of high price.
As a highly recognizable scent, any child who has ever sniffed the camphor tree in their shoes will surely “never forget” its scent, but in the world of rock tea, camphor wood fragrance rarely echoes. Even if there are occasional exceptions, they are often considered as off flavors or mixed flavors in the rock tea evaluation system and discouraged.
Is Zhangmuxiang a patent of Pu’er tea, or is it a hidden and unseen existence in rock tea, or is it another level of expression? Today, in our limited knowledge, we will talk about rock tea and Zhangmuxiang.
01 Will camphor wood fragrance appear in rock tea?
There are several common theories about the formation of camphor wood aroma in tea.
The first one is brought about by the ecological environment of camphor trees planted around the tea garden. We have heard of the saying that fragrant camphor wood is grown around our own tea garden, and the scent of camphor wood can be found in different varieties. What I personally experienced was the light fire purebred Dahongpao that Liu * * shared last month for seven consecutive years. Among them, the 16th year one became the most outstanding performer among the seven, with its “fresh camphor tree essential oil flavor mixed with the coolness of mint”.
We have participated in mountain patrols for this raw material. Above the tea garden, there is a large camphor tree with a clear indication of over a hundred years of age and a chest circumference of nearly two meters. People standing 20 meters away can smell the oily and stimulating fragrance of camphor wood.
The vegetation in tea gardens does have a certain influence on the growth, taste, and aroma formation of tea trees. We have heard a statement before that sounds mystical but actually tests the physical reserves. From the perspective of lighting, different plants, vegetation density, and even the orientation of vegetation planting in tea gardens can all have an impact on tea trees.
Due to the different light absorption rates of different plants and the different angles of light refraction on the vegetation surface, tea trees receive different light exposure areas, strengths, and weaknesses. Tea grown in a damp environment dominated by diffuse light in short daylight hours often presents a fresh, sweet, and refreshing softness, while tea grown on sunny hills brings a more intense and pungent stimulation.
From the perspective of mountain scenery, it is not necessarily the presence of certain plants in the tea leaves around the tea garden that gives off a distinct aroma. Some plants may not have a distinct taste, some may emit fragrance but lack infectivity, or they may blend with other vegetation to create a new atmosphere. Camphor trees themselves can produce a large amount of volatile oil and can also form a large amount of litter in the short term, which has always been a “competitive” presence in the plant atmosphere.
However, the mountain atmosphere is more of a comprehensive feeling, a sensory experience outlined by vegetation, sunlight, soil, and other factors. The camphor fragrance in tea may come from the mountain environment, but it is not unique. It still belongs to the realm of small data and requires further scientific verification.
The second theory about camphor fragrance is that during the later stage of tea aging, the internal substances of the tea undergo a series of oxidation, hydrolysis, and decomposition changes under the joint action of microorganisms, enzymes, and thermochemical reactions, which increase the content of linalool in the tea until it becomes the main component, thus revealing the camphor wood aroma.
In fact, the aging mechanism of this camphor fragrance originates from Pu erh tea, but we can see an important chemical component of camphor fragrance, ‘linalool’.
The presence of linalool can be found in the aroma components of rock tea. In the article “Biochemical Characteristics of Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum cassia”, GC analysis was conducted on the aroma components of cinnamon and narcissus, and it was found that the rock tea made from the two varieties contains rich amounts of linalool, linalool, and their oxides. At the same time, both varieties of oolong tea have prominent high boiling point aroma components.
The overall trend of aroma components in rock tea production is a decrease in low boiling point aroma components and an increase in high boiling point aroma component content, especially in the greening process where oolong tea aroma characteristics such as linalool, nerolidol, and plant alcohol will significantly increase.
In addition, the terpenoid components in tea aroma include the cool mint fragrance brought by camphor, and the cinnamon fragrance in the characteristics of cinnamon varieties, among which cinnamon is a plant of the Camphor family.
In the collection of iron Arhat shared for 20 years, Ze Wu’s glaring King Kong has become a kind of high recognition and memory tea with strong camphor wood fragrance and mint flavor in the middle of 20 years.
It can be seen that the experience of camphor fragrance can appear in rock teas of different years, varieties, and fire techniques.
02 Why are there still few experiences of ‘camphor fragrance’ in rock tea
Even though the appearance of camphor in rock tea may not seem “picky”, and even though rock tea is rich in the substance basis of linalool formed by camphor, we still have little experience of camphor in rock tea in our daily tea making.
If it is true that tea gardens with camphor trees bring the scent of camphor trees to the tea, there are indeed few camphor trees in the tea gardens in the Zhengyan production area, and camphor trees with large figures like those around Liu * *’s tea garden are even rarer.
The large camphor tree above the tea garden
Looking at the aroma presentation of linalool again, it is not the stimulating aroma we commonly understand as camphor or eucalyptus oil. On the contrary, “linalool is negatively correlated with various other chemical components in camphor tree leaf oil, especially with camphor, with the highest negative correlation coefficient of -0.481, that is, the higher the content of linalool in leaf oil, the lower the content of camphor
The aroma expression of Cinnamomum camphora is often clear and strong floral and fruity, like freshly bloomed lilies, roses, and lilacs, like the fragrance of crushed magnolia leaves in the air, as well as the coolness of mint, the richness of citrus and sweet orange, swirling in a fresh and sweet atmosphere, giving people a very soft, rich, fresh and sweet impression.
Cinnamomum camphora has different aroma expressions in different plants. In rock tea, it may be the intoxicating floral and fruity fragrance that combines with other substances under the stimulation of fire, while in camphor trees, it may be the lily of the valley and woody fragrance.
The scent of camphor wood is already a rich existence. In our usual understanding and expression of “camphor fragrance”, it is often the most recognizable and eye-catching camphor flavor with a cool mint feeling. In addition, our perception of the aroma of a certain variety also has different sensory differences, olfactory data, and other emphases.
So, even if camphor trees and rock tea share common aroma substances, they will present different aroma experiences under subjective and objective factors. Perhaps the lily of the valley and woody aroma we experience in brewing tea are derived from the shaping of camphor trees, but we do not describe this aroma as camphor fragrance because it does not conform to our conventional imagination of camphor fragrance.
Finally, from the perspective of aging, there is a tendency to “worship aging” in the market for all types of tea, especially in the world of Pu erh and white tea. The sense of vintage brings not only drinking value but also financial attributes. However, the value created by finance must be fixed in the drinking value with a sense of time.
For Pu’er tea, the oiliness and balance of aged aroma, camphor aroma, and medicinal aroma, as well as the length of time it lingers in the mouth, are all iconic features that reflect the value of the year.
For rock tea, the old tea has only been gradually warming up in recent years. At the beginning of this year, the interpretation of the shelf life of Mount Wuyi Rock Tea, a product of geographical indications (GB/T18745-2006) issued by Wuyishan Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, was that after the identity permit of rock tea “can be preserved for a long time” was made, the old rock tea began to be listed in succession. Before the small group standard of “Old Wuyi Rock Tea” appeared last year, the definition of the age of old tea and the sensory evaluation standard was relatively vague.
Furthermore, in terms of aesthetic value, the unique charm of rock tea lies in its floral aroma. Based on the general framework of fire power, light fire tea that has been roasted for 1-1.5 months, medium fire tea that has been roasted for about 3 months, and foot fire tea that has been roasted for about six months to a year and a half can often achieve its optimal performance state.
Unless you can’t bear to part with it, unless it has a more perfect future, unless you just want to take a sip of ‘old rock tea’… why not release and appreciate its fundamental value in its most blooming state?
Zhangxiang “is one of the many aroma types of rock tea, and its appearance is more like a probability event, without more discernible patterns or case studies to support it. A single aroma type is not a sign of high-end rock tea, but being able to bring us a highly recognizable aroma type like camphor in a premium tea also brings us a sense of novelty.