I came gently, just as I left gently.
In the process of rock tea making, there are also two “gentle” steps, namely making it light and baking it light.
Countrymen pay attention to the “golden mean”. “light” sounds a little unbalanced, so it is often discussed, and even labeled as “non-traditional”.
In addition to the traditional Fujian and Chaoshan markets, as well as the Southeast Asian market, light fire tea has gradually become the mainstream of the rock tea market.
Lightness is a degree; It is also a term that can be felt by the five senses. If roasted lightly and made lightly, paired lightly, we can drink more ‘light tea’.
At the tea maker’s place, all you need to do is take a glance, drink a sip, and touch it to determine whether it is lightly ripe or heavily ripe.
How do we, who can’t make tea but only drink tea, distinguish whether it’s lightly roasted or lightly made? Is it Zhuangzhou dreaming of butterflies or Butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzhou?
No.1 How to distinguish light work?
The sound of calluses can be heard in the ears when it is cooked thoroughly, but it is the benchmark qualification line for rock tea. If the tea is made lightly, it means that the balance of the tea leaves is unbalanced.
Green leaves with red borders, three red and seven green “is the golden rule of making green leaves. The red border represents the breaking of the green leaf wall, and also represents its degree of fermentation.
Looking at the Oolong family, most of the fermentation levels of Minnan Tie Guan Yin, Guangdong Dan Cong, and Taiwan Oolong cannot be compared to Wuyi Rock Tea; To make it light means to shake it less and lightly when making it green, which leads to insufficient fermentation.
Taking 30% of the three red and seven green as an example, if it is less than 30%, the fermentation will be lighter, and if it is higher than 50%, the fermentation will be heavier. The weight of fermentation depends on the degree of control, and it is not advisable to be too light or too heavy.
Being light is not enough, is it a process defect? What we often refer to as “making it ripe and thorough” is the opposite of making it light. However, making it thorough still applies to tea that is made light. To make light tea well, it is necessary to make it thorough, so that it is light and thorough, and light and raw.
However, lightly made tea is usually roasted lightly, and the fermentation degree of lightly made tea is lower. It is not easy to eat fire when roasting, and moderate roasting will also eliminate the original fragrant substances, resulting in less retention of aroma.
The red edge is a powerful proof of fermentation. After soaking the tea leaves, they are spread out and the lighter ones have a green base with less red edge; The soup color is light yellow, and the flavor is also light in color. The taste is thin, and the tea juice concentration is not enough. If it is made lightly and roasted lightly, the taste is a bit close to Tie Guan Yin. The aroma is mostly green, light, and floral.
Making it light is in pursuit of creating a better aroma, which can be compared to the classic Tie Guan Yin and Taiwan Jin Xuan, which are representative of making it light but have a very good aroma.
Doing it lightly makes it difficult to do well, but if it’s not done well, it’s easier. If it’s done lightly, it’s easy to make it “green”, and a green and astringent taste will follow. Even if it’s baked over high heat, there will still be a lingering astringency from the green stage.
NO.2 How to distinguish light baking?
Making light tea is formed during the green stage, and the base color has already been locked in by the time the tea is made. Then it’s time to start roasting. It’s said that no fire, no rock tea, just like no wine, no banquet.
The main function of roasting is to remove moisture, achieve storage resistance, facilitate transportation, and ensure year-round sales. At the same time, during the roasting process, prolonged thermalization leads to the transformation of substances, which participate in the formation of aroma and further mature, playing a role in enhancing aroma, extracting alcohol, and removing impurities.
The light roasting is mainly due to the degree of heat consumption, which means that tea that is lightly roasted has a faster annealing rate, but it is also prone to greening.
After the heating process after roasting, many compounds undergo condensation and polymerization reactions to form oxygen-containing complexes, resulting in various natural colors in appearance and color that are transformed into black gloss. “Color transformation” is a key factor in identifying the degree of roasting. This can be seen in the color and leaf base of dried tea.
Comparison between Light Fire Tea and Foot Fire Tea Dry Tea
Light roasted dry tea has a greenish brown color, and from the bottom of the leaves, not only can you see the color change of the tea due to roasting, but also the degree of fermentation of the tea, whether it is light, heavy, or just right.
Comparison between Light Fire Tea and Full Fire Tea Bottom
When feeling the “fire” again and smelling the aroma of dry tea, the proportion of lightly roasted tea with roasted and charcoal fire aroma is less, and there is still a refreshing feeling, so it is highly likely to be lightly roasted tea. Light roasted tea, as long as it is not freshly roasted tea, will not have too much heat lingering in the mouth.
The most important loss during tea roasting is the release of substances that develop tea aroma in water vapor. The higher the roasting temperature, the faster the increase in water vapor, and the greater the loss of substances that scatter with water vapor.
Therefore, light fire preserves more aromatic substances, and roasting lightly is the pursuit of fragrance and the confidence in doing well in making green.
Light fire tea has a rich, delicate, and high aroma, while also retaining the original flavor and aroma of the tea leaves. It locks in the inherent variety characteristics of the raw materials, greatly enhancing the freshness and freshness. According to the degree of green cooking, the soup color is golden, orange yellow, transparent, with high clarity and good details. It also has a refreshing temperament compared to medium heat. This reminds us of a boiled green vegetable we once ate in Guangdong, whose deliciousness cannot be forgotten for a long time.
Comparison between Light Fire Tea and Full Fire Tea Bottom
However, although light tea is fragrant, it is also more likely to make us feel hungry and drunk.
A gentle tea requires a lot of effort behind it. While light tea can better showcase details, it is also easier to expose flaws, just like cold white skin. Even a mole that cannot be smaller has nowhere to hide.
Baking itself has a certain decorative effect, while light fire tea is equivalent to a bare state, which tests the original (green) foundation; Make it light, but also make it thoroughly and bake it thoroughly in order to have clear and clean waterways.
Rainbow is easy to scatter, glass is brittle, how can good things be easily obtained?