There is a saying circulating in the rock tea industry that goes, ‘The fragrance of flowers, fruits, and powder are the most important.’ It expresses the high praise for rock tea with ‘powder’ in a straightforward manner.
When the powder aroma appears in a bubble of rock tea, it is often regarded as a pure natural precipitation of the thick mountain site that cannot be challenged by the highest technology. Like the “foundation make-up” of the mountain site in Huiyuan tea, it can become one of the characteristics that we recognize the flavor of Huiyuan mountain site.
But some people may feel that the tea aroma with a powdery scent makes pollen allergy sufferers feel physically uncomfortable, or the dusty smell in the powdery scent always reminds people of its flattery.
Blooming plum blossoms
The fragrance of powder in a cup of tea, whether elegant or vulgar, seems to carry subjective characteristics of aesthetic differences. As a young girl who has stepped into middle age with one foot, when the pink scent fills her nose, it deeply touches our hearts.
What does it feel like to smell “pink”?
In rock tea, the “powdery” aroma that is often perceived by our senses includes “fat powder fragrance, nut almond powder, baby powder, temple incense burning
Unlike when smelling the fragrance of flowers and fruits, which requires searching for the variety data of flowers and fruits in one’s brain, the existence of pink fragrance is direct and concrete. I remember when we first explored new ideas in the bitter and sweet stage of rock tea, pink fragrance was one of the earliest feelings I grasped.
At the bottom of the century old maple tree nest, there is a powdery fragrance resembling that of a newborn baby emanating from withered trees
In our view, powder is not a taste, but a neutral tactile sensation, like a tangible fine particle or gauze rubbing and adhering in the nasal cavity. The strong aroma can be said to be a vivid description of this feeling.
Powder aroma is not a single scent or aroma, it is more like the texture of the aroma. When it appears in a tea, it will also carry other main aroma notes, often accompanied by floral, milky, and woody fragrances, creating a sweet or calming aroma atmosphere.
In the tea base of Huiyuan, you can always find the fragrance of incense burning in the temple, and from the intersection to Gujing, you can overlook the maple tree nest
The appearance of pink fragrance can enrich our experience of brewing tea.
If we compare the simple aroma to a portrait in a ID photo, even with delicate and clean facial features placed in front of a white background, we always feel that there are fewer memorable points and imaginative space.
Sometimes, memories and feelings of beauty cannot be separated from the support of the background. For example, when we talk about Liu Yifei, we can always recall her fairy like appearance as a little dragon girl. It is precisely in her most beautiful years that she had the appropriate way of expression to become a fairy sister.
The same goes for the aesthetic of brewing tea. A fragrance with background and texture can break the limitations of being easily bland, allowing us to have a more complete and solid feeling or imagination of the fragrance. Of course, it also has a lasting and refreshing aftertaste, and we wish we could look back on it.
2. What kind of tea is easily “powdered”
Unlike most quantitative experimental studies on floral and fruity aromas, there are currently no specific substances that may cause a powdery texture. In other words, the powdery sensation in tea aroma often exists within our experiential domain.
Flowers with strong floral aroma and pollen fragrance in tea usually have a prominent powdery feeling. The amount and type of floral aroma are not only related to the maturity and roasting degree of the green aroma, light aroma, floral aroma, and fruity aroma during the greening process, but also to the richness of the substances contained in the variety itself.
For example, varieties like cinnamon and plum that already have the potential for floral explosion contain some aromatic compounds such as β – syringol, α – terpenol, and α – syringol, which have a strong pollen like aroma of violet, iris, and lilac.
Old Tree Plum Blossom
The main substances that can create a powdery and nutty aroma, as well as scents like white rosin, frankincense, incense, and cinnamon, such as 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine, phenylacetonitrile, and orange blossom tertiary alcohol, can be found in certain proportions in narcissus and cinnamon.
Especially cinnamon, not only has a powdery texture brought by plants, but the aroma characteristic of dihydrokiwilactone in the aroma component is the full powdery musk. Cinnamon can be said to be the “king of circle powder” in rock tea.
The appearance of powdery aroma can be brought about by a certain powdery aroma type, or it can be a certain proportion of milk aroma, floral aroma, and fruity aroma, which gives the tea aroma a mellow powdery feeling. It is also a direct feedback of the good mountain scenery in the tea aroma.
The fragrance of flowers and fruits, with powder being the most important. A high-quality rock tea may not necessarily have a powder aroma, but having a powder aroma is often one of the manifestations of the high-end feeling of rock tea.
Niulankeng osmanthus with a pink fragrance
We often say that the fun thing about rock tea is that it is so rich and varied that it is hard to understand.
Fenxiang, as a term in the tea industry, is only manifested in our sensory perception rather than scientific verification. It adds a mysterious veil to its delicate texture, which perfectly matches the charm of rock tea and our desire for exploration.