Hello hello, I have been well, and alive but severely neglected my blog until recently. To make up for this long period of writing drought, here is an article about Wuyi Mountain tea, adapted from Teaparker's blog.
Wuyi tea is produced in Fujian Province,
China, and thrives on rock gravel. It is naturally full bodied in
aftertaste. This coupled with its unique processing that includes
re-roasting, packing, re-firing and other tedious steps, is more than enough to
make this tea more refined, and its aroma purer, resulting in a
rather unique taste with mineral notes and floral scents.
Wuyi tea is particulary affected by its
roasting. The finished product in season still bears the marks of fire roasting
that render it unpalatable.
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If tea roasting is not executed
precisely, the resulting tea will taste burnt and likely very bitter, hence the
saying: Wuyi tea is consumed only in the year that follows its
production.
In his "Fujian tea song”, Qing Zhou
Lianggong wrote: "Although YuQian (a period before the rainy season) tea
is good, it is too new, let not your lips even come close to this tea until its
fiery flare has receded, keeping this tea in storage till it evolves into a
crimson red would allow its value to quadruple over the years. Every tea
merchant starts to sing to the tune of old teas."
Selling Wuyi Yancha from the last
year has its origins in history. Tea production areas in the past did not enjoy
the convenience of different transportation modes. Through the mountains and
pass the rivers, transportation takes up at least half a year’s time before tea
reaches the hands of merchants and consumers.
Tea farmers devised the method of
preserving tea through roasting to ensure tea quality. In combination with Wuyi
tea leaves mineral notes and full-bodied aftertaste, roasting and sufficient
time to rest allowed this tea to transform and evolve into a
better tasting product. The essence of Wuyi tea roasting with
appropriate storage especially highlights the four cardinal qualities
of fragrance, clarity, sweetness, and liveliness in this tea.
