With more than 3000 different styles of China green tea said to be available, it can seem like a daunting task to choose from. Probably the best way to learn about green tea is to try different styles to see what you like. Also, learning about the manufacturing process of different varieties and how they are made, will give you an insight into the qualities, flavors, and characteristics of various styles of green tea. |
Two popular methods of manufacture of China artisan style green tea are basket firing and pan firing. Each style of processing gives the tea its own unique flavor and character, distinguishing it from the other.The first four steps are basically the same for mostChina green teas. The fresh leaf is gen- erally plucked in the morning and brought down the mountain in baskets or cloth bags that provide good air circulation and protect the leaf from being crushed under its own weight.The leaf is then given a quick sorting, removing twigs and rocks, and is left to air dry for a short time, a process known as |
primary drying, that helps prevent oxidation.
Once the leaf reaches the factory it is spread on mats on the floor, This completes the first four standard green tea processing steps, and now the particular style of |
China Artisan Style Basket-Fired Green Tea
|
To begin the processing of basket fired green tea, a small amount of fresh leaf (about 2 lbs.) is placed in an upright bamboo or reed basket, usually made of two pieces, resembling an hour glass. The upper part of the bas- ket that is heated usually deteriorates after two or so days and is re- placed.The tea leaf firing basket is between two to four feet tall, with the top portion looking like an over size cone-shaped hat with a wide brim. After the initial drying the leaf is placed in the top part and the entire basket is placed over the heat source, usually a small brazier or charcoal embers. The heat needs to be low enough not to burn the bamboo basket.The basket is placed over the heat for about a minute before being removed, placed off to the side while the tea master “fluffs” the tea by gently tap- ping the basket causing the tea to jump about and be tossed. The basket is then placed over the heat Once the proper amount of moisture One popular tea made with basket firing is Bi Lo Chun or Green Snail Spring, a famous Rather than tossing the leaf, though, Bi Lo Chun is manu- Bi Lo Chun, neat little spirals that resemble the shape |
China Artisan Style Pan-Fired Green Tea |
Pan firing accomplishes many of the manufacturing steps in just one process. It fixes the juice in the leaf, reduces moisture content, seals in flavor, and dries the leaf to the proper moisture content before finish firing, and adds a unique toasty flavor to the tea. |
Longjing or Dragon Well, one of China’s most famous teas is pan fired. Even though every pro- vince in China, as well as every green tea producing region in the world has tried duplicating the unique pan fired style of Longjing or Dragon Well, no one has ever been able to replicate its fla- vor and style. That is because of the unique terroir of the region in which Dragon Well is grown.There are many different styles of firing pans used throughoutChina, from simple wok like pans, to large factory sized units specially made for tea processing. Two common versions are the wood-fired double pan and the electric-fired single pan.As with basket firing, the leaf has been completed through primary drying. About two pounds of leaf is scooped into the pan. Even, gentle heat is needed for firing green tea, so small electric pans work perfectly. The temperature is controlled by a thermostat or built-in controls that are close at hand. When using a wood-fired pan, two pans are connected in the same housing and often A secret of pan fired tea is that a minute amount of solidified tea seed oil is used to One of China’s Ten Most Famous Teas, Tai Ping Hou Kui, from Anhui Province is also one of the most unusual and whole leaf tea, with the distinctive pattern of the rice Enjoy. |