Jasmine Yin Zhen

Jasmine tea, makes people "smell the smell of spring". It is also the smell of hometown in the memories of Fujian people from all over the world. Fuzhou is the birthplace of jasmine tea. It started in the Song Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,000 years. After hundreds of years of accumulation, Fuzhou jasmine tea craft has gradually taken shape and has a history of more than 150 years. "There is a slave family near the mouth of the Minjiang River. If you come here to have tea in your free time, it is a house with earthen walls, wooden fans and blue tiles. There is a field of jasmine in front of the door." Jasmine was called "alfalfa" in ancient times, and Fuzhou has a long history of growing jasmine. As early as the Jin Dynasty, "Southern Vegetation and Trees" recorded: "All the famous flowers and lilies were transplanted from the Western Kingdom to the southerners who took pity on their fragrance and planted them."

In the song "Jasmine" written by Ye Tingjue of the Northern Song Dynasty, he wrote: The dew washes the whole body white, and the sinking water smells the fragrance of rebirth. When it comes to scented teas in the world, jasmine tea ranks first, especially in Fuzhou.

Jasmine originated in the Persian Gulf of West Asia. It was introduced to China during the Western Han Dynasty and eventually settled in the Minjiang River. Fuzhou is located in the Minjiang River estuary basin at 25.5 degrees north latitude, which is the northernmost edge of jasmine open field cultivation. The light, temperature, water, and heat all provide the most suitable ecological environment for the growth of jasmine. But this alone does not make Fuzhou jasmine tea the most delicious. Compared with jasmine from other production areas such as Sichuan and Guangxi, the advantage of Fuzhou jasmine is single petal. Single-petal jasmine is fresh and has high requirements for the growth environment. It is difficult to grow in other places. Therefore, Fuzhou has a unique advantage.

Jasmine tea cannot be separated from jasmine flowers. Jasmine flowers are not fragrant unless they bloom, which is what is often called a temperamental fragrant flower. Unlike common white jasmine flowers, whose fragrance exists in the petals, jasmine flowers often gradually release esters and alcohols as the buds mature, catalyzed by enzymes and heat, and the fragrance begins to drift. In other words, the fragrance of the physical fragrant flowers that exist in the petals will still exist even if they bloom or are made into dried flowers; while the temperamental fragrant flowers such as jasmine are extremely time-sensitive, and they are fragrant only when they bloom, and a flower only blooms once. It is destined that if you want to have the freshest jasmine fragrance, you have to seize the opportunity, even waiting every night.

What I will share next is the whole process of scenting Fuzhou Jasmine Yin Zhen.

Watching Flowers｜

After picking the flowers, they must be spread out to cool. Then wait for the flowers to fully open, and when the opening degree reaches 80%, the flowers can be screened.

Scented Flowers｜

That is, the blending of camellia flowers is the key process in making Fuzhou jasmine tea. The scenting of flowers is mainly affected by six factors, namely the amount of flowers, flower openness, temperature, moisture, thickness and time.

Tonghua｜

The degree of flower penetration should be controlled according to the temperature of the scented pile, the moisture content and the vitality of the flowers.

Re-scenting｜

After the flowers have been in bloom for an hour, collect the flowers and re-scent them.

Flowering｜

Flowering should be done 5-6 hours after re-scenting, that is, the camellia flowers should be separated.

Baking |

Baking is the most difficult part of making Fuzhou jasmine tea. During this process, jasmine tea tends to burn. When baking, excess water needs to be removed and the aroma should be prevented from being lost.

The secret of the high fragrance of jasmine tea lies in the ancient craft - xūn (窨).

Xūn is a craft of making scented tea. The basic principle is to mix the tea leaves with freshly picked flowers. The flowers emit fragrance, the tea leaves absorb fragrance, and the fragrance of the tea and flowers finally merge to make scented tea. The ancient method of scenting is very complicated. Every time the scenting is repeated, the difficulty of the craft doubles.

High-quality jasmine tea is tea, not flowers. You can only smell the fragrance of flowers, but not see them. Every time the quality Jasmine Silver Needle is scented, the flowers must be removed after the fragrance of the flowers is transferred to the tea leaves. Before the final product comes out, it must be strictly removed by manual screening. It is guaranteed that you can smell the fresh jasmine fragrance, but you can only see the silver needle tea that is as thin as a needle and straight.

If you want to get drunk, get drunk in the fragrance of tea, especially the fragrance of jasmine silver needle, the freshness of silver needle, and the fragrance of jasmine; the silver-white pond water, with white hair floating in it, is like clear waves with residual snow, jasmine silver needle, pleasing to the eye and refreshing to taste. A tea event, drinking alone or in a small gathering, will make you tipsy in this slightly noisy world. The mood of tea can't be told in one thousand and one nights. A cup of jasmine silver needle has the fragrance of flowers and the freshness of tea. A pot of jasmine silver needle among flowers can be said to be a leisurely life without asking about the sky.