天娜茶語 之 又上一課 Another Tea Ceremony Lesson

天娜茶語 之 又上一課

去年我介紹的雲南保山四百年古樹滇紅2020春茶十分受歡迎，那蜜糖、黃玉蘭的幽香留在口中久久不散，説呵氣如蘭一點兒也不誇張。這茶產量有限，所餘無幾。
龍舟鼓一停，熱熾期待2021的新茶。

聽到茶商傳來失收的壞消息，頓時洩氣！更甚的有兩棵四百年古樹竟然枯萎，真真心痛。自從聽到怒江和瀾滄江建數目如此多的水壩，一直擔心沒茶喝。希望上天保佑這兩條普洱母親河。

四百年古樹滇紅2021配額著實不多。幸而商茶願意割愛，分給我一些五百年古樹滇紅2021春茶。接過茶辦，急不及待試泡。理論上五百年古樹茶應該比四百年的更濃郁丶厚重和多層次。可是這個五百年的茶辦，完全不是那回事。口感是很滑丶餘韻也甜丶果膠也豐富丶礦物也高；但就是不出香氣，聞香有點呆滯，就像鬱鬱寡歡似的。立馬向莊主投訴！

經莊主的點撥，原來這手五百年的古樹滇紅，其發酵的工序是為耐陳抗濕而設，需要陳一兩年。如果要現在享用，開茶的 水溫不能沸騰，也不能用紫砂茶具，用瓷器才能感受到它的好處。原本是打算陳些年才推出，無奈薄命的四百年古樹失收，我才有機會提前喝。

果不其然，按照莊主指示再泡，效果比第一次好得多，蜜香回來了。降溫二泡，輪廓漸漸明顯。忽然想起廚長冷泡四百年滇紅好評如潮，也許這嫩齢的五百年滇紅會更適合冷泡。

我用一公升法國烏域礦泉水，放入10g茶葉，放在冰箱水果層。12小時後……………天哪！活脫脫是大馬士革玫瑰水！放在客廳兩小時升溫後.…...…妃子笑的茘枝香！再暖些那長相思葡萄的蜜香回來了！那滑如絲柔如綿的口感丶那曼妙的冰糖韻；從來沒想像過古樹茶冷泡有如此驚豔的效果。那單寧的細緻得約有若無。一般泡上三百年古樹茶，每泡水都要沸騰，沒想到這是冰山美人！說不定過幾年她會變得熱情如火呢！

一理通百理明，君不見嫩齡的波爾多紅酒，微涼喝也十分愜意！果真做到老丶學到老！

Another Tea Ceremony Lesson

The Yunnan Baoshan 400-year-old Dianhong 2020 Spring Tea that I introduced last year is very popular. The fragrance of honey and yellow magnolia lingers for a long time. It is not an exaggeration to say that the breath is like orchids. The production of this tea is limited and there is not much left.
As soon as the dragon boat drum stops, we are eagerly looking forward to the new tea of 2021.

Hearing the bad news that the tea merchant had poor harvest, I was immediately discouraged! What's worse, two 400-year-old trees withered, it was really heart breaking. Ever since I heard that there are so many dams built on the Nu Jiang River (Salween River in Burma) and the Lancang River (Mekong in Thailand), I have been worried that there will be no good Pu’er tea to drink. I hope God will bless these two Pu'er mother rivers.

The 2021 quota for the 400-year-old tree Pu’er Black is really small. Fortunately, the producer was willing to allocate some 500-year-old 2021 Pu’er Black tea first flush. When tea samples arrived, I couldn't wait to try brewing. In theory, the five-hundred-year-old tree tea should be richer, thicker and more layered than the four-hundred-year-old tea. However, this is not the case at all for this 500-year-old tea office. The taste is very smooth, the aftertaste is sweet, the pectin is also rich, and the minerals are high; but it doesn't smell, and the smell is a bit sluggish, as if the tea was depressed. I complained to the owner immediately!

As explained by the owner, it turns out that the fermentation process of this 500-year-old ancient tree blacked tea is designed to resist ageing and moisture, and it needs to be aged for one or two years. If you want to enjoy it now, the water temperature for brewing should not boiling, nor can you use a Purple Clay tea set. You can elaborate its merits only with porcelain. It was originally planned to be released after a few years of ageing, and I had the chance to drink it in advance because the fateful four-hundred-year-old tree was lost.

Sure enough, according to the owner's instructions to brew again, the effect is much better than the first time, and the honey fragrance is back. I used less hot water for the second infusion, the contour gradually becomes obvious. Suddenly I remembered that the Executive Chef of China Tang did the cold brewing for the 400 Years Old Tree Pu’er Black, and it was well accepted, I reckon that the 500 Years Tree Tea will be suitable for cold brewing.

I use one liter of French Volvic mineral water, put 10g of tea, and put it in the veggie compartment of the refrigerator. Twelve hours later......oh my god! It's Damascus rose water! After putting it in the living room for two hours to warm up…….it was like “Concubine’s Smile “Lychee. As temperature went a bit higher, honey fragrance of Sauvignon Blanc is back! The smooth and silky mouthfeel, the graceful rock sugar reminiscent; I have never imagined that cold brewing of ancient tree tea has such an amazing effect. The tannins are so meticulous. In general, ancient tree tea from 300 years old tree up, it has to be brew with boiling water. I did not expect this to be an iceberg beauty! Maybe she will become Lady Fire in a few years time.

Same philosophy as wine, young Bordeaux is very pleasant to drink slightly cool! It is another lesson for me.