Fujian Tea Culture (Part 2): The Largest Tea Market in Fujian Province

This is the largest tea leaf trading market in Fujian Starting from mid to late March As white tea enters its optimal tea-making period The trading hours are getting earlier and earlier At this time the tea being traded is mostly the first flush picked before the Qingming Festival and it will bring the tea farmers their earliest income of the year I arrive around four o'clock when I come every day I arrive at a little past three forty August eighth The price changes Dian Tou Town is the core production area of Fuding White Tea The tea variety most widely cultivated by local tea farmers is a type of tea plant known as Fuding Da Bai They are the top-grade ingredients for making high-quality white tea The delicate tea buds that are picked Need to be spread out and dried as soon as possible The vibrant value is being lost every minute Quick transactions are the shared desire of buyers and sellers Hey There's a big tea tree at my house Do you want to go and spread it out to dry Okay I'll show the way Mei Xiangjing is a leading figure in the traditional production techniques of Fuding white tea a benchmark figure She is 77 years old this year but still insists on making some white tea every year From early morning it's a habit of mine The village where Master Mei lives is called Bai Liu Village known as the "First Village of White Tea" in Mei Yu it is said that this is the place where the Fuding Da Bai tea was first cultivated by humans every tea season Old Mei's wife would go up the mountain herself to pick tea Xiaoying are you here I'll take you to pick plums There's some beer there I'll take you to pick There is a boss there picking tea leaves Come back early It's raining heavily can't make it I didn't pick much He picks quickly Around the Qingming period These few days are when they pick this one bud and one leaf It's after the Qingming period It's two leaves with one heart Maybe three leaves with one heart When the rain comes later The tea leaves will be long then The leaves of the same tea plant according to different picking standards can produce different types of white tea during the Qingming period tender long buds are picked used to make the highest grade Baihao Yinzhen Between Qingming and Guyu the tea is made from one bud and two leaves to produce Bai Mudan after Guyu the leaves are thick and strong so they are made into Shoumei this is also the three most well-known white tea categories in the market They vary in shape and texture but the preparation method is all sun-dried raw Traditional white tea production consists of four processes: picking Dry in the su Tail carving Dry Winding is the most important and critical step in white tea production This sunlight tail eagle This is called the sunlight tail eagle To compare you need to look at the weather Our old craftsmanship Craftsmanship depends on the weather Without good weather you can't make good tea It seems like I don't understand today's weather Abundant sunlight Dry northern winds Are what tea artisans look forward to However This is not common in spring The seemingly simple tail carving Tests the tea maker's understanding of temperature humidity and sunlight The comprehensive consideration of air flow has no standard Sunlight tail carving cannot be dried too tightly in time because in the morning there is sea fog at our home afraid this sea fog is bad for its color by noon it cannot be exposed to the sun Exposing it to the sun will make it turn red Light it early in the evening Because of the dew It's not good for its color Experienced tea professionals will try to keep the tail carving within about 72 hours doing it too quickly or too slowly will affect the quality of the white tea Baihao Yinzhen is a rare gem among white teas featuring white downy hairs that are evenly distributed on the surface of the needle-shaped leaves commonly known as Baihao These white buds not only create its beautiful appearance but also give white tea its unique taste of floral fragrance and sweet aroma After brewing the white tea has a bright orange-yellow color Fresh aroma Slightly sweet taste Fujian is the main production area of white tea and also the origin of white tea the phrase "Chinese white tea is from Fujian" has a geographical scope that includes most of the The Min Dong and Min Bei tea regions including Fuding Zhenghe Jianyang Songxi and other areas all produce white tea Zheng He's original name was Guan Li It is said that Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty greatly praised the tea produced here Later he bestowed his era name Zheng He upon it Zhenghe became the only county town in the country named after tea At six o'clock in the evening A new batch of tea ceremony participants enter Yang Feng Zheng He Bai Tea Intangible Heritage Inheritor This is the busiest time of the year for him The corridor bridge that Yang Feng entered was a specially designed space for Bai Cha Wei Diao Tonight this tea ceremony will take place here marking the first night of Wei Diao Like us this is a tea celebration from yesterday this time it started to flow the whole head collapsed it's different every day The western side of the complex The longest building is the bridge built by Yang Feng The bridge is 81 meters long 4 meters wide 12 meters above the ground It is a full-span structure The maximum capacity is one time It can simultaneously accommodate about 20 000 catties of tea Qingwei sculpture The traditional bridge is built over mountain rivers convenient for people to cross the river and also provides a place to rest and is very common in the mountainous areas of Fujian and Zhejiang The covered bridge has a pleasant breeze no direct sunlight and no wind or rain erosion It is the best place for villagers to gather and socialize Building a dedicated covered bridge for white tea Yang Feng is the first person Because the corridor bridge is open on both sides even if there is a slanting rain the entire board blocks the rain The corridor bridge has a certain height so if the wind starts to blow It blows from the bottom up so we use the corridor bridge to the statue the corresponding moisture content is very uniform Come with me We'll leave at dawn Can you sing Liu Let's go In addition to making tea Yang Feng has been committed to promoting white tea for nearly twenty years Every year foreigners and herders come to Zhenghe to learn from him These are the old tea plantations It used to be that way but now no one is farming or picking it so it has turned into a yellow tea There's no one in charge It's called "pao huang" pao Yes "pao huang" pao huang yes Liu Pao Huang To understand the meaning of the two characters "pu huang " Liu needs more knowledge about tea In China tea is an economic crop Farmers choose to plant or "pu huang " tea both of which are closely related to the market Due to low production it is expensive Over 90% of modern white tea is exported to overseas markets The domestic population has very low awareness The brewing history of white tea It was nearly half a century of an unknown rise and fall that passed through long periods of solitude and now within just five years white tea has been recognized and favored by the market Before this many farmers who lived off tea had already left this land but Yangbong was an exception Many together hurry up No good harvest no dinner at home Can I buy you three cups of tea is that okay Like this pos From Fuding in Eastern Fujian to Zhenhe in Northern Fujian all the people from the white tea origin areas use the oldest methods to make tea neither trendy nor soft Have a patient conversation with sunlight and air use the simplest method and retain as much of the tea plant's original flavor as possible In the world of tea fragrance is the most elusive yet most memorable aspect The Chinese people 's obsession with the aroma of tea has driven artisans to continuously refine their skills It can maximally activate and transform the fragrance substances in this plant In the tea world the representative of lingering fragrance is the high-aroma long-lasting oolong tea from southern Fujian Tieguanyin Relying on its unique fragrance Tieguanyin has conquered much of China in just a few decades spreading from Anxi in southern Fujian all the way north Throughout its 300-year history Tieguanyin has become a beloved tea This is a path that has never been taken China's Tea Capital The Largest Oolong Tea Trading Market in the Country Tieguanyin is the Absolute Star Here Market is open to all The first and sixth days of the month are market days The most people are there Every year during the tea season the wholesale market 's more than 3 000 snack stalls are fully occupied A Liang is a true native of Anxi Today he brought his freshly made autumn tea to the market hoping to get a good price Come try this Tieguanyin tea These four petals Does the boss want to buy Tieguanyin tea Good quality Try this Antarctic one Holding the tea leaves in his hands he deeply inhaled the aroma of the leaves a customary action for every customer visiting the tea stall as the fragrance is the key to judging the quality of the tea But this is not the only factor in the decision Tea houses offer affordable and convenient brewing services customers can brew and taste their preferred tea a dime can buy a pot of hot water Someone estimated that this small hot water supply point uses an average of seven tons of water per day which is more than the daily water usage of an ordinary household The various tea merchants who have taken the market route They will conduct the final assessment of the tea's quality and price here The tea's color aroma taste and re-steepability are all factors they need to consider How much is this Two hundred Hmm Five dollars I guess Two hundred li oh Hmm that's okay two hundred miles two hundred miles is very cheap nice Ah Liang is having a good day today before noon there were customers who liked his tea Anxi is located on the southeast slope of the Yunkai Mountains It has a history of tea picking and processing since the Tang Dynasty In the Qing Dynasty people discovered a new tea plant variety Tea made from this plant variety A naturally rich orchid fragrance a full-bodied and sweet fresh taste and it is named Tie Guan Yin For over two hundred years people have been captivated by its orchid fragrance and Guanyin jade The original home of Anxi Xiping Tieguanyin tea 54-year-old Wei Yuede has lived here since childhood Tea growing and processing is a family tradition in the Wei family The ancestors left Wei Yuede more than 30 000 old tea trees Every tea season He personally goes up the mountain to pick and make a batch of handcrafted tea Old tea trees mostly grow on rocky cliffs picking them is not easy compared to smaller and densely planted tea trees in the forest the canopy of the old tea trees growing among weeds is higher Having an extensive root system allows it to absorb more diverse nutrients from the soil Because of this tea made from old tea trees often has a richer and more mellow flavor The freshly picked leaves need immediate follow- up processing In Wei Yuede's hands a tea leaf from picking to becoming a named Tieguanyin At least six steps are required Tail carving Remove 8 to 10 percent of the moisture from fresh leaves Steeping the tea leaves three to four times to allow them to ferme Blanching Knead the cotton Roll the tea leaves tightly Begin shaping Wrap the tea leaves into small balls so that the leaves form into beads Dry to remove moisture and make it into a tea Among the six major tea categories of green yellow white blue red and black the blue tea also known as oolong tea has a unique processing technique called "wok tossing " It plays a crucial role in the direction of the tea's aroma and taste and is also the source of the rich and diverse fragrance and flavor of oolong tea It is materialistic It is one of the traditional Chinese customs of welcoming the new year This is a globally recognized product with high visibility in Fujian It is spiritual A single tea leaf inspires countless scholars with an endless flow of inspiration and ingenuity Tea is a messenger of culture Starting from Fujian Crossing the sea and drifting far It's not just the tea plants that are transplanted The fragrance of land and wind The scent of home It took two years to fully release the pressure Savor the deep affection between tea people and the land a tribute to the glory and dreams of Fujian's tea culture Fujian Tea World The oxidation process is mostly carried out at night No matter how experienced the tea master is they cannot guarantee perfect handling of each batch of tea leaves Wei Yuede was no exception he needed to calm down To more accurately sense temperature humidity and the condition of the tea leaves Washing tea is divided into shaking and airing Shaking revives the withered fresh leaves Tea farmers call this "living" Airing stops the leaves from fermenting The green grass aroma is continuously forced out called death one movement and one stillness alternating four times the wild people call it dying and coming back to life the first shaking of the grass is relatively simple five or six times called waking up We kids just sat up and woke up and it 's time to eat Shaking the bottle again Bumping bumping Causing both sides to become slightly damaged After the damage All the moisture flowed out from both sides This became a wound The oxidation called tea oxygen Many people say red leaf red edge It is actually red leaf red edge Not red double edge It is the edge of the injury I have more contact with tea than with my wife more contact with children over these forty years whether day or night getting up or going to bed all for this tea I feel it is a spiritual寄托 The 1990s A new tea-making technique became popular in Anxi It allows the tea leaves to exhibit a green broth green water and a high fragrance The market refers to it as Qingxiang Tieguanyin Lamb aroma clear green tea infusion Make it the darling of the tea market No iron no electricity no safety no city This is the folk saying about the booming Anxi Tieguanyin market The most vid summary Passion ignited the enthusiasm of everyone on this land Originally only the spring and autumn harvests of Tieguanyin were picked But they were also forced by the frenzied market to become Four-season tea throughout the year Overcultivation and overharvesting Over-simplification of tea processing techniques Lead to hidden problems In recent years a new force has been quietly changing the direction of Tieguanyin in the high mountains of Anxi This is the tree we planted at least 100 000 of during the entire estate construction You can see there are many pine cones here that often fall down and become a natural boundary for us This large tea tree has not been picked from for over ten years so it has grown this tall Look at this tea tree many insects come here You can see the insect holes some have even been eaten Just above it It provides good protection for our tea leaves below In addition to using sample plants to attract pests the tea plantation also emphasizes plant diversity Cultivated woody plants such as pine trees and fruit trees are widely planted in mountainous areas The leaves of woody plants are even more tender After feeding on a meal pests leave the tea plants alone Unlike the deforested Mount Guantou this forest is only cultivated with tea plants at elevations between 500 and 800 meters on the mountain's summit and foothills Either preserve the original ecosystem of the mountains or plant different types of trees Known as " wearing a hat on the head and shoes on the feet " this rich and diverse vegetation both maintains the soil and water of Chashan and sustains the regional ecological balance Tea trees are no longer orphans on the tea mountains now they are widely returning tea trees should not be densely planted it's not a simple statement it might actually reduce the yield and so on This difficulty I believe is conquerable But we need to pursue growth I think that it is up to our generation to make the effort For tea growers who have worked hard through a tea season the best way to relax is to drink a cup of good tea they have made themselves This year the Tieguanyin made using traditional methods by Wei Yuede emits a noticeable floral fragrance once brewed and bees come to it attracted by the scent Tea is fine people are the problem Tea has no illness people have illness As long as we people adapt to nature and protect nature our Tieguanyin is willing to compete and excel it is definitely good tea Three thousand square kilometers 1.12 million people Eighty percent of them are engaged industries related to tea Ninety percent of them cannot live without tea A heartfelt longing for a cup of tea keeps them constantly adjusting their craftsmanship and flavor according to the times