丨This article was originally created by rock tea classroom of Xiao Chen Tea Shi
丨First published in the headline number: Xiao Chen Tea Shi
丨Author: Li Mahua
《1》
Compared with the texture of tea soup and sweet aftertaste, the aroma of rock tea is not difficult to get. Understand.
Put it close to your nose and smell it carefully.
is floral and fruity, you can tell immediately.
went out to have tea with friends. Various rock teas with different flavors were put together. What everyone discussed most enthusiastically was the aroma of the tea.
Because whether you know tea or not, you can always tell the truth when appreciating the aroma of tea.
Encountering rock tea with a special aroma will refresh your knowledge.
For example, camphor flavor narcissus, creamy cinnamon , fruity Huang Guanyin , etc.
These unusual tea aromas always bring a novel experience.
Mahua originally thought that there is no need to say much to distinguish tea by smelling its fragrance, just slowly experience it.
However, recently a tea lover raised a question - can you teach me how to taste the four flavors of rock tea?
Rock tea has four fragrances. This statement is quite new.
But Mahua doesn’t quite understand what the most popular version of the four-flavor theory in the rock tea circle is?
is the fragrance of mountain farm, variety, age of trees and craftsmanship;
is the fragrance of variety, region, fire power and brewing;
is the fragrance of variety, farm, vintage and green;
is the fragrance of tree age. Incense, mountain field incense, fire power incense, fermentation incense?
Having said that, there are at least N+1 factors that affect the aroma performance of rock tea.
Taking stock one by one, it’s a long story.
《2》
1. The fragrance of mountain field.
Shanchang fragrance is also called regional fragrance and production area fragrance.
If orange grows in Huainan, it becomes orange; if orange grows in Huaibei, it becomes orange.
Different regional environments can nourish different tea aromas.
Factors that affect the fragrance of rock tea mountains include but are not limited to soil texture, altitude, vegetation distribution, ecological environment, sunshine duration, light intensity, hydrological conditions, air quality, etc.
Take soil texture as an example.
There is tea in rocks, but there is no tea in non-rocks. In the Zhengyan Scenic Area, the more weathered rocks are distributed around the production area, the richer the weathered rock debris obtained in the tea soil, the more obvious the rock charm characteristics can be theoretically High quality Zhengyan tea.
Outside the scope of Zhengyan, looking around the tea field, there is no mountain field with weathered rocks. No matter how disguised it is, it is not "right" enough at first glance.
Of course, when it comes to the mountain fragrance of Zhengyan tea, two classic references must be brought out - Yanshang tea and Kengjian tea.
Yanshang Tea (a mountain farm named after XX Rock, XX Stone, XX Ping, etc.) has a relatively sunny environment with sufficient sunshine, which is more conducive to the formation of a high-profile tea aroma.
Kengjian tea (rock tea starting from XXkeng, XXjian, XXdong, XXhu and other mountain farms), the microclimate of the mountain farm is relatively quiet and the water source is sufficient, which is conducive to the presentation of delicate and melodious style tea aroma!
In addition, even if they are both Zhengyan core mountain resorts, there will be differences in flavor between them.
For example, Niulankeng and Toushuikeng. Although they are also pit-type mountain fields, the "pit" of Niulankeng is closer to a V shape and appears to be more narrow, long and deep, while the "pit" of Toushuikeng is more It is close to a concave shape, with weathered rocks on both sides. The pit is relatively wider and has longer sunshine hours.
Pour Shuikeng Cinnamon for this purpose. When you drink it, the tea aroma is not as delicate and restrained as "beef".
Besides, even if it is the same "beef", different parts of Niulankeng Cinnamon will taste different in mountain farm flavor. You have to drink tea to experience it slowly.
《3》
2. Variety Fragrance
Each different variety of rock tea is an independent individual, with a distinctive tea aroma.
The aroma of cinnamon smells "spicy", similar to spices, and has a unique cinnamon aroma.
The tea fragrance of Narcissus is the quiet orchid fragrance. It is also called Landi in the circle. It is the fragrance that floats far away in the wind when clusters of wild orchids grow in the empty mountains and valleys. Although it is not rich and flamboyant, it is similar to Narcissus' own mellow soup flavor just echoes Chengqu's taste.
The aroma of Iron Arhat is the powerful Angelica medicinal aroma. The tea aroma is very distinctive, just like "March". Smelling this aroma, Mahua can't help but think of the winter before and after the winter solstice, putting old wine and Angelica to stew. When it comes to mutton, there is a distinct flavor of angelica.
The aroma of white cockscomb was ridiculed by someone before as "chicken soup flavor". In fact, it is not. The aroma of white cockscomb is a comprehensive herbal aroma. It has a clear and melodious aroma, which is similar to Iron Arhat and old white tea . The medicinal aromas smelled are all different.
Huang Guanyin's aroma can be called "penetrating fragrance". Huang Guanyin, code-named 105, inherits the high-profile aroma of its mother parent Huang Dan (also known as Golden Gui ). The floral fragrance seems to be very penetrating gardenia , osmanthus, etc. The floral fragrance is gathered together, the aroma is rich, and it smells like it can penetrate the sky...
In addition, there is the woody fragrance of Beidou, the plum blossom fragrance of Mei Zhan, the cream fragrance of golden wicker, the peach fragrance of Dwarf Oolong, and bird tongue. 's powdery and sweet floral scent, each different rock tea variety has its own unique variety scent.
There are so many varieties of rock tea that it is difficult to list them all.
After all, the variety system of rock tea is complicated.
There are exotic species (local sexually reproducing group species), Mingcongs (ancient species with names and surnames), imported improved species, newly cultivated species, etc.
The odd variety alone is immeasurable.
For example, after a certain cinnamon tea tree blooms, it is pollinated by insects from Tieluohan, Meizhan, Narcissus, and unknown tea trees within a certain range, and finally produces tea seeds. After the seeds fall to the ground and take root, the resulting seedlings must be A comprehensive new variety!
Therefore, it is impossible to name all the varieties of rock tea.
《4》
3. Fermented aroma
Wuyi rock tea is a semi-fermented tea.
The green fermentation process has a profound impact on the formation of tea aroma.
From the most basic direction: the degree of fermentation is lighter and the floral aroma is retained more abundantly. The degree of fermentation is heavier and the fruity flavor will be more prominent.
once introduced the comparison of tea aromas between narcissus and cinnamon in an article. Some tea lovers left two questions.
First, how do you create the peach scent of cinnamon?
Secondly, why do narcissus rarely appear fruity?
Obviously, from the classification of tea aroma, if cinnamon wants to have a fruity aroma, especially peach aroma, green fermentation is a major focus.
Under the premise of good mountain farm environment and good quality of raw materials, there can be no mistakes in the greening process.
Once the greening is insufficient, it is difficult for the cinnamon to have a fruity aroma.
Once it is over-ripe and over-fermented, the final result will most likely not be a ripe peach flavor, but a rotten peach flavor.
Among the leading varieties of rock tea, Narcissus and Cinnamon, the aroma of cinnamon is more flexible. In addition to the cinnamon aroma of the variety, there are also many aromas such as cream, peach, melon, woody, magnolia, etc. possibility.
Behind this, in addition to the characteristics of the cinnamon variety (sufficient content of innate aromatic substances), it is also related to the fermentation process.
According to the tea-making habits of Wuyishan people, the principles of green processing after picking the green leaves of cinnamon and narcissus are different.
In the early stage of greening, the cinnamon is shaken more and the air is blown less, while the narcissus harvest mainly has large openings and larger leaves, and the emphasis is on shaking less and blowing more air to help the water flow quickly.
For this reason, the probability of narcissus producing fruity fragrance is relatively small.
It is a great test for narcissus to encounter a narcissus that has good water flow, is well-done, and can also present a sweet and fruity aroma.
《5》
4. Baking incense
Baking incense, also known as fire incense, roasting breath, etc., generally refers to a series of aromas produced by rock tea after roasting.
Common roasted rock tea aromas include caramel aroma, roasted melon seeds, roasted nuts, etc.
A tea lover asked before, why do I smell the smell of roasted seaweed in my Zuhuo Cinnamon Dry Tea?
This is not surprising. In essence, the roasted aroma of rock tea is just the plant protein inside the tea leaves that undergoes the Maillard reaction after being roasted at high temperatures to form a unique flavor.
Just like corn, sweet potatoes, chestnuts, and even meat skewers, only after being roasted at high temperatures can they undergo a gorgeous transformation and emit a fragrant and attractive fragrance.
The same is true for rock tea, no roasting, no rock tea.
Maocha that has not been roasted. Although the aroma of tea is high at first smell, the aroma is relatively "rough" and not delicate.
has little water fragrance, and the tea fragrance is not calm and lasting enough.
Only through roasting can the aroma, taste and flavor of a rock tea be wonderfully transformed.
The Huo Gong aroma of rock tea is often more obvious when sniffing it inside when cutting the brewing bag, smelling the aroma of dry tea after warming the cup, brewing the soup with boiling water for the first two/three times and then uncovering the lid while it is hot to smell the aroma.
If this is your rock tea, there will be no smell of over-roasting from beginning to end.
Either means that the tea is not roasted and the craftsmanship is lacking.
Either it proves that the tea has been brewed for too long, and even the roasting smell has disappeared!
《6》
Regarding the flavor of rock tea, a senior person in the tea circle once described it this way.
has a different taste.
has one variety and one flavor.
Each master has his own taste.
The aroma of rock tea is always dynamic.
When you drink tea at different times, in different conditions, or even in different weather conditions, your perception of the aroma will be different.
But the factors that affect the aroma of rock tea are far more than the "four aromas" mentioned above.
Such as tree age fragrance, vintage fragrance, brewing fragrance, storage fragrance, etc., we have to wait for the next chapter, to be continued!
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Xiao Chen Tea Shi village girl Chen, a columnist, the main writer of the original new media "Xiao Chen Tea Shi" in the tea industry, has published the white tea monograph "White Tea Tasting Notes", and has written more than 4,000 original articles from 2016 to 2020. article.
