First, the origin of pressed tea
The biggest difference between cake tea and loose tea lies in the steaming process, that is, after the sun-dried white tea is steamed and softened, it is put into a mold for pressing. There is no such step in the production of loose tea, but it is directly sealed and stored.
As we all know, in the history of Pu 'er tea, one cake is 357 grams, and seven cakes are selected, which is convenient for calculation and mule and horse transportation. Ancient Yunnan tea was mostly transported to Tibet and other places through the ancient tea-horse road. In order to transport tea more conveniently, it has the shape of brick, cake and lump. Moreover, the tea processed in this way will have better fragrance, taste and nutrition. Therefore, the method of making pressed tea has also spread to this day.
White tea pressed into cakes and bricks is popular for a certain reason. In fact, the initial pressing of white tea was only to solve the transportation loss caused by inconvenient transportation during that time. Shoumei white tea is mostly stored and transported in the form of pressed cakes, mainly imitating Pu 'er tea cakes, starting from 2000 to 2003. It is worth mentioning that most Fuding tea enterprises have improved the technology because of the navel defect of black cake in the mold using Pu 'er tea pressing technology. Except for a few enterprises that insist on using traditional old equipment, most enterprises have adopted local improved new molds to produce pressed tea, and the phenomenon of black cake navel no longer exists.
___________________________________________
Shoumei loose tea takes up a large space, the original aroma is easy to disperse, and the pressed tea aroma lasts longer. As far as the characteristics of white tea are concerned, the collection of Shoumei cake tea is more conducive to the aging of quality and can achieve ideal results in a short time.
Second, the reason why the navel turns black.
After the pressed white tea is steamed, it forms a relatively compact space, which reduces the contact area between tea leaves and air, making the tea fragrance of white tea difficult to lose. However, loose white tea has a large contact area with air, and the tea fragrance is easy to lose. After steaming, although the aroma will be affected, it will virtually accelerate the transformation of white tea, making the white tea cake more fragrant and mellow than the loose tea.
Of course, pressing into pressed tea is not only convenient for transportation, but also conducive to the later storage of Shoumei white tea. But why does the pressed Shoumei (cake navel) cake center of Pu 'er tea die and turn black? Verified by related enterprises and demonstrated by experts' stress tests, the cake navel (cake center) turns black, which is an anaerobic reaction between microorganisms and aroma.
First, the white tea is pressed into cakes, and the absorption and evaporation of water have little effect on the pressed white tea, which can better preserve microorganisms and aroma.
Secondly, white tea is pressed into cakes, so that the temperature in the air has little effect on the inside of pressed tea, and microorganisms in tea can survive better.
Thirdly, the contact area between oxygen and light and Shoumei tea is relatively reduced, and the oxidation of tea polyphenols, ketones and chlorophyll is much slower, so the quality of tea can be better preserved.
___________________________________________
Third, the late storage value of white tea cake
From export to domestic market, the heat of white tea market has been increasing. Most people have realized its age-old value, and more and more tea lovers collect and drink white tea. Some people collect it for the appreciation of white tea, while others collect it to enjoy the mellow fragrance brought by old white tea. No matter what the reason, the saying that white tea is "more fragrant with age" and "one year of tea, three years of medicine and seven years of treasure" has also been recognized by more people.
If the storage conditions are correct and the quality is excellent, the blackened cake core can still be safely drunk. As long as it is not black-and-white tea fermented in piles, it will be stored for seven or eight years or even longer. After brewing, the bottom of the leaf will automatically turn green in the cup, because the bottom of the tea is alive.
Of course, the late transformation of white tea still depends on the quality of tea itself. On the premise of ensuring the quality of tea raw materials, supplemented by sophisticated technology, it can be transformed into high-quality white tea and aged tea.
___________________________________________
Fourth, the method of pressing tea
Faced with a dense mass of tea, many people may be puzzled. Next, I will teach you how to make pressed tea. How to brew pressed tea?
The utensils we want to use are: tea knife or tea cone, tea set. First, pry a small piece from the pressed tea with a tea knife. Then, iron the tea set with hot water, put in the pressed tea leaves and rush into the hot water. The first sip of tea should be poured out immediately and moistened. Then pour in hot water, and choose the soaking time of tea according to the amount of tea. The more dosage, the shorter the soaking time; If the dosage is small, the soaking time will be longer.