NEW-STYLE WHITE TEA
Enterprising tea enthusiasts created new-style leaf white tea, a unique subcategory of white tea made from the first leaf bunch of the tea plant, processed as carefully and almost as minimally as is traditional budset white tea. This new-style leaf white tea is essentially just shade-dried tea (as is its traditional budset counterpart). The processing consists of the two steps of traditional white tea manufacture: outdoor withering in the shade and indoor withering with cool air, but a third and final step of bake-drying (not leaf-firing) is added to thoroughly dry the higher moisture content leaf cluster. This processing must happen quickly, before the leaf has a chance to undergo many enzymatic changes.
New-style white tea has a slightly more concentrated flavor profile than true budset white tea (and the healthful benefits) at a significantly reduced cost. Highest-quality new-style white tea contains varying percentages of buds to help maintain a certain consistency of flavor with that of true budset white tea. In our store we offer two versions of new-style white tea: one contains about 40 percent budsets, and the other about 25 percent. Both versions are quite popular.
Sample trays show true budset white tea (left) and new-style white tea (right) (Fujian Province, China).
Because the pluck for new-style white tea can be one of only several choices, new-style white tea is a perfect example of pluck specificity. The choices are: (1) A full-sized, perfectly formed budset and first leaf, still intact. This is the finest quality of the genre, in which all of the elements are first rate. (2) The first leaf alone. The leaves used are the “first leaf,” the one just below the budset. This is the same pluck used for the elegant Lu’an Guapian, a famous green tea (guapian translates to “melon seed,” which is what the leaf looks like when rehydrated), but these Big Sprout first leaf plucks are much larger. The first leaf is the most porous of all the leaves on the bush, a necessary attribute for complete drying when using air only. (3) The budset and first leaf when imperfect. Plucked as a whole, particularly when the bud wasn’t perfect enough to be plucked earlier as a true budset white tea, this pluck is often the solution for instances of tip damage. (4) One more leaf may be included: in this instance the budset and first leaf are plucked together with the second true leaf. This “branch” is processed as a whole, remaining intact throughout the first stages of processing.
When manufacturing Shou Mei white tea, the bud is not plucked, only true leaves. This pluck normally shows where the bud only was recently plucked during the budset white tea harvest. This group of leaves is plucked as a branch also and processed as a whole, remaining intact throughout the first stages of processing. Later, during the sorting process, the stems are discarded and the classic “eyebrow” form (mei) develops.
New-style white tea significantly increases the available supply of white tea and is a welcome addition to the repertoire of tea available for tea enthusiasts. Several well-known types are Bai Mudan (White Peony), Gong Mei (Tribute Eyebrow), and Shou Mei (Long Life Eyebrow). Bai Mudan, made from a careful plucking of buds and first leaf together, is light to medium gray and tinged with streaks of off-white. This tea is made from the leaves of Fuding Da Bai or Zhenghe Da Bai tea bushes, so it has the signature downy covering on the buds. Gong Mei and Shou Mei are called “eyebrow teas” for their delicately curved shapes and are made from leaves only. They are made after the plucking for Bai Hao Yin Zhen and Bai Mudan from a pluck configuration of large leaves (see “Visiting a White Tea factory” in chapter 4).
WHITE TEA PRODUCTION EXPANDS IN THE GLOBAL MARKET
All forms of white tea are best when made from the budsets or leaf of China bush tea plants. Traditional budset white tea from Anhui Province is called Imperial Silver Needles. Though a budset pluck, the plants used in Anhui are subvarieties of China bush that differ from the tea plants traditionally grown in Fujian Province for manufacture into its authentic budset white tea. Several of the budset white teas coming from Assam, Darjeeling, and Sri Lanka are beginning to rival the original Chinese versions in character and style, but we still prefer the inherent flavor profile of the Chinese production.
Although some tea merchants promote white tea made from Assam bush as being an up-and-comer, we think that Assam bush is the best choice for making many world-famous teas, but not for white tea, either budset or leaf style. What has potential for future high-quality production of both budset and new-style leaf white tea is the use of one or another of the new clonal varieties of Camellia sinensis being derived from ancient strains. In the near future exquisite new-style and budset white teas will be available from tea-growing regions other than Fujian Province. Their position will mimic that of sparkling wines that make every effort to taste like authentic Champagne. Food enthusiasts should appreciate these similar comestibles for their individuality.
Budset white teas are expensive by the pound but are quite affordable when one calculates the cost on a per-cup basis. The flavor is superb, so budset white tea is a small treat that should not be missed. For example, extremely rare authentic budset white tea from Fujian that retails for seventy dollars per pound costs less than fifteen cents per cup!
The introduction of new-style leaf white tea is one of the most exciting recent additions to the tea repertoire. It is difficult to increase the quantity of authentic budset Fujian white tea, but with increasing demand, growers have the ability to process larger quantities of the more modern leaf white tea. Increased awareness and production has enabled more tea drinkers to enjoy this tea’s fine flavor, and the cost is usually one-third that of true budset white tea.
THE CHEMISTRY OF WHITE TEA
Because of the technique used to dry white tea, particularly the new-style leaf, it does oxidize slightly (from 8 percent to as much as 15 percent), mostly during the initial “no-sun withering” and then a bit more while it air-dries. The increased oxidation of new-style leaf white tea gives it a flavor that is faintly reminiscent of black tea, with a lush, full, oolong-like body—and it has none of the astringency of green tea. The Shou Mei variety is particularly popular with dim sum aficionados in Hong Kong, because of the full flavor and rich color that develops during its intentionally longer oxidation.
All types of white tea are believed to contain slightly less caffeine and fewer polyphenols than other forms of tea, but this analysis is difficult to duplicate consistently because of the many variables involved. Testing shows that the content of both caffeine and polyphenols can also be higher, so white tea proves the rule of exception and complication in the world of tea (see the discussion on caffeine in chapter 8). New-style white tea has the ability to be broken into fragments and packed in teabags, and it blends well with many green teas, full-leaf Formosa oolong, and large-leaf orthodox black teas. One of our most popular house blends is Snow on Jade Mountain, a blend of new-style leaf white tea and several early-harvest green teas.
Oolong Tea (Wulong or Blue Tea)
Oolong teas are the most complicated teas to manufacture. There are a greater number of steps involved in the manufacture of oolong tea than when making any other class of tea. The process inherently affords more opportunity for personal interpretation. Oolongs come in myriad forms, shapes, and colors.
OOLONG TEA, DEFINED
Oolong teas are made from large tea leaves, and the finished tea varies in appearance, ranging in color from rich chestnut brown to greenish-gray. Some oolongs have long, slightly twisted leaves that just barely curl up on the ends, while other oolongs have been loosely folded, and still others have been compressed into small, irregularly shaped balls. Some oolongs have bits of twig attached, while others do not. Many are given a light sideways crimping or folding, and others a hard, ball-rolling. In most cases fine oolongs require several successive infusions for the leaves to unfurl to their full extent.
CLASSIC FUJIAN OOLONG MANUFACTURE
There are two types of classic Fujian oolong manufacture, known as Min-Nan and Min-Bei. Although Tieguanyin oolong manufacture requires eighteen
steps, most Min-Nan “balled oolong” processing necessitates only ten. These ten basic steps in oolong tea manufacture are the following: After the pluck (step 1) the leaf is spread out and withered in the sun on ventilating screens for several hours (step 2). Next, the leaf is periodically turned to allow for uniform drying (step 3). Withering generates internal heat (step 4), so when the leaf has wilted the desired amount, the leaf is brought inside the tea factory and allowed to cool (step 5).
Then the leaf must be manipulated and rolled for the next seven to nine hours (step 6)—not continuously but only for a few minutes, once every two hours. This rolling action is the most critical in the long process and is called shajing, which means “to kill the flowering.” Shajing gently disrupts the cell walls and triggers the chemical substances in the leaves (chlorophyll, polyphenols, carbohydrates, and enzymes) to disperse, an essential step toward the final development of the finished leaf. During rolling, the flavor and character of the oolong tea is determined, so it is critical that tea masters constantly evaluate their handwork during this lengthy partial-oxidation process.
Near daybreak, if the overnight work has gone well, heat is applied to the leaf to stop further oxidation (step 7). Laboriously, this step is achieved by partially drying the leaf, by hand, in tea-firing woks about 2 pounds (1 kilo) at a time. After this the leaf is shaped (by hand or machine) by gently twisting and squeezing the leaves (step 8), which draws the juices and oils to the surface of the leaves. Then the leaf is redried or baked in bamboo baskets over charcoal fires (step 9). Over the next eight hours the leaf is baked four separate times, for five to ten minutes each, over decreasingly hot charcoal embers to achieve a medium firing. After baking, the leaf is allowed to cool (step 10). See the further description of “Tieguanyin” in the Southern Fujian Province section of chapter 4.
The Min-Bei oolong style of manufacture (for example, the Phoenix Mountain single-trunk oolong) is no less complicated, but it varies significantly from the “ball-rolled” style described above. The leaves used for this tea are so large that it takes a full thirty hours to process the leaf into finished tea. In addition to patience and fortitude, it takes the combined skills of a series of tea masters to encourage the slow development of flavor required by this varietal.
Picking. Different leaves are plucked depending on the tea that is being made. For the third spring plucking, for instance, the pluck is a segment comprised of three leaves. Tea is sorted at the point of collection and the leaf is evaluated for three qualities—shape, color, and fragrance.
Primary withering. The freshly plucked leaf is spread on tarps or concrete pads (if outdoors) or on the floor (if indoors) in a single layer to begin the withering process. As the leaf withers, heat is generated, which necessitates turning the leaf at least once. After several hours, the leaf is gathered and taken to the factory.
Cooling down/withering. The warmer the days, the more the leaves need to rest and “cool down” before processing begins. The leaves are sprinkled well-spaced in a single layer on large circular bamboo trays in the withering room. When the leaves begin to wilt, flatten, and stick to the tray they are ready to move on to the next step (about thirty minutes).
Rattling. After the leaves have withered, they are “rattled,” or shaken, by hand three times. In Chinese this procedure translates as “rocking the green” or “scratching the green.” The trays are picked up one by one and the leaves are gently tossed and rattled. This causes the leaf cells to rupture and the cell sap to disperse internally throughout the leaf, which begins oxidation—the series of chemical reactions that occurs within and on the surface of the leaf in the presence of oxygen.
It is this action that is the most critical in the production of this style of oolong. In this step the leaves are primed to successfully complete all of the remaining transformations that the leaf must undergo to yield the tea’s essential flavor and aroma. Oolong teas are all semioxidized, so the degree of oxidation must be rigorously controlled, but in single-trunk oolong production the oxidation is extremely finicky due to the open, flat, highly exposed surface area of the leaf being used.
Rattling usually begins in the late afternoon and proceeds until after midnight. Rattling is done seven different times, and the leaf is given a rest between each rattle.
Bruising/tumbling. After rattling, the tea is bruised or tumbled, which is a more vigorous workout for the leaf. Two or three mats’ worth of leaf is put inside a horizontal bamboo cylinder-tumbler and the leaf is gently tumbled. The tumbling continues for twenty minutes and then the leaf is rested for two hours. This is repeated three times.
After this, the appearance of the leaf is evaluated. The tea master notes the appearance of the leaf and looks for the characteristic red-tipped edges. The leaf develops these red-tipped edges from the bruising, and the transformation should be presenting 30 percent red and 70 percent green in the leaf at this point. The distinctive oolong fragrance should be beginning to develop. If all is progressing well, the leaf is heaped into one big pile and let to rest an additional four hours.
Firing/tumbling. A small twig fire is built in each of two fireboxes underneath the tea-firing ovens. When the heat has risen to 160°F (71°C) the leaf is put into the first oven and tumbled for fifteen minutes. The leaf is removed and put back into the bamboo cylinder-tumbler for twenty to twenty-five minutes to cool and change. Then the leaf is removed from the tumbler and placed in a second oven on wire mesh screens at a temperature of 100 to 105°F (38 to 41°C) for two to two-and-a-half hours.
At this point the tea is called gan mao cha, “half-done” or “primary” tea. The tea is stable at this point and will keep for several weeks in a cool, dry place. But the tea still needs to go through final drying (a six-hour process) to give it its finish-firing.
Oolongs are truly the most complicated teas to manufacture. The key to making a successful oolong is in the processing—in the crafting of the leaf. Crafting oolong tea involves a greater number of steps that are conducted over a longer period of time than when making other types of tea. Oolongs are semioxidized, and the range of level of oxidization is generally from 35 to 80 percent, latitude that allows tea makers to tweak the leaf into a tea that reflects their own expression of the style. Many oolongs are plucked as a bud with an accompanying set of leaves—sometimes as many as three leaves down the stem are picked as a unit.
Many of these oolongs are the ball-rolled or the semi-ball-rolled styles, and the connecting bits of stem are quite apparent and necessary. In Fujian Province these are historically known as the Min-Nan oolongs (south of the Min River) and the most famous is Tieguanyin, but this style of oolong is made elsewhere. These teas are in enormous contrast to another traditional style of oolong tea, the single-leaf oolongs, which are made from one large leaf, given a slight twist. These are what is known in Fujian Province as Min-Bei oolongs (north of the Min River) and include the revered Wuyi, or Rock oolongs, and are not seen manufactured in many other tea-producing areas. In between these two extreme leaf styles are the standard and special grades of oolong that most tea enthusiasts outside Asia are familiar with—full-bodied, deliciously soft tea with incredible stone-fruit aromatics. Oolong tea must be made from leaves that have reached a certain size for them to be “chemically balanced to deliver their maximum quality,” according to Leo Kwan, the managing director of Ming Cha in Hong Kong. Oolongs are produced after the spring green tea season has finished, and unlike green tea leaf, which is picked in the early morning and rushed to the factory, tea leaf that will be used to produce oolong tea is picked midday. Once the oolong leaf is picked, the process must continue around the clock until each batch of tea is finished.
As this tasting flight shows, the liquor color of oolong tea varies from pale gold to dark amber (Fujian Province, China).
Many locals drink primary tea, rather than the more expensive finished (or refined) tea. Primary tea is dull in color and lacks the polish that the finish-firing gives the tea. Refined tea has
a deeper flavor and more character, and will reinfuse more times. The length of storage time for this style of oolong tea comes from the finishing, as do the characteristic sweetness and aftertaste. Finishing removes the final bit of moisture from the leaf, concentrating the flavors in the leaf and contributing to longevity. Primary tea contains about 8 percent moisture and refined tea about 5 percent. See “Fenghuang Dan Cong” in chapter 4.
Oolong teas possess a diverse and appealing range of sophisticated, complex, and richly rewarding flavors and aromas, such as peach, apricot, honey, orchid, melon, leather, amber, and sandalwood. Their finish is long and sweet, with just a suggestion of astringency. Although most green teas yield a second and sometimes third infusion, because oolongs are made from large mature leaves, they do not open to their full, original size until the third or fourth infusion. Oolongs can commonly be infused several more times once fully open, for a total of as many as eight or nine infusions. The degree of partial or semioxidation in oolong tea can range from 10 to 80 percent and is determined during manufacture. Oolongs on the low end of the oxidation scale bear a resemblance to the tightly curled, tippy midseason green teas, and on the high end they look just like a super-large, individual-leaf orthodox black tea.
Each specific pluck yields a different finished leaf.
Wuyi oolong tea (left to right): partially rattled, gan mao cha, and finish-fired (Fujian Province, China).
Fujian oolongs offer all the levels of oxidation possible within the oolong class. We have seen Fujian oolongs at 12 percent oxidation and every stage up to 80 percent oxidation. The difficulty is selecting which to drink first! High-quality Taiwan oolongs are given on average 60 percent oxidization and have an appearance similar to those of similarly oxidized Fujian oolongs—nice, well-rolled buds or leaf that offer a variation of natural color, ranging from greenish-gold to brownish-gold and reddish-brown. The aroma should be strong and intensely floral, and the flavors should be mellow, saturated with stone-fruit flavors.
The Story of Tea Page 10
