In fact, it was almost four o 'clock, and Li Zhifu could still rest for an hour and a half.
Xia Ruofei could be said to have truly experienced the complexity of the manual tea-making process. Especially when the key processes were completed by one person, it was really quite difficult.
Ye Linyun directly laid down a mattress on the floor in Li Zhifu's room, while Xia Ruofei returned to the car, put down the back seat, and slept in his clothes.
He felt like the alarm clock had just closed his eyes. In fact, he slept very lightly for an hour or so.
Xia Ruofei sat up and looked out of the car window. Li Zhifu's room was already lit up. Xia Ruofei quickly opened the door and jumped out of the car.
After more than an hour of rest, and with the effect of the Spirit Heart Flower's petal solution, Li Zhifu looked very energetic. He was instructing Ye Linyun to move the water sieve out.
Yang Shugen had already pulled a wire in the yard and hung a 200-watt light bulb. The yard was suddenly bright.
Xia Ruofei also went up and saw Li Zhifu carefully inspecting the tea green under the light. After a long time, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "The process of making the tea green is perfect! Now, the tea green is in a state of three red and seven green! "
Li Zhifu saw Xia Ruofei's confused look, so he smiled and explained, "Three red and seven green is our terminology. After the tea green has been shaken to make the tea green, the edges of the leaves have been rubbed and hit, and the damaged parts will be oxidized and dark red. At this stage, three red and seven green is the best state."
Xia Ruofei looked like he had learned something. He said, "Mr. Li, there are too many things to pay attention to in this ancient tea making method!"
Li Zhifu laughed and said, "That's not all. There are more than a dozen processes in Da Hong Pao, and there are many things to pay attention to in each process. If it wasn't for the master teaching me step by step and practicing hard every day, even the smartest person wouldn't be able to learn it! "
Xia Ruofei nodded and said, "Yes! If you don't look, you won't know. Now that you've seen it … it's all about the knack! Mr. Li, I'll have to trouble you to learn from him … "
"Don't worry! Since I've accepted him as my disciple, I'll definitely do my best! " Li Zhifu said faintly, "There aren't many people who are willing to learn this traditional tea craftsmanship. Even if I keep it to myself, it's meaningless. I can't bring it into the coffin!"
Ye Linyun quickly said, "Master, you're in good health! Don't say such unlucky things! "
Li Zhifu looked at Ye Linyun with undisguised fondness. He smiled kindly and said, "Okay, let's stop chatting and get to work!"
The next step was to stir-fry. Yang Shugen had already prepared the iron pot, but the steps of starting the fire were done by Li Zhifu himself. This was related to the temperature of the tea leaves, so he would never let others do it.
After the pot was heated up, Li Zhifu poured the fermented tea green into the iron pot and began to stir-fry it with his bare hands.
His gestures were also very strange. The tea green was flipped up and down under his stirring, and the moisture of the tea leaves quickly evaporated. The fermentation process was artificially stopped, and the essence of the tea juice was completely preserved in this process.
Slowly, the tea green in the iron pot began to emit a trace of water vapor, and the temperature of the iron pot began to rise. Li Zhifu began to use two half-moon-shaped wooden tea spatulas. First, he shook them slightly to release some water and evaporate the green gas. Then, he used the two spatulas to hold the stir-fried tea leaves.
After a while, the tea green was almost ready to be taken out of the pot. Li Zhifu shook the spatulas slightly to evenly disperse the water. After a few more stir-frying, the tea green was completely taken out of the pot.
Li Zhifu didn't even have time to take a breath, and immediately began the kneading process.
The kneading was purely manual, and the action was a bit like washing clothes. Li Zhifu pressed the stir-fried tea leaves into the kneading sieve and pushed it back and forth until the juice of the leaves flowed out. He rolled them into strips, and a strong fragrance assailed his nostrils. Then, he immediately began to unwrap them and shake them loose.
Next, Li Zhifu placed the tea green into the pot and stir-fried it. This process was very short, about half a minute. He only flipped it a few times before taking it out and kneading it again. The kneading time was also shorter than the first time.
From the beginning of stir-frying to kneading, stir-frying, and kneading, the entire process took about half an hour.
However, the workload was still very heavy, and Li Zhifu didn't stop for a moment. After he was done, he was covered in sweat.
Xia Ruofei hurriedly handed over the "nutrient solution" that he had already prepared.
Li Zhifu took the small porcelain bottle and drank the Spirit Heart Flower's petal solution in a few mouthfuls. Then, he wiped his mouth and said, "Gen 'er, is the baking room ready?"
"Master, it's ready!" Yang Shugen hurriedly said.
"Let's start the baking!" Li Zhifu said decisively.
"Okay!"
When they arrived at the baking room, Li Zhifu evenly placed the kneaded tea leaves in the baking basket made of bamboo strips. Then, he personally started the fire in the baking room and added the charcoal.
The heat control during this process was also very important. Li Zhifu had been making tea for dozens of years, and the reason why he was famous was because of his mastery of the heat control during baking. Therefore, Ye Linyun and Yang Shugen stared at him without blinking as they were afraid that they would miss a single detail.
The charcoal in the baking room soon began to turn red, and Xia Ruofei could feel the waves of heat from the room.
Li Zhifu carefully felt the heat and adjusted the position of the charcoal a few times. Then, he evenly sprinkled plant ash on top. This was also Li Zhifu's specialty. Through the plant ash, he could control the temperature of the baking room and distribute the heat more evenly.
After a few adjustments, Li Zhifu finally nodded his head.
Ye Linyun and Yang Shugen hurriedly lifted the baking basket and placed it on top of the baking room.
The doors and windows of the baking room were tightly closed, and the moisture could only pass through the cracks in the roof, so the room was very hot and stuffy. However, Li Zhifu still stayed in front of the baking basket and observed the state of the tea leaves. During this time, he stir-fried them several times.
After about 15 to 20 minutes, the baking was successfully completed.
After the tea leaves were baked, Li Zhifu asked Ye Linyun to pour the tea leaves into a dustpan. Then, he personally used the dustpan to remove the yellow pieces, fragments, tea powder, and other impurities. Then, he spread the tea leaves out and moved them to the green rack outside to dry.
After Li Zhifu personally checked, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Xiao Xia, now it's about five hours to dry. Let's all go and rest for a while!"
Xia Ruofei knew that Li Zhifu probably didn't sleep all night. Although there were a few hours in between, the old man's sleep was very light. It was hard to say whether Li Zhifu had slept or not!
He quickly said, "Okay, okay, Mr. Li, it's been hard on you! You should go and rest for a while! "
Xia Ruofei didn't rest much himself, so after he sent Li Zhifu to the door of the room, he quickly got into the car and lay down.
They slept until about 11 o 'clock in the afternoon. Xia Ruofei woke up feeling refreshed. He took out his travel toiletries from the trunk and went to the faucet in the yard to wash up.
Li Zhifu had also woken up at this time. He was checking the status of the tea leaves on the green rack.
Xia Ruofei quickly greeted him. "Mr. Li, how was your rest?"
Li Zhifu smiled and said, "It was okay, I slept for a while. Xiao Xia, the manual tea making process is more than half done. There are only a few more steps left. It will be done before noon! "
"You've worked hard!" Xia Ruofei said sincerely.
Xia Ruofei's words were from the bottom of his heart. After all, this was an old man in his nineties! He had almost stayed up the whole night last night!
Li Zhifu smiled and waved his hand. "It's not hard, it's not hard. I like such good tea. I don't feel tired at all!"
Next, Li Zhifu asked Ye Linyun and Yang Shugen to carry the tea leaves to the roasting room. They started the roasting, stir-frying, and other finishing procedures.
At about 11: 30, the Da Hong Pao tea was finally completed!
Yang Shugen found an electronic scale and weighed it. It was about one catty and two taels.
However, the entire process wasn't completed yet.
After everyone had a simple lunch in Yang Shugen's small tea factory, Li Zhifu began to personally refine the tea leaves.
This was a more complicated process. It included picking, screening, re-picking, wind selection, first roasting, and even piling. After Li Zhifu's personal refinement, the final product, Da Hong Pao tea, was finally presented to everyone.
The Da Hong Pao tea leaves were strong and neat. They were dark brown in color and had an oily glow. When they got closer to smell it, there was a very strong tea fragrance that made people feel refreshed.
Ye Linyun and Yang Shugen both looked at Li Zhifu with admiration.
Li Zhifu looked at the Da Hong Pao tea that was only about one catty and couldn't help but show a very satisfied expression. He stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Xiao Xia, the fresh leaves you provided are really of high quality! After so many years, I'm most satisfied with this tea. Look at this rope, it's quite tight and strong. The color is also quite pure. It also has such an obvious treasure aura. Not bad, not bad … "
Xia Ruofei said happily, "Mr. Li, this is because of your superb skills. Otherwise, no matter how good the tea green is, it would be impossible to make tea of such quality."
In terms of tea making, Li Zhifu wasn't modest. He smiled and nodded. "How about it? Let's try these tea leaves!"
Xia Ruofei immediately said, "Okay!"
No matter how good the tea leaves looked, the final quality was determined by the taste. Only after soaking and tasting it would they know.
Ye Linyun and Yang Shugen were also full of anticipation. Yang Shugen quickly brought a full tea set.
Li Zhifu said, "Gen 'er, find a tea jar first and help Xiao Xia seal the tea leaves!"
"Okay!"
Yang Shugen was the owner of a tea factory, so he naturally had no shortage of teapots. He quickly brought over a 500kg teapot and carefully placed the Da Hong Pao tea personally made by Li Zhifu into the teapot before sealing it tightly.
Li Zhifu put about a brewing amount of tea leaves that Yang Shugen had deliberately left behind into the Yixing clay teapot. The teapot looked a little old and was shining with a purple light. It should be what Yang Shugen usually used to make tea.
After the spring water boiled, Li Zhifu poured the water into the Yixing clay teapot. Suddenly, the room was filled with the fragrance of tea. Everyone's eyes lit up. This tea was really fragrant!
Li Zhifu put down the teapot and immediately picked up the Yixing clay teapot and poured the tea out. The Da Hong Pao tea also needed to be washed, but the brewing process was very short. It didn't need to wait a few seconds like Tie Guanyin.
Next, Li Zhifu poured in the boiling spring water again. After letting it sit for about ten seconds, he poured it into the smelling cups in front of everyone.
When the tea was poured into the smelling cups, Yang Shugen's eyes lit up. He said happily, "The tea is clear and bright! Good tea! "
Xia Ruofei looked at the tea in front of him. The tea in the smelling cup in front of him had a deep orange color. It was very clear and bright.
Li Zhifu smiled and poured the tea in the smelling cup into another tea cup. Then, he picked up the smelling cup and rubbed it gently with both hands. Then, he brought the smelling cup to his nose, closed his eyes slightly, and took a deep breath …
Xia Ruofei followed suit. He followed Li Zhifu's actions and smelled the tea. He couldn't tell what was good about it. He just felt that the fragrance was refreshing, as if his whole body was energized.
"Clear and serene! The fragrance is overflowing! Good tea! "Li Zhifu said excitedly.
Then, Li Zhifu put down the smelling cup and finally picked up the tea tasting cup. Yang Shugen and Ye Linyun were not rookies. They were quite proficient in tea tasting. After smelling the fragrance, they also picked up the tea tasting cup.
Xia Ruofei followed suit and picked up the tea cup.
Smelling the tea fragrance that filled the room, Xia Ruofei's mood seemed to calm down. His eyes couldn't help but reveal a look of appreciation and playfulness. He slowly inhaled the tea and then swallowed it.
Xia Ruofei suddenly felt the mellow and refreshing taste in his mouth. He couldn't help but reveal a look of enjoyment.
Li Zhifu opened his eyes and asked with a smile, "Little Xia, how do you feel?"
Xia Ruofei smiled and said, "Mr. Li, I'm not an expert in tea tasting, but I feel that the taste of this tea is very mellow. At the same time, it has a very tempting fragrance. In addition, there's an indescribable charm in it … "
Yang Shugen immediately said, "The Rock Charm! Master, the Rock Charm of this Da Hong Pao is very obvious. It's really a top-notch tea! "
Li Zhifu smiled and nodded. "Gen 'er is right. Little Xia, if you can taste the Rock Charm floating in it, it means that my Da Hong Pao is a success!"
"Rock Charm?" Xia Ruofei asked, somewhat puzzled.
Li Zhifu nodded and said, "Yes! In layman's terms, it's the Rock Charm. This is the unique charm of our Mount Wuyi Da Hong Pao. "
"It sounds a little mysterious …" Xia Ruofei said with a smile.
"It's not mysterious at all. Our Mount Wuyi Da Hong Pao turns this mysterious charm into a tangible charm that can be tasted," Li Zhifu said.
Then, his eyes revealed a trace of depth as he said, "In my opinion, Da Hong Pao is like an old man who has experienced the vicissitudes of life. After experiencing the hardships of the wind and rain, after walking through a long life, he slowly tells you about it. This kind of story can withstand the sharpening of time and the scrutiny of the years. "
Xia Ruofei suddenly felt a sense of awe. He never expected that an old tea farmer who had been working in Mount Wuyi for decades would be able to say such philosophical and poetic words.
Xia Ruofei looked deeply at Li Zhifu, then asked, "Mr. Li, what do you think of the quality of this Da Hong Pao compared to the legendary mother tree Da Hong Pao?"
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