Ji Feng's meaning was so obvious that even Chu Xiao could tell that he was interested in performing the One Hundred Tea Plays because of Yuan Zhou.
But now, Chu Xiao had no interest in it, because tasting tea had never been his strong point. Instead, he was more interested in the pastries on the table.
"Zhao Mei, go and prepare the grinding tools," Yuan Zhou said to Engineer Cheng.
"Okay, master." Master Cheng immediately ran to get the tools to grind the tea leaves.
Although Yuan Zhou did not know how to perform the One Hundred Tea Plays, the red, white, black, and green pastries required fine tea powder.
"Since the tea set has been prepared, let's try the pastries," Chu Xiao suggested.
"Sure." Zhou Shijie nodded.
"Are the four color pastries made with tea powder?" Ji Feng asked.
"Yes," Yuan Zhou said.
"In that case, let's start with this one," Ji Feng said.
"Please." Yuan Zhou stretched out his hand and gestured.
"I won't stand on ceremony." Zhou Shijie started to eat with a spoon.
"Since it's Yuan Zhou's pastries, I won't stand on ceremony," Yu Daoyi said.
The temperature of the tea was slightly cold. Layers of different colors overlapped and then cut into a diamond shape, which looked extraordinarily small and beautiful.
Chu Xiao picked up the small plate and looked at it carefully before starting to eat.
But Ji Feng was different. He held the plate in his hand and sniffed it carefully.
The tea leaves didn't need Yuan Zhou to tell them. Everyone present knew that they were white, black, black, and green tea.
But it was rare that these tea leaves were perfectly blended together and had a harmonious fragrance. Otherwise, the tea would not taste good if the fragrance was mixed together.
Therefore, the first thing Ji Feng did was to sniff the tea.
But this smell made Ji Feng understand Yuan Zhou's culinary skills. Whether it was the fragrance of black tea, the fresh and fresh smell of green tea, or the special fragrance of white tea and black tea, he could clearly smell all of them, but there was a wonderful sense of integration.
Although it was called a pastry, it was actually in the form of a jelly, sparkling and transparent.
"The smell is not bad." Ji Feng revealed a smile on his face. Then, he picked up the spoon and stuffed the pastry into his mouth.
Unlike Zhou Shijie or Chu Xiao, he didn't eat it slowly and savor it slowly. Instead, he directly swallowed it.
But it was this bite that gave him a different taste. The texture of the pastry was like jelly, but it was soft and sticky. It was warm and not cold.
When it entered the mouth, it was as smooth as jelly, but when it was chewed, it was soft and glutinous. After biting into it, a burst of fresh tea fragrance exploded in the mouth.
But it wasn't like real tea, which was bitter first and then sweet. Instead, the tea fragrance spread in the mouth with a faint sweetness.
"Ba Ji Ba Ji". When Ji Feng finished eating and swallowed the four-colored tea cake, the faint bitterness of the tea spread in his mouth.
But rather than saying it was bitterness, it was more like the flavor of the tea leaves. It was both bitter and sweet, leaving a lingering aftertaste.
"Good tea," Ji Feng couldn't help nodding.
"Indeed," Zhou Shijie nodded and praised as well.
"It's more refreshing than the western-style tea and pastries," Chu Xiao commented objectively.
"It's delicious," Yu Daoyi said simply.
As for the other diners, apart from Wu Hai, everyone else also commented on it. Even Hang Tian couldn't help but praise it.
Apart from the knife skills, Huaiyang Cuisine was also excellent in desserts. Although Hang Tian wasn't good at it, he knew how to taste it.
"This Head Chef Yuan is so young, yet he is proficient in so many skills. The younger generation will surpass us in time. Looks like my old bones are about to be crushed on the beach," Hang Tian said in a self-mocking manner.
"This world belongs to the young to begin with," Grandfather Ling continued.
"That's true," Zhou Shijie nodded and agreed.
Ji Feng looked at Yuan Zhou in satisfaction before looking at Engineer Cheng and asked, "Are these the only tools?"
"Yes. Because I don't know how to separate the tea leaves, this is all I have for now. Master Ji, what else do you need?" Yuan Zhou asked.
"Since that's the case, let me show you the Rising Sun of the Sea. The rising sun always shines brightly," Ji Feng said with a smile as he looked at the setting sun.
Then, Ji Feng started to grind the tea leaves with the newly delivered tools before waiting for anyone to answer him.
Actually, the Hundred Tea Plays were tea separation, tea painting, soup play, tea play, etc. It was an ancient tea ceremony that allowed the veins in the tea to form an image. Its specialty was that only tea and water were used, and no other ingredients were used to create words and images in the tea. Ji Feng had mentioned earlier that he was going to depict the Rising Sun of the Sea.
"This time, I will use the ancient green tea method to demonstrate the Rising Sun of the Sea," Ji Feng said as he took out a box of green tea and started grinding.
The Hundred Tea Plays first required the tea leaves to be ground and sifted. Then, the fine tea foam would be used to brew the tea and stir it with a spoon to form the tea veins.
Therefore, the first tool used to grind the tea leaves was very important.
What Yuan Zhou provided was a small handheld grindstone. The gears of the grindstone were very fine and smooth. Just one grind could turn the tea leaves into fine tea powder. However, Ji Feng still grinded the grindstone three times earnestly until the dark green tea powder was so fine that the grains could no longer be seen.
The tea foam was also sifted by Ji Feng three times before he started to brew the tea.
The most important part of the Hundred Tea Plays was the brewing and stirring with a spoon. It was precisely because of the different brewing techniques that there were various patterns and words in the Hundred Tea Plays.
This time, Ji Feng didn't use a white porcelain bowl or a glass cup, but a brown and black flat bowl. The mouth of the bowl was quite large and the bottom of the bowl was relatively shallow.
It was convenient for brewing and could make the pattern clearer. Of course, it was said that the ancients could brew a seven-character poem in a small teacup.
"Let's begin," Ji Feng stood up and said seriously.
Ji Feng lifted the teapot forcefully with his wrist. The thin and powerful boiling water rushed straight down, forming a whirlpool along the edge of the bowl and stirring the tea powder at the bottom of the bowl.
The water flow was fast and rapid, but not a single drop of tea powder was splashed. The whirlpool formed at the bottom of the brown bowl spread layer by layer. When the bowl was eighty percent full, Ji Feng immediately put down the teapot and then quickly picked up the spoon with his right hand.
He stirred it gently with his right hand and then pressed the edge of the bowl with his left hand. Then, the tea in the brown bowl stopped flowing slowly.
The water above the bowl was no longer in the shape of a whirlpool, but slowly undulated into the shape of a wave. The green tea foam was divided into two sides. The dark part on one side slowly sank to the bottom and became as deep as the ocean.
On the other side, the color gradually faded. The white foam formed by the water rushing down from the top slowly began to gather into a circle from the dark tea and then floated to the light part along the water ripples.
Such a picture of the rising sun from the sea was formed in the brown bowl along with the water ripples.
It was just like the masterpiece of an ink painter.
…
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