丨This article was originally written by Xiao Chen Chashi
丨First published in Baijiahao: Xiao Chen Tea Affair
丨Author: Village Gu Chen
When the dry north roared, the temperature in Fujian dropped below 10.
Not only is it cold, but the moisture in the air is getting thinner.
Every year at this time, people from the North and South have another big debate about climate.
Friends in the south complained that they had nosebleeds when they went to the north.
Friends from the north cried that they went to the south and got rheumatism.
And the phenomenon of the reunification of the north and the south is that after wearing a sweater, there is always a crackling static electricity.
By the way, I would like to ask the judges, which one would you rather accept, dry cold or wet cold?
Controversial things always spark discussion.
For example, the north and south have different climates and different living habits.
Another example is the way to store white tea proposed by Village Gu Chen.
The storage method of white tea proposed by Village Gu Chen is concise and to the point, sealed and dry, protected from light and cool, and away from the wall and ground.
In the season when water vapor is more abundant, in spring and summer, everyone often strictly adheres to this standard.
However, when it comes to autumn and winter, it is time to slack off.
Because from the seasonal point of view, autumn and winter are dry, and white tea is not threatened.
Some people even believe that white tea, which has been sealed for more than half a year, should be taken out in winter to ventilate and bask in the sun.
Otherwise, if it is stored for a long time, it will have a stuffy smell and affect the taste.
This remark is really shocking.
The storage of white tea is divided into two "environments".
One is the small environment, which refers to the environment inside the carton.
One is the general environment, which refers to the environment of the tea storage room.
Needless to say,The cardboard box for storing white tea must be kept sealed at all times.
I believe that no one in the white tea circle will stand up against this point of view.
Unless he doesn't know anything about white tea.
In fact, it is very clearly written in the national standard of white tea, and the dryness requirement is "water content< 85%”。
Of course, there is no lower limit to this standard, and the more you do it, the better.
If you want to maintain a low water content all year round, it means that when making white tea, you must remove the water as much as possible.
This is due to the help of an experienced tea maker, who is highly skilled.
While retaining the nutrients to a great extent, the white tea is thoroughly dried by withering and drying.
It can also be seen that since the national standard has strict requirements for the moisture content of white tea, and when it comes to storage, it is naturally necessary to seal and prevent moisture, which is an indisputable fact.
Many tea lovers mistakenly believe that the weather in the north is very dry, or that the low moisture content in the air in autumn and winter will not cause any harm to the quality of white tea.
It would be a mistake to think this way.
Moisture in the air is abundant in abundance.
No matter what season or region, as long as it exists, it may affect the quality of white tea.
If the white tea is opened and exposed to the air, even in the northern winter, it is extremely dry, and the white tea is difficult to get damp and moldy, but there is a high probability that it will run out.
If the temperature in the room is too high (turn on the heating), or if the window has not been opened for a long time to ventilate, the air in the room is relatively muddy.
Let white tea stay in such an environment, over time, it will run out, change taste, and oxidize, which is inevitable.
Therefore, sealing is not only to prevent moisture, but also to protect from light, in order to prevent odors from entering, and to ensure the pure aroma and taste of white tea.
If you want to provide the best protection for white tea, in addition to one layer of cartons, it is far from enough, but also to achieve three layers of packaging.
One layer of aluminum bags, one layer of food-grade plastic bags, and one layer of corrugated boxes at least five layers thick.
The mouth of the aluminum bag and plastic bag should be tied tightly with a rope to avoid running gas.
In addition to the corrugated box should be tightly taped in the middle, the gaps around it should also be paid attention to.
Only in this way, the white tea is layered and sealed.
In the years to come, white tea can be aged in a small environment that is stable enough without worrying about external interference.
The general environment for storing tea is to see that you usually store white tea.
The room used to store white tea may not be a dedicated tea storage warehouse, but it must have clean and refreshing air to ensure that it is dry, dark, cool, and odorless.
Speaking from experience, the most suitable place is the study.
Because there are very few people walking around there, and there are books inside, the air is relatively dry.
As long as the weather is fine occasionally, open the windows slightly to ventilate and breathe.
However, it should be noted that the ventilation mentioned here is only the proper flow of air in the room.
You don't have to drive it too much, so you don't have to let in a lot of wind and air.
It is enough to only need the turbid air in the room to be discharged, and the fresh air outside to be replaced with a certain amount of air circulation.
Excessive ventilation will destroy the stable environment, humidity, temperature, etc., and affect the aging of white tea.
Let the fragrance of tea and the fragrance of books coexist, which is more conducive to the transformation of materials.
In addition, there are several places that are forbidden to store white tea.
Such as basements, kitchens, refrigerators, etc.
Everyone knows that in the basement, because there is no light all year round, there is always a lingering stuffy and musty smell, in short, the air is not refreshing.
In such a place with turbid air, there is no way for white tea to age well.
Even, in the process of aging, it will inhale bad odors and affect its own quality.
In turn, bad miscellaneous odors and peculiar smells are generated.
The same is true for refrigerators and kitchens, which have a lot of miscellaneous smell and heavy moisture, which is not suitable for white tea preservation.
As long as the small environment and the big environment are done well at the same time, white tea will not have a stuffy taste.
The stuffy smell of white tea does not come from the sealed environment, but the air in the place where the tea is stored is too turbid, and there is no cleaning and ventilation at ordinary times.
In addition, it is not sealed according to the requirements, resulting in the absorption of external water vapor in the white tea.
Therefore, it is inevitable that it will deteriorate due to moisture.
Over time, the dry smell of white tea has been affected.
From the original dry fragrance, it becomes dull and boring.
In addition, there are burnt, sour, sour, smoky, and chocolate flavors, which will not appear in good quality old white tea.
Real old white tea, under good storage conditions, must have a rich aroma and rich layers.
Its fragrance types include medicinal fragrance, aged fragrance, rice fragrance, floral fragrance, zongye fragrance, jujube fragrance, and so on.
To briefly introduce it, medicinal fragrance is the smell of Chinese medicinal materials.
During the new tea period, the medicinal fragrance of white tea was more like freshly picked herbs, such as mandarin duck vine, white flower snake tongue grass, prunella vulgaris, and houttuynia cordata, which were boiled into a pot of herbal tea.
Just like the aroma of herbs in Wang Mouji, three flowers and two herbs.
During the old tea period, the medicinal aroma of white tea changed to the taste of rhizome Chinese patent medicine.
Like angelica, rehman, and parsnip, these Chinese patent medicines exude a rich and heavy medicinal fragrance after they are cooked.
Aged fragrance is also a common fragrance type in old white tea.
Literally, it is an old smell, close to the aroma of the plant after it has been dry for a long time, and it is old.
Dry, comfortable, natural and pure.
In addition, jujube incense is also a very popular fragrance type in old white tea, however, jujube incense only exists in good quality Lao Shou Mei cakes.
With good production area, good technology and good storage, you can have a sweet jujube fragrance under the precipitation of the years.
The stuffy taste is definitely not the normal taste of old white tea.
Of course, the smell is not caused by sealing, but because it is not sealed well and the storage conditions do not meet the specifications.
Sealed, dry, protected from light, cool, and odorless, these 5 key points cover everything.
This proves that if you want to save high-quality old white tea, external factors and internal factors are equally important.
The stuffy taste is only present in bad white tea, and it is a roadblock to prevent white tea from becoming a good old white tea.
Don't ruin your whole box of good tea because of a momentary misjudgment.
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Xiao Chen Tea Village Gu Chen, column writer, the original innovation of the tea industry ** "Xiao Chen Tea Affairs" chief writer, has published a white tea monograph "White Tea Tasting Notes", and has written more than 4,000 original articles from 2016 to 2020.