丨This article was originally written by Xiao Chen Chashi
丨First published in Baijiahao: Xiao Chen Tea Affair
丨Author: Village Gu Chen
The weather in Fuzhou has been weird lately.
Yesterday the sun was still shining, and the weather was approaching 30, but the next day it suddenly cooled down and rained.
So, I drank cinnamon for two days in a row.
According to the Internet, different weather makes you feel different about tea.
It seems that this is indeed the case, drinking tea on a rainy day is more meaningful, the aroma is restrained and calm, and there is a kind of washed inspiration.
It seems that in the next second, she is going to put on a long sword and go to Wuyi Mountain to be a heroine.
But looking out the window at the hazy smoke and rain, I want to sigh again.
Lament, time always flies too fast.
When I went out in the morning, I saw the bright red word "Fu" posted on the door during the Spring Festival last year, which had not completely faded.
The new red letter bought this year is already on the way again.
I still remember that at the beginning of the year, Li Mahua asked a master to inquire, what should I pay attention to?
The master of the Northeast accent said, it's okay, it looks like there is nothing wrong with this year, you can rest assured.
Although it is not superstitious, there is always a psychological comfort.
Looking back on this year, there are many new opportunities and many new challenges.
I met new tea friends and shared more good teas, including white tea, rock tea, black tea, ......
At the end of the year, major platforms are holding large and small ** activities, and many officials come to leave messages, wanting to know about the strategy of hoarding tea.
So, let's talk about it today, how to choose friends who want to collect white tea?
White tea is known to be able to be stored for a long time.
Moreover, in the tea circle, it is also known as "one year tea, three years of medicine, seven years of treasure", which shows that the older the white tea, the better, and the older it is, the more fragrant it is.
Old white tea is good, but on the market, there is a mixture.
For tea lovers who are still inexperienced and have little discernment, it is easy to buy aged tea.
The silver was spent in vain, but what I got was a bunch of inferior tea.
The food is tasteless, and it is not willing to give up.
Therefore, the mainstream thinking today is that unless there is a reliable channel, it is better to store the tea yourself than to buy ready-made old white tea.
If you save it yourself, you can avoid the trap of old tea and have a greater probability of buying high-quality white tea.
WhileWhen buying white tea, the first thing to consider is the category.
The variety of white tea is actually very simple, it is not as complex as rock tea, nor is it as wide as the distribution of green tea.
There are only three main categories of white tea on the market: Baihao Silver Needle, White Peony, and Shou Mei.
Of course, Gongmei also belongs to white tea, but because it is a group species, the yield is too low, and it has gradually faded out of everyone's sight.
From the point of view of **, if the quality is comparable, Baihao Silver Needle "White Peony" Shoumei.
The reason is that scarcity is expensive.
Baihao silver needles have low yields and, in general, are only picked during the first 7-10 days of the spring tea season.
At that time, the growth and development of tea trees ushered in a big explosion, and the concentration was the essence, so it was rich in nutrients.
So, everyone collects white tea, partly to drink it for themselves, mainly considering the taste.
If you like milli fragrance, you should give priority to white silver needles;If you like the fragrance of flowers and the fragrance of the flowers, you should give priority to white peoniesIf you like the rich floral fragrance and the fragrant herbs, you should give priority to Shou Mei.
The other part is definitely hoping to preserve it well, store it as old white tea, and generate collection and investment value.
If it is based on this purpose, which category must be considered, which is rarer and more valuable in the future?
That's naturally a white silver needle.
The production of Baihao silver needles, which is already very low, should be deducted from the usual consumption after being stored for a number of years.
Therefore, the older it is, the less it is.
At the same time, the nutritional value of Baihao silver needle is high.
After changing from new to old, the nutrient content in its body is naturally slightly higher than that of white peony and shou mei.
Many years later, the old silver needle will shine and stand out among the old white teas.
With the category in mind, the next step is the form.
Loose tea or cake tea?That's a problem.
If your first choice is Baihao Silver Needle, then there is not much difference between loose tea and cake tea.
Baihao Silver Needle is a white tea based on buds, which is petite and does not take up much space.
But if you want to save longevity eyebrows, and you are hoarding them in large quantities, then it is recommended to think twice.
Because, Shou Mei loose tea is too fluffy and takes up too much space.
There was once a tea lover who had a soft spot for Bailu tea and complained to us.
He said that he originally planned to buy five catties of Bailu tea every year like stamp collecting, and save it while drinking.
Unexpectedly, after two or three years, the study at home was full of cardboard boxes for storing tea.
If you want to continue buying, you have more than enough heart, but there is not enough space.
After learning more about it, I learned that this tea friend used to buy loose tea, because I heard from the outside world that good tea does not press cakes.
As a result, there was a misunderstanding of white tea cakes and only stockpiled loose tea.
In fact, as long as the raw materials are good, whether it is loose tea or cake tea, the quality is very high, and it can become a high-quality old white tea in the future.
Especially for friends who have limited space for storing tea at home, storing cake and tea is more friendly.
Cake tea is based on loose tea, and the cake is pressed.
Therefore, the loose tea with thick stems and large leaves, teeth and claws, has become mellow and well-behaved, and has become a tea cake of moderate size.
In this way, it is easy to preserve.
A box of white tea cakes, even though the weight is very heavy, but the volume is not large.
For example, two cartons of the same size, if all of them are used to hold Shou Mei loose tea, they can only put down about 16 catties.
But if you put Shou Mei cakes, you can put 60 cakes enough.
A cake of 350 grams, 60 cakes is about 42 catties.
Using numbers to reflect the gap, I think the officials will be clearer.
In addition, the high mountain Shou Mei cake has a good production area, good craftsmanship, good storage, and a great chance to age jujube incense.
Loose tea and cake tea, with different flavors and advantages, are all worth our collection.
If you can, you can also stock up on some special teas.
That is, scarce products that are rarely encountered on the market and difficult for others to buy.
For example, head rice picking.
Another example is the Wilderness Silver Needle.
Another example, the wilderness winter film.
Another example, frost tea.
Again and again .........
The production of these teas is very small, and money may not be able to buy them.
Just like frost tea, it is a white tea picked in late autumn and close to winter, and it is not available every year.
Its birth is the result of the right time, place and people, and it is very accidental.
If you want to buy it, it all depends on fate, it is the fate with tea, and it is also the fate with the tea shopkeeper.
Trust each other and cherish each other.
If you buy these scarce good white teas, you are reluctant to drink them for the time being, and you can store them for a long time.
In the future, they will become even more scarce old white teas, which are rare and can be called superb.
In time, in front of good friends, sharing this top-notch old white tea will definitely shock the audience and amaze the audience.
So, if you're lucky enough to come across, don't hesitate.
If you miss out on good tea because of momentary hesitation, hesitation and not starting, you will regret it for the rest of your life.
Then again, hoarding tea should still be rational.
Start from your own needs, rather than blindly hoarding and hoarding in large quantities.
High-quality old white tea is based on the premise of good production area, good craftsmanship and good storage.
On the contrary, white tea with poor quality, even if you buy it back and save it, it doesn't make much sense.
The defect of the contained substance cannot be compensated for by the year.
In addition, warehousing should also be paid attention to at all times.
Hoarding tea occupies a considerable amount of resources, in addition to space, equipment, electricity, etc., which is a large cost.
If you don't have the conditions to store tea at home, or you haven't prepared and planned to store tea for a long time, it is still advisable to think twice.
Otherwise, no matter how good the white tea is, it will be wasted.
All the hard work and dedication have been in vain.
It's not easy to be original, if you think this article is helpful to you, please give it a thumbs up.
Pay attention to [Xiao Chen Tea Affair] to learn more about white tea and rock tea!
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.