丨This article was originally written by Xiao Chen Chashi
丨First published in Baijiahao: Xiao Chen Tea Affair
丨Author: Village Gu Chen
People who like to drink tea know the "Six Gentlemen of the Tea Ceremony".
To put it simply, they are six tools to help make tea.
It can make the whole tea drinking process more exquisite, more ritualistic, and awe-inspiring.
The first time I saw the six gentlemen was when the village aunt Chen was still young.
I followed Lao Chen out to drink tea and talk about things, and saw my sister who was a tea artist, taking out various tools from a bamboo bucket.
There are clips, there are spoons, and there are brushes.
It blends in with the atmosphere of the teahouse and reveals a sense of quaintness.
At that time, the wet bubble table was still popular on the rivers and lakes, and many people liked to use purple clay pots.
The tea master sister saw that I was interested, so she explained to me that the tea clip is used to clamp the cup;
Like a small spoon, it is called a teaspoon, which is used to pluck tea leaves;
The tea needle is used to pass through the spout of the teapot, where the leaves are often jammed;
The brush is used to clean the tea tray or pot, and after a long time, it will be pulped.
And the most memorable is the tea filter.
Because it accompanies almost the entire brewing process, from the beginning of the formal brewing of the tea, it is set on a fair cup to block the broken tea.
Therefore, with the existence of tea filter, the tea soup in the fair cup is always clear and transparent, and the guests will not be allowed to drink the tea residue.
Otherwise, the other party will have to be entangled, whether to spit out the tea residue or swallow it?
However, judging from the tea-making tools in recent years, it is obviously much simpler.
The much-anticipated purple clay pot was gradually put into the cabinet and became a handicraft.
The avenue is simple, and everyone prefers to use plain white porcelain bowls.
It does not absorb fragrance, does not absorb flavor, is easy to brew, and is easy to clean.
Then there is the change of tea tray, from the wet brewing table, a tea tray occupies almost the entire tea table, to the dry brewing table, only a small and delicate tea tray is needed.
Or, you can do without even a tea tray, a waterproof tea mat is enough.
The above changes also affected the changes of the six gentlemen of the tea ceremony.
Among them, tea needles and brushes are used very infrequently.
There is also a tea filter, which has gradually withdrawn from the tea table and has become one of the tools for eating ashes in the corner.
Could it be that everyone's tea-making skills have improved?
Or, is it acceptable to eat broken tea in your mouth?
Or is it that the tea is outdated, and the new person is replacing the old?
I unconsciously remembered that I went to a friend's studio for tea one time.
He was originally very dependent on tea filter tea, probably because of "obsessive-compulsive disorder", and he couldn't accept the existence of a little broken tea at all.
However, when I made tea that day, I didn't use a tea filter.
Seeing the tea filter he placed in the corner, a thin layer of dust had obviously accumulated on it, and it looked like it had not been used for a while.
So, jokingly asked him, "What's wrong?".Find someone to learn from a teacher and become a master of making tea?”
He shook his head and said, "No." ”
I found that there is basically no broken tea in good tea now, and there is no need to use a tea filter, and you have to wash it carefully every time you use it, which is so troublesome and a little rusty. ”
Then, he picked up the fair cup again, pointed to the broken tea that had settled at the bottom, and said
You see, a little bit of broken tea sinks to the bottom, and you can't drink it, so it's a big deal to pour it out and not drink it at the last sip. ”
nodded in agreement, it seems that the progress of making tea mainly depends on experience.
No matter how much theoretical knowledge you see, it can't compare to your usual soaking and drinking more, observing the details, and summing up the brewing method that suits you.
This friend is a typical example of combining theory and practice.
In most cases, there is no need for tea strainer to brew white tea, because the fair cup has the function of precipitating broken tea).
Is it obsolete with tea strainers?
It's like talking about the clothes and hairstyles that were popular in the 80s, and now when you look at it, there are always good fashionistas, turning them out and fiddling.
The name is retro.
Looking at it this way, there is actually nothing to be outdated.
However, if you carefully distinguish it, everything can always be swept up in the torrent of time and never return.
In fact, it is not that the tea filter is outdated, but that the thinking of the tea customers has improved.
They are no longer purely relying on tools, they are more willing to focus on their own tea drinking feelings, and want to pursue simpler and more labor-saving methods.
Of course, the tea filter can filter the broken tea and restore the cleanness and clarity of the tea soup.
In most cases, there is no need for tea strainer to brew white tea, because the fair cup has the function of precipitating broken tea).
However, tea filtration has advantages, and there are also "chicken ribs".
For example,When brewing white tea, the tea strainer will filter out the white hair on it.
And these filtered white hao are precisely the essence of white tea.
When the water is rich in white hao, the white tea soup will be thick, fragrant and rich, and even semi-jelly-like.
When you hold it up and shake it, you can see that it is not as thin as boiled water, but like a soft pudding, and the whole thing is swaying.
This distinction is formed by Bai Hao immersed in the soup.
Therefore, the richer the white tea, the higher the quality.
If you buy a mountain white tea and come back, you are full of white hair, but because of the "roadblock" of tea filtration, you waste nutrients, which is really worth the loss.
In most cases, there is no need for tea strainer to brew white tea, because the fair cup has the function of precipitating broken tea).
Another example,It is difficult to clean the tea strainer.
In order to block broken tea, the mesh is very dense in general tea filtration.
This creates a certain degree of difficulty in cleaning.
After using it for a long time, the tea filter will inevitably accumulate tea dirt, which not only looks dirty, but also may affect the aroma and taste of tea when making tea.
In addition, the metal tea filter is not wiped dry and ventilated after each cleaning.
If it is in a humid environment for a long time, it will also rust.
To drink tea, we must pay attention to hygiene, and second, we must ensure the original taste.
From this point of view, it was difficult for the tea filter to meet these conditions, so it gradually withdrew from the tea table.
For particularly crushed tea leaves, consider using a tea strainer).
In fact, there are not many broken teas with good quality.
Even if the tea is more or less damaged in the process of transportation and bagging because of drying, it is within a reasonable range.
We can control the size of these broken teas to minimize them falling into the fair cup with the tea soup.
The force of gravity cannot be stopped.
But you can make good use of it, let the broken tea settle to the bottom of the fair cup, and then divide the soup.
This way, you don't have to worry about drinking broken tea leaves.
One or two small broken leaves will not release too much bitter substance and change the taste of the whole cup of tea.
But on some occasions, tea filters are still inseparable.
For particularly crushed tea leaves, consider using a tea strainer).
When you buy a piece of tea cake that is pressed very tightly and pry it out, there is a large amount of broken tea.
When brewing, with the "waterfall" when the bowl comes out of the soup, the broken tea is mixed in, and it affects the appearance of escaping together.
It is indeed not good to drink a cup of tea soup full of broken tea.
It affects the mood and also affects the taste.
If you drink broken tea in your mouth, after chewing, it will spread a bitter taste.
At this time, it is necessary to take out the tea filter.
Before the soup is made, the tea filter is placed in the mouth of the fair cup, and as soon as the tea soup comes out, the broken tea is directly intercepted on the tea filter.
After the soup is finished, you can see that the tea soup in the fair cup is transparent and free of debris, and there is no broken tea.
You can choose a tea filter with a large mesh to let as much Baihao pass through as possible, and only block the broken tea with a larger area.
For particularly crushed tea leaves, consider using a tea strainer).
In different eras, the tea sets that the public likes to use will also change.
Of course, there is no such thing as obsolescence and popularity.
It's just that in the current environment, the current tea, which brewing form is suitable.
Whether to use a tea filter or not is a personal choice.
But if you take into account the flavor of the tea soup and the hygiene of drinking tea, you still have to use it according to the situation.
Making the best use of things is the best arrangement.
On the contrary, if abused, regardless of the occasion, it will cause us to miss out on the wonderful flavor of a tea.
To make tea, the tea set is only an auxiliary, and the key lies in yourself.
Practice makes perfect, and the extremely simple tea set can also make delicious tea soup.
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.