丨This article was originally written by Xiao Chen Tea
丨First published in Baijiahao: Xiao Chen Tea Affair
丨Author: Village Gu Chen
There is such a story recorded in Zhuangzi Qiushui, which is very interesting.
During the Warring States period, a person went to Handan, Zhao State, and I heard that the people there walked very well.
I went there, and of course I didn't disappoint myself, and I saw that the people there walked in a beautiful and elegant way.
He himself wanted to have such a beautiful posture, so he learned how to walk from others.
So he learned the way everyone walked on the street, and when others took their left foot, he also walked with their left foot.
When others step on their right foot, they also learn to step on their right foot.
Learn when you see a teenager's walking posture, and learn when you see a middle-aged man's walking posture.
As a result of this mixture, the walking posture is becoming more and more unsightly.
This person felt that his previous way of walking was incorrect, so he was unable to learn a more elegant posture.
So he completely abandoned the previous way of walking and studied how others walked.
After three months, not only did he not learn the graceful posture, but he also forgot his original way of walking.
This term can often be used together with "Dong Shi Xiaofeng", and blindly imitating others is not a good thing.
Every time I think of these stories, I think of old white tea and aged tea.
It is impossible to think that it is a new tea and has not undergone aging over time, but it is impossible to think of having the essence of old white tea.
So I thought about using the old means to make myself look very old.
How to distinguish between old white tea and aged tea?
2016 White Dew Cake).
First of all, the most intuitive way is definitely to look at the appearance.
There is still a clear difference between the color of aged tea and the color of normal old white tea.
Understanding the process of making aged tea will allow you to better discern the difference between the two.
The method used to make new tea old is very simple, generally it is to ferment in the wodui, expose to the sun, and dry at high temperature.
In the process of piling up, the tea leaves are not dried in time, but are thickly piled together, which makes the internal temperature of the tea leaves rise.
Tea leaves are affected by high temperatures, and endoplasm is lost in the process of piling up.
After fermentation, the leaves will quickly turn dark brown and dark brown.
After exposure, the chlorophyll will decompose and disappear in the sun, and the leaves lose their original green color.
Naturally, the color of aged tea, without exception, is basically a black-brown color.
But this is not the case with normal storage of old white tea.
The necessary conditions for storage are sealed, protected from light, cool, dry, and odorless.
Old white tea).
Normal white tea is stored without being disturbed by sunlight.
The entire storage process is very safe and suitable for white tea aging.
Therefore, chlorophyll is still present in white tea and will not disappear for no reason.
Under normal storage, white tea ages naturally, and naturally there will be no major changes in color.
Normally, before white tea becomes old white tea, it has tender green buds, pure white white hair, and green leaves.
These do not disappear after storage and aging, and do not change color.
It's just that after the precipitation of time, the original tender green color has become dark green and dark green.
It seems that it has only added some traces of time, a little vicissitudes, with the shadow of years.
However, it does not turn the original green buds into black-brown or coffee-colored.
From green and five-colored to black-brown and coffee-colored, this does not occur during normal white tea storage.
2016 White Dew Cake).
The second point to distinguish old white tea from aged tea is to smell the fragrance.
There are many ways to smell the fragrance, you can smell the fragrance of dry tea, open the lid and smell the fragrance, the fragrance of falling water, the incense of hanging cups, and the fragrance of the bottom of the leaves.
Generally, before drinking tea, smelling the aroma of dried tea and the fragrance of the cover can effectively identify the quality of the tea.
If the quality of the tea is not good, you can effectively avoid it before drinking it, and it will not affect the body.
Before brewing tea, when the tea leaves are taken out, you can start smelling the dry tea aroma on the packaging.
Normally, the aroma of aged white tea is refreshing, dry, and pleasant.
The aroma of normal old white tea includes medicinal fragrance, aged fragrance, milli fragrance, lotus leaf fragrance, bamboo leaf fragrance, jujube fragrance and so on.
When you smell the aroma of dry tea, you can smell these aromas.
Old white tea).
Similarly, after the tea leaves have been brewed out of the soup, you can smell these aromas by removing the lid and smelling the fragrance.
The aroma of aged tea, in comparison, is much inferior.
It may smell very light, after all, after the old method, the endoplasm of the tea is seriously damaged, including the aroma substances.
Compared to carefully stored aged white tea, the aroma of aged tea is simply not worth mentioning.
Moreover, some aged teas smell dull, and even have smells such as sour, musty, muddy, and chocolate.
Most of these smells are caused by the fact that the tea has deteriorated due to moisture.
Some aged teas are not only shoddy in terms of processing, but also careless.
Even when it comes to storage, it is stored at will, and everything is used to the fullest, regardless of whether the tea has gone bad or not.
2016 White Dew Cake).
The pursuit of old white tea on the market is still enthusiastic, but old white tea needs time to precipitate.
Therefore, old tea takes advantage of the void and attracts consumers to buy it at a low price.
In addition, with the improvement of aged tea technology, the color of some aged tea is not completely dark brown.
Even, in the process of processing, the method is improved, and a part of the aroma substances is retained, so that the smell of the fragrance is dull.
Well, at this time,To distinguish between old white tea and aged tea, it is necessary to taste the tea soup.
Real old white tea, its soup can be described in four words, mellow and sweet.
Old white tea).
The tea soup tastes delicate and soft, the fragrance of the falling water is obvious, the aftertaste is strong, and the aftertaste is endless.
But aged tea is completely different, although it retains a small part of the aromatic substance, but it is limited after all.
The process is irreversible in the loss of the endoplasm of the tea, and the nutrients contained in it cannot be felt at all when drinking.
The tea soup is not thick and smooth at all, the taste is light, the aroma is thin, and the tea soup does not feel sweet and moist when it enters the mouth.
Such a serving of tea soup is not worth buying at all, let alone taking it out to drink more.
It's even better to drink a glass of cold boiling, at least in terms of quality, it won't affect the body.
Old white tea).
There are true and false propaganda about old white tea on the market, and any store says that it has old white tea.
But in fact, whether it is old white tea or old tea, you can understand it if you carefully distinguish it.
It has only been a few years since white tea was born, and in the past, white tea was still a niche tea, and there were very few merchants who could think of storing tea.
Therefore, there are not so many old white teas that are really saved and of good quality, so you must keep your eyes open when you buy them.
White tea is on fire, and there are more people who pay attention to old white tea, and the demand is also great.
There are many people who pursue vintage excessively, and it is good to make old tea in the natural market.
Therefore, when buying tea, you should carefully discern it, and you should not pay too much attention to the year and look for reliable channels to buy it.
It's really not good, buy some new tea by yourself and save it, and it will be a guaranteed old white tea in a few years.
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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.