Basic Introduction to Wēishan Tipped Tea
Wēishan Tipped Tea is produced in the Wēishan Township of Shuǐwēi Mountain, Ningxiang County, Hunan Province. Wēishan is a high mountain basin with superior natural environment, lush forests and bamboo groves, spectacular peaks and steep cliffs, rivers and streams winding through it, and the Luhua waterfall cascading down for thousands of feet. It is often shrouded in mist and clouds, rarely seeing the sun, leading to the saying that “thousands of mountains bow to Wēishan, but even when you reach Wēishan, you can't see the mountain.” In the mountain stands the “Ten Directions Mìyìn Temple,” refurbished by Prime Minister Péi Xiū during the reign of Emperor Xuānzōng (Li Yuè) of the Tang Dynasty, which was originally built by Empress Wú Zétiān. It is a Buddhist holy site with constant offerings and incense, and at its peak, it housed over a thousand monks. The temple enjoys a high reputation in Japan and Southeast Asia, hence the saying “famous mountain, famous temple, producing famous tea.” The area receives an annual rainfall of 1,670 millimeters, has a mild climate, less sunlight, and a relative Humidity above 80%. The tea gardens are formed from loamy soils derived from slate, with deep layers rich in humus. The tea trees are nourished by sweet dew and are not affected by cold or heat, resulting in deep roots, lush foliage, and robust buds.
Product Characteristics
The quality of Wēishan Tipped Tea: The shape is slightly curled into blocks, with a bright yellow luster and visible white tips. The broth is clear and Orange-yellow, with a fragrant and intense smoky aroma, a mellow, sweet, and refreshing taste, and a tender, even yellow leaf base.
Historical and Folklore
The history of tea production in Wēishan dates back to the Tang Dynasty. During the Tongzhi period (1862-1874) of the Qing Dynasty, the “Ningxiang County Annals” recorded: “The tea of Wēishan, picked before the rain, is fragrant, tender, and pure, not inferior to Wǔyí and Lóngjǐng. The product is sold in provinces such as Gansu and Xinjiang, long gaining substantial profits. A few tea plants within the Mìyìn Temple have particularly fine flavors…” During the “Cultural Revolution,” more than thirty pounds of tea were found inside the statue of the Great Buddha in Mìyìn Temple, illustrating the status of tea in Buddhism and providing another vivid testament to the concept of “the same flavor of tea and Buddha.”
Manufacturing Method
The manufacturing process of Wēishan Tipped Tea: The raw material for Wēishan Tipped Tea is the first tender shoots plucked around the Qingming Festival. This involves picking one bud and one leaf or one bud and two leaves, ensuring there are no damaged leaves or purple leaves. After plucking, the fresh leaves undergo processing steps including fixation, yellowing, light kneading, baking, and smoking. Smoking is a unique step in the production of Wēishan Tipped Tea.
Differentiating Genuine Wēishan Tipped Tea
How to choose:
1. Is the stronger the aroma of Wēishan Tipped Tea, the better?
While fragrance is important in Wēishan Tipped Tea, it's not always true that the stronger the aroma, the better. The key is to look at the type of aroma and its purity. For example, the smoky aroma should be fragrant and intense, with a mellow, sweet, and refreshing taste. However, this scent isn't always strong; floral teas tend to have a lighter, more subtle aroma that is generally better than the clear or smoky types. When choosing Wēishan Tipped Tea, it's also important to consider mouthfeel, aftertaste, and tenderness. For example, the aroma of White Dew tea is strong, but its mouthfeel and aftertaste are not as good as those of Spring Tea. Similarly, young bud teas may have a lighter aroma but are generally purer, making them better than teas made from one bud and one leaf.
2. Is the younger the buds of Wēishan Tipped Tea, the better?
When selecting Wēishan Tipped Tea, blindly pursuing extremely young buds is not recommended. Whether Wēishan Tipped Tea is enjoyable depends most on its origin, with the best coming from Ningxiang, and also on the altitude of the tea mountain. Pure buds from smaller hills, due to their rapid growth, contain fewer nutrients and produce tea with a weaker flavor, which is not ideal. Moreover, there are significant differences between pure buds from different growing seasons; even the older one bud and two leaves from spring tea will taste much better than pure buds from summer tea.
3. Is the more down (white fuzz) on Wēishan Tipped Tea, the better?
This belief was correct ten years ago, especially for local teas, where the earlier the harvest and the higher the altitude of the tea garden, the more down the tea would have. However, in recent years, with the introduction of foreign tea varieties like Dabaitcha that naturally have more down, judging based solely on the amount of down can lead to overlooking local tea varieties with better taste but less down by nature. Therefore, in local tea evaluations, the amount of down is rarely used as a criterion to assess the quality of tea.
Awards and Honors
In the early 1950s, after tasting Wēishan Tipped Tea, Chairman Mao Zedong entrusted his staff to write a letter thanking the people of Wēishan Township. Chairman Liu Shaoqi served Wēishan Tipped Tea to friends both at home and abroad as his hometown tea. Comrade Hua Guofeng inscribed the phrase “Wēishan Tipped Tea, with unique style.” Revolutionary elders from Ningxiang, such as Xie Juézhai, Gān Sìqí, and Zhōu Guāngzhào, all gave high praise to Wēishan Tipped Tea from their hometown. In 1986, it won a certificate of excellence; in 1988, it received a bronze medal at the First China Food Expo.