“Only This Green and Lustrous” Yunnan Green Tea, Oolong Tea
Yunnan is the source of world tea, particularly the birthplace of large-leaf tea trees. Many people came to know Yunnan through Pu'er tea made from large-leaf varieties. In Yunnan, the history of ethnic minorities growing, processing, and drinking tea has a unique style that dates back a long way.
However, before Pu'er tea became well-known, Yunnan tea had for a considerable period of time been outside the mainstream of Chinese Tea.
It has already been confirmed that large-leaf varieties in Yunnan are suitable not only for making Pu'er tea but also green tea, black tea, and white tea with remarkable taste. Due to the special nature of the large-leaf tea trees and the plateau terrain, especially for ancient tree teas, the sprouting is always later than small-leaf varieties. Pu'er tea only mentions “first spring,” not “pre-Ming.” When the first spring tea has yet to be picked and the spring scenery outside the window is at its best, everywhere is a scene of lush greenery – it is the perfect time to savor the “Only This Green and Lustrous” of Yunnan – green tea and oolong tea.
Green – The Unique Yunnan Green Tea
Even if the tea sage Lu Yu mentioned Pu'er tea in his writings with just the phrase “there are fine trees in the south,” many literati who have tasted Yunnan tea have not given high evaluations.
Xie Zhaozhi wrote in his book “A Brief Account of Yunnan” during the Ming Dynasty: “Yunnan suffers from having no good tea, not because of its location or production, but rather due to the lack of proper methods for picking and processing. Even when the tea is produced, there is no knowledge of how to properly brew it, so it is as if there is no good tea. The tea from Taihua in Kunming, when the first thunder sounds, is not inferior in color and fragrance to Songluo tea, except that the leaves are not evenly rolled. The tea produced at Gantong Temple on Mount Diancang is even better, but it is not cheap. What the common people use is all Pu'er tea. Steamed into cakes, when brewed, it tastes like grass, slightly better than water.”
Xie Zhaozhi, being from Hangzhou and accustomed to drinking small and medium-leaf green teas, was likely not used to the sun-dried large-leaf green tea. Xu Xiake, another person from the Ming Dynasty, thought it tasted very good, writing in his “Diary of Travels in Yunnan”: “In the courtyard, tall pines, slender bamboos, and tea trees alternate. These trees are all three or four meters tall, very similar to osmanthus. It was the right time for picking, and ladders were everywhere. The taste of the tea is very good. After roasting, it is re-fired, inevitably turning dark.” From Xu Xiake's description of the height of the tea trees, the manufacturing process, and the appearance of the tea, is this not the image of Yunnan's large-leaf sun-dried tea?
There are 31 species and two variants of tea trees in Yunnan according to species classification. These tea tree varieties have different characteristics. Yunnan has a complete range of tea tree varieties, including both large-leaf and small to medium-leaf varieties. It is unclear which type Xie Zhaozhi drank, whether it was made from large-leaf or small to medium-leaf varieties. However, through his few words, we can see that Yunnan green tea is not inferior to those from main green tea producing areas – “the color and fragrance of Taihua tea from Kunming is not inferior to historical famous teas in Anhui,” and the “Gantong Temple tea from Mount Diancang” amazed the palate of Xie Zhaozhi, who was thinking in terms of green tea.
Of course, he also pointed out critically that the Taihua tea from Kunming was “not evenly rolled,” which reveals the fact that the processing of tea in Yunnan in the past was coarse and lacked refinement. “Steamed into cakes, when brewed, it tastes like grass” indicates that the green tea in Yunnan at that time used steaming, but it was too hasty and crude, tasting of “grass” instead of tea, thus being mocked as “barely better than water.”
Ten-Li Fragrant Green Tea from Kunming is an outstanding example of Yunnan green tea. Produced locally in Yunnan, it is a highly fragrant green tea, known in ancient times as “Ten-Li Tribute Tea.” There are historical records indicating descriptions of planting “Ten-Li Tribute Tea” dating back to the Tang Dynasty.
From the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a teahouse called “Ten-Li Fragrant” on the old street “Guangju Street” in Kunming, specializing in “Ten-Li Fragrant” green tea, continuing until the Republican era. To this day, many older residents of Kunming remember the phrase “Wu Well water brewing Ten-Li Fragrant.” The “Ten-Li Fragrant,” which has a fragrance that spreads for ten li, is undoubtedly representative of small to medium-leaf tea trees native to Yunnan. Originating around Shili Fort and Guihua Temple east of Kunming, later generations speculated based on the similarity of their fragrant tea aroma and coincidental shared temple origins, “Could Ten-Li Fragrant be a continuation of Taihua tea?”
From the few evaluations of Yunnan green tea by ancients, it is not difficult to see that the requirements for the taste of green tea in ancient and modern times are consistent: precise processing techniques, attractive appearance after production, rich tea fragrance after brewing, and a fresh and sweet taste. Only then can it be considered a cup of excellent green tea. Although Yunnan has a complete range of tea tree varieties and good tea quality, Pu'er green tea has never achieved a good taste.
From the 19th to the 20th century, the processing technology of Yunnan green tea was in a period of exploration and learning, almost learning the processing techniques of all well-known domestic green tea varieties and imitating the production of green tea. During this time, the country sent overseas students to learn the latest concepts of modern planting and processing; introduced various talents skilled in modern planting and processing techniques, updated tea processing equipment, constructed modern tea gardens and processing bases, etc.
Tea experts represented by Xiao Shiying cultivated many new superior large-leaf varieties and some hybrid varieties. Some historical famous tea processing techniques were also restored and developed. For example, the most primitive sun-Drying technique was used to make the tribute tea of Ten-Li Fragrant, reviving the tribute tea.
Afterward, Yunnan green tea entered a stage of rapid development, with the main processing technique being sun-drying, including stir-frying, oven-drying, and steaming. Sun-drying is also known as Dianqing, divided into Chunjian (spring), Ershui (second water), and Guhua (late autumn) according to the season of processing. High-grade sun-dried teas have a fresh green color, visible white down, tight and straight twisted leaves, a clear fragrance, and a fresh and pure taste. Oven-dried green teas are divided into three grades and six levels, with the finished products known as Dian Green, Dian Green Broken, and Dian Green Ceylon tea. Stir-fried green tea is also known as millstone tea. Steamed green tea is processed through steaming, rolling, and then drying. The production of stir-fried and steamed green teas is relatively small, while oven-drying once contributed significantly to the output of Y