Sour tea is an important component of the tea culture of Yunnan's ethnic minorities.
Many ethnic minorities have a history of making sour tea.
The Bulang people living in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, in Hemin Town on Jingmai Mountain, are no exception.
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When wild tea has not been “tamed,” its taste is relatively bitter and astringent; processing it into sour tea can alleviate this bitterness and astringency. After picking fresh tea leaves, they go through the processes of steaming and killing the green, then are naturally cooled. They are placed layer by layer into bamboo tubes until they are full and tightly packed without any gaps. Then, the opening of the bamboo tube is sealed with banana leaves and buried in the ground to ferment for about two months…
In Pu'er's Jingmai Mountain,
during the Spring Tea harvest activities in 2024,
we captured the complete process of
sour tea production by the Bulang people.
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△ Using hot water to kill the green; once the tea buds are bent, they are ready (the water here is not boiling).
△ Removing the tea.
△ Straining the tea.
△ Drying after straining.
△ Drying.
△ Drying in the sun for one hour.
△ Kneading the tea.
△ Kneading the tea.
△ Filling sweet bamboo tubes with tea (sweet bamboo tubes must be used).
△ Tamping down the tea.
△ Sealing the opening with bamboo shoots.
△ Trimming the excess bamboo shoots.
△ Digging a pit to bury and cellar.
△ Burying and cellaring.
△ Covering the bamboo tube opening with banana leaves or louve leaves (using leaves to cover can help shield from rain and also indicate when the tea is ready to be retrieved).
△ Covering the bamboo tube opening with banana leaves or louve leaves.
△ Completely buried for fermentation for a hundred days.
Once the fermentation is complete,
the sour tea can be retrieved.
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Brew a Cup of bright golden sour tea.
The initial taste is refreshing with a hint of plum flavor.
Taste slowly,
and the sweetness gradually takes over.
This is what they call tasting sweetness in sour tea.
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It is said that in the history of the Bulang people, tea has accompanied them throughout their lives at every moment. Of all teas, sour tea is the most representative and valuable for drinking. It could be said that tea runs through the life cycle of the Bulang people, closely related to their life journey.
Authors | Zhou Siyu, Wang Li, Yu Ban
Some content sourced from Jingmai Window.