First Article: The Coordinate Varieties and Three Aromatic Types of the Yiwu Tea Region (click to read);
Second Article: Dongguan Warehouse, Kunming Warehouse, Hong Kong Warehouse, Flavor, White Frost, and the Issue of “Warehouse Making” (click to read);
Third Article: The Warehousing Cycle for Yiwu Green Bud Tea (click to read);
Fourth Article: Storing Pu'er Tea: Pursuing Famous Mountains or Quality (click to read)?
Fifth Article: What Are the Differences Between Small Heap Fermentation, Large Heap Fermentation, and the Pu'er Evolution Theory's Ripe Tea Technology?
The following is Part Five, focusing on small heap fermentation, large heap fermentation, and the Pu'er Evolution Theory's ripe tea technology.
Li Yang: Next, let's talk about ripe tea. Because the last tea we tasted has taken us into another context, jumping into ripe tea. I'm not saying that this is necessarily historical fact, but we can view ripe tea as an attempt to mimic aged tea. If we have the opportunity, we can taste some very old teas and find them excellent, but when you try to make something like that, you realize it would take a lifetime. In such a situation, can we use technical means to directly present certain aspects of aged tea, at least some of its characteristics? This is the perspective for discussing ripe tea technology.
In the past, ripe teas often had a pile flavor due to operational habits, which made them unpalatable. We had to scatter them for several years before drinking. This cycle was long, and if we used high-cost materials, say with a value of 1,000 RMB per kilogram of dry tea, and started fermenting in a large heap, say five tons, what would be the cost? Five million RMB. You'd invest five million RMB and might have to bear the risk of waiting three to five years before the tea could be re-circulated, which is not in line with business principles. Thus, in the past, ripe teas were more likely to be made from affordable materials. What did the Pu'er Evolution Theory do? It solved the problem of pile flavor through active means. What is pile flavor? It's the flavor of mixed bacteria, including Aspergillus, Rhizopus, and Actinomycetes.
Can we control the fermentation environment so that these mixed bacteria don't grow? Yes, it's possible. I thoroughly understood this around 2017. At the time, while in Menghai, I discussed this with many factory technicians, but few clearly understood what I was saying. So, in 2018, I decided to do it myself. In 2018, the first attempt proved that using ancient Tree tea and large tree tea, combined with environmental control, could produce tea without any pile flavor, tea that doesn't develop mixed bacteria. The entire process of transformation would show high efficiency, and the thickness and vitality retention could reach higher levels.
In this situation, we dare to use good materials. For example, Mr. Zheng tasted our recently fermented Manzhuang tea, which had been out of the heap for less than ten days. There was no pile flavor, and it had remarkable thickness, retaining much of the aftertaste, salivation, and cooling sensation. Why do we dare to use very good materials for fermentation? This is a breakthrough in technology, but it wasn't a sudden idea; it was a practical understanding of the principles, a logical deduction from the fundamentals, leading to a natural conclusion, not overly complex.
Returning to today's topic, warehousing for ripe tea differs from raw tea. Here's a question: Which would be easier to mold, a raw tea and a ripe tea with the same sugar content? Ripe tea, almost certainly, because ripe tea contains little catechin. Therefore, when warehousing ripe tea, we need to make some adjustments.
The tea we are drinking now is one with high sugar content and relatively low catechin. It was made last year from a high-altitude tea garden. I have high altitude requirements because the higher the altitude, the greater the accumulation of glycosides. In Yiwu, there aren't many places with high altitudes, but I found the Laomansha area and Bangong. Laomansha is pure Yiwu green bud tea, while Bangong is a hybrid of Yiwu green bud tea and cultivated tea. The heap wasn't large, as the materials were indeed expensive, with a scale of just over one ton. Can you feel the osmanthus-like aroma in this ripe tea, similar to the earlier mentioned? This relates back to Tianxin's question: How do you know if a vintage tea is green bud tea? By observing these clues, you can make a judgment. After drinking enough tea, you will have this sense.
Shi Yun: Our salon time is nearly up, but some tea enthusiasts want to ask questions. Shall we extend the time so they can ask a few more questions?
Tea Enthusiast: Mr. Zheng, some people say that Lincang tea does not transform well during storage. What can you tell us about the transformation of Menghai tea and Lincang tea?
Zheng Shaohong: Thank you. I think Li Yang might be better suited to answer this. Of course, I'll start. Professor Yang already explained the relationship between the contents of these tea-producing areas—what acts as a driving force, what as a hindrance, and what as potential. I think you should add potential to your explanation, Li Yang.
Tea Enthusiast: Professor Li Yang, there's a theory that tea with good carbon metabolism has a richer glycoside content, right? So, does a sweeter tea mean a higher glycoside content?
Li Yang: You could say that, but I don't particularly like the term “carbon metabolism.” It's a bit convoluted. Simply put, it's about accumulating sugar. Returning to the question of what tea is worth storing, let's first clarify one point: whether a tea is worth storing is related to its glycoside content. As long as it retains a significant amount of glycoside, it's worth storing.
Therefore, there's no such thing as a region whose tea isn't worth storing. However, due to varietal differences, some teas have very high catechin content, which means their maturation will take longer, and their transformation will be slower. For example, Menghai Tea Factory's Little Yellow Seal from the 1970s. Over such a long period, it should become very enjoyable. That tea is indeed enjoyable, and you can taste the feeling of Bulang Mountain. But even now, it feels like it's just getting ready to take off, not yet soaring. Meanwhile, teas like the 1999 Green Big Tree have started to change dramatically, becoming like vintage teas. This difference in the speed of later transformations is related to their catechin content.
Tea Enthusiast: Professor Li Yang, how do you view the off-ground fermentation and small heap fermentation for ripe tea?
Li Yang: First, let me clarify that I've never said that off-ground fermentation and small heap fermentation are bad. Often, I give an example: if northerners make steamed buns, they find that large dough balls rise easily, whereas small ones are harder to rise because the internal environment is unstable. The slightest change in temperature stops the fermentation. Making tea is similar. Large heaps have better stability in bacterial populations, less affected by external changes, allowing for stable fermentation. With a larger volume of microorganisms, the degree of leaf decomposition is higher, making the tea thicker. This is a challenge for small heaps. Without sufficient technology and a deep understanding of the underlying transformation principles,