When did the variety of Wuyi Rock Tea originate? According to “The New Gazetteer of Tong'an County,” “Wuyi tea was originally wild, not planted by human hands. It is said that it was first discovered by an old man… The old man first offered the tea and after his death, he was revered as a mountain deity and enjoyed temple sacrifices.” In Fan Zhongyan's “Song of Tea Competition with Zhang Min,” it states: “The miraculous tea by the stream surpasses all in the world, cultivated since ancient times by the immortals of Wuyi.” The “immortals of Wuyi” likely refer to the distant ancestors of the Wuyi tea region, traditionally believed to be Wuyi Jun or Pengzu. According to Hu Haochuan's research, Wuyi Caicha evolved from a wild species. Professor Zhuang Wanfang believes that Wuyi tea was cultivated by ancients or possibly introduced from Wulong Ridge in Zhejiang Province.
Caicha is the mother of Wuyi teas and is the collective term for the sexually propagated group of tea trees in Wuyi. This means these teas are as common as the vegetables grown around the house, only for everyday drinking. In the natural environment of Wuyi Mountain, due to the cross-pollination of different tea plants, long-term natural hybridization has led to genetic recombination and mutation, resulting in varied seeds. Tea farmers have traditionally used seed propagation, leading to variations in the offspring, which grow into diverse tea plants—this is the process of how Caicha is produced.
Wuyi Caicha belongs to the sexual category, is a shrub type, with medium and small leaves, each with distinct shapes and complex varieties, diploid. Its yield is relatively low, but it has strong drought and cold resistance, and a strong ability to bear fruit. It can be made into Oolong tea, as well as black and green teas.
According to Lin Fuquan's “Production, Manufacturing, and Marketing of Wuyi Tea,” when divided by tree size: there are those standing straight and tall at four to five meters, those sprawling on the ground at just over a foot, those spreading out like umbrellas, those expanding like eagles, and those compact like dwarf boxwoods, with countless shapes.
Divided by branches and trunks: there are those with slender trunks straight as incense sticks, those with trunks two inches thick, those with flexible and curved trunks, those with rough and stiff trunks, those with few branches, and those with lush branches.
Divided by the shape of leaf growth: there are those with narrow and pointed leaves like willow leaves, those with drooping edges and dull surfaces, those with flat and light surfaces, those with thick, dark-green leaves with fine hairs on the underside or without, and more.
Divided by budding period: some bud early, starting about ten days before Qingming, and can be harvested a few days after Qingming; this tea is called “Qingming tea.” Some bud late, sprouting around Guyu and requiring harvesting a few days after Xiaoman, hence the name “Zhibichun.” The difference between early and late can be as much as 40 days, although most tend to sprout a few days before Qingming.
Divided by flowering period and characteristics: some flower as early as mid-September, while others continue to bloom until February of the following year. Petals can number five, six, or seven. Some are densely packed and small, while others are sparsely arranged and large.
Divided by fruit-bearing ability: fruits can contain one to five seeds, usually two or three being the most common. There are those that flower profusely but do not bear any fruit, those that bear fruit without seeds, and those that produce so many fruits that the branches cannot support them.
These various forms may be inherent traits of the variety or influenced by external environmental factors, which requires meticulous investigation.
Now taking the shape of the leaves as the standard, in the tea gardens of Foguo, Shuilian Cave, Huiguan, and other rock areas facing the sun and without any particularly special external environment, the following nine types were found to be representative of general Caicha: Wuyi Caicha Representative Variety, Small Round Leaf Variety, Melon Seed Leaf Variety, Long Leaf Variety, Small Long Leaf Variety, Shuixian Shape Variety, Broad Leaf Variety, Round Leaf Variety, and Bitter Gourd Variety.