Yunnan traditional black tea - sun red tea

sunshine

Before modern tea-making technology was introduced to Yunnan, the mainstream tea-making technology in Yunnan was sun-dried green tea and its pressing technology, but there were still many side branches, such as bamboo tube tea, roasted tea (such as the Yi people's roasted tea in jars), Kucong people's cold water tea, etc. Therefore, before modern black tea was introduced to Yunnan, there was probably a process similar to black tea in Yunnan - "sun-redning" with the main feature of sun-drying and storage. But if we want to dig into the history of "sun-red" traditional black tea in Yunnan in detail, we have to mention "Taihe Sweet Tea", which can be called the oldest traditional black tea in Yunnan and a living witness to the origin of traditional black tea in Yunnan.


"Taihe Sweet Tea" originated from Zhentai Town (historically known as Taihe), Zhenyuan County, Yunnan Province, located in the famous "Jingjing Town" tea area (Jingdong, Jinggu and Zhenyuan counties are connected together, hence the name). "Jingjing Town" is the hometown of Yin Sheng Jiedu of Nanzhao Kingdom, and the birthplace of the first dawn of Yunnan tea civilization - "Tea Comes out of Yinsheng". For thousands of years since "Tea Comes Out of Yinsheng", "Jingjing Town" has been the hub for the spread of Yunnan tea culture. Zhentai is located in the core area of ​​"Jingjing Town". The Ancient Tea Horse Road radiating in all directions passes through here, making it a transportation hub for the vast area on the east bank of the Lancang River and west of Wuliang Mountain. Nanzhao culture, Dai culture and Central Plains culture come together here. Tea-growing ethnic groups such as the Han, Dai, Yi, Hani, Lahu (Kucong branch) live and multiply here. The Ancient Tea Horse Road carries a developed business travel culture, and various tea-making techniques coexist and influence each other here. It is no accident that "Taihe Sweet Tea" was born here.


According to legend, the Duan and Tao families in Zhentai Town were originally relatives of the emperor of Dali and lived in the "Taihe Ancient City", the capital of Dali, on the Erhai Lake. After the Dali Kingdom was destroyed by the Mongols, it fled to Zhengtilai and formed an alliance with the aboriginal Yi, Dai, and Lahu peoples, which enabled the Yuan army to break through the Lancang River but failed to cross Wuliang Mountain and invade Taihe Town. During the long-term struggle, in order to win trust, gain support and consolidate alliances, actively interact with and intermarry with the aboriginal people, and carry out extensive ethnic integration, "Taihe Sweet Tea" has ushered in a new opportunity for development.

Because the altitude of Wuliang Mountain is 1,700-2,600 meters, the mountain has high humidity, low temperature, and high altitude. Grain planting and production are backward, and it is inconvenient for troops to supply supplies. They often pick wild vegetables and fruits to survive. Many outsiders who stationed troops or fled here settled here. Over time, they suffered from cold sensitivity, bloating, constipation, and general weakness, which seriously affected their health. But they found that the aboriginal people who had tea lived well, so they began to learn to grow tea, because the aboriginal tea was indeed effective: it could dispel severe cold, promote digestion, lift spirits, and relieve fatigue. But its taste is bitter and astringent, and it is very unaccustomed to drink it, let alone women and children. These immigrants from Dali and the Central Plains began to improve the tea-making process. Through exchanges and learning, the fresh local tea was spread out for a long time, rubbed, packed (fermented), and sun-dried. Through storage in jars, boxes, and bags, they finally produced tea that was not bitter, sweet, durable, and more suitable for different people to drink. Soon this kind of tea was promoted in the Taihe area, and was called "Taihe Sweet Tea". Every family made it and everyone used it, and they formed a set of techniques on how to make sweet and smooth tea. Among them, the Tao family, the Li family, the Duan family, the Luo family, the Dao family and other major families produced better quality tea.



Unfortunately, in the planned economy era, Yunnan tea was dominated by Dianhong tea, with Pu'er tea and green tea as supplements. A unified purchasing and marketing policy was implemented, and all production was arranged according to planned instructions. What was not planned was speculation, and some non-mainstream tea-making methods, including "Yunnan Traditional Black Tea", faced the danger of being forgotten. "Taihe Sweet Tea eventually faded out of people's sight, so that no one could describe this traditional craft in detail."

Due to fate, Li Kun and Duan Ping decided to revive their hometown's "Taihe Sweet Tea" in the late 1990s. After several years of field research, searching for documents, comparison and screening, and repeated trial production, in 2003 they finally replicated the "long-lost taste" described by the elders in their hometown. In 2004, they systematically explored the whole tea. The production process of "Taihe Sweet Tea" was figured out; in 2013, the production technology of Taihe Sweet Tea was included in the second batch of intangible cultural heritage protection projects in Pu'er City. However, because the term "Taihe Sweet Tea" was too regional, in order to expand the "Yunnan Traditional Black Tea" industry, it was necessary to step out, and the "sun-red" concept immediately appeared and spread widely.

It is inferred from this that the traditional black tea "drying" process in Yunnan has a history of at least more than a hundred years.

The drying process: withering - rolling - fermentation - sun-drying (a new black tea process evolved from the traditional black tea process in Yunnan).


A "sun-red" process was born from the fusion and evolution of sun-dried green and white tea techniques. After the modern black tea process was introduced to Yunnan, it absorbed some technological features of Dianhong and improved it. After the contemporary revival of Pu'er tea, it absorbed the improvement of later aging technology, thus forming the "sun-red" process.

Characteristics of sun-dried black tea: color, many black stripes; taste low in bitterness, low fragrance, sweet and smooth, and orange-yellow tea soup; as a kind of sun-dried black tea, it has exceeded the shelf life of black tea and can become more fragrant with age within a certain period; shape, can be scattered, and can be pressed into tight tea.


Market analysis: Freshly made sun-red tea has a slight green and astringent taste. After being stored for a few months, the green and astringent taste will be eliminated, the tea aroma will be more pronounced, and the soup color will be deepened. After being stored for about three years, a large part of the thearubigins and thearubigins have been converted. It is theabrownin, with a strong medicinal aroma and a long aftertaste. Like Pu'er tea, it has its own advantages in getting more fragrant with age. However, because it initially did not pay attention to the tenderness of the raw materials and the processing process was simple, people mostly thought of it as "extensive", which is not the case. The mainstream tea market in the South has recognized it. Moreover, the drying process has just been restored and is still in the exploratory stage. If the drying process is not done evenly and once, the tea will have a dirty aroma and even a green smell. The taste is not everyone's favorite, and there is a long way to go. Nowadays, many businesses have improved the level of drying technology, selected large tree materials for fine production, and promoted the banner of "old tree redning" and "mountain redning". The prospects are limitless.

YuanJia131

The prospect of drying black tea is infinite.