Detailed Explanation of the Key Processing Techniques for Huiming White Tea

Huiming tea is a historically renowned brand of Jingning County, Zhejiang Province, and Huiming white tea is even more of a treasure among teas. Huiming white tea is a flat-shaped tea with four unique qualities. First, the dry tea is golden yellow, bright in color and full of luster, truly a peculiar color among teas. Second, the aroma is high and lasting; even after brewing two cups, the aroma remains, and the dry tea smells strongly and fragrantly. Third, take a transparent glass cup, put in Huiming white tea, and after brewing, the buds and leaves are as white as jade, and each white tea leaf stands upright in the cup, slowly sinking, standing at the bottom of the cup, offering great ornamental value. Fourth, the taste is fresh and brisk, with a sweet aftertaste.

The processing techniques for Huiming white tea are as follows:

Fresh leaves: When the white tea grows to the stage of one bud and three leaves just beginning to open, the buds and leaves have completely turned milky white, which is the optimal period for picking Huiming white tea. Because of the unique quality characteristics of white tea, there are special requirements for weather and tenderness during picking.

1. The influence of weather on quality. Because white tea is formed under specific temperature conditions, at high temperatures the color of the white tea will change from white to green. Therefore, the picking time is best chosen on cloudy days during the period from Qingming to Guyu; on sunny days, picking should be done before 10:30 a.m., so that the picked fresh leaves are distinctly milky white and the made dry tea is especially fine in quality.

2. Picking tenderness: When the tea leaves grow to one bud and three leaves, pick one bud and one leaf or one bud and two leaves; generally the bud and leaf length is 2.5-3.5 cm.

3. Picking method: When picking, use the thumb and index finger to pinch and pick; do not use fingernail pinching, otherwise the base of the tea leaf will turn red, affecting the formation of white tea quality.

Spreading: Fresh leaves picked on sunny days should be spread for about 8 hours, while fresh leaves picked on cloudy days are best spread for 11 hours, to facilitate the volatilization of grassy odor and the formation of floral aroma quality.

Carding and fixation: Use the multifunctional carding machine produced by Shangyang Tea Machinery Factory for fixation. When the trough body temperature of the carding machine reaches 120-140°C, begin to load leaves for fixation. For a five-trough carding machine, the leaf load per trough is generally 150-200 g. After loading the leaves for 5 minutes, gradually lower the fixation temperature; before the leaves come out, the temperature should drop to about 80°C, and the whole process takes 15-20 minutes. During fixation, adjust the swinging speed of the carding machine, proceeding in the order of slow-fast-slow, but after fixation the speed should be somewhat faster than when the leaves were just loaded, so as to prevent the fixed leaves from developing scorched edges.

Cooling: After the fixed leaves come off the machine, their temperature is relatively high, so a fan should be used to cool them and dissipate water vapor, and then they should be spread for cooling. The fixed leaves should be spread evenly and thinly, generally to a thickness of about 0.5-0.8 cm. The cooling time is 0.5-1 hour.

Initial cake making: Use the carding machine for shaping, the main purpose of which is to further straighten the tea strips and form the quality characteristics of Huiming white tea's appearance. The temperature is raised first and then lowered; generally the trough body temperature is about 100°C in the early stage and about 70°C in the later stage. It is appropriate to combine the fixed leaves from one or two fixation batches at a time to make the initial cake. The machine body swinging speed is fast first and then slow; before the leaves come out, the speed should be slow to reduce broken pieces in the finished tea. During initial cake making, generally after loading the leaves for 3 minutes, when the fixed leaves are heated evenly, add a rod to press them flat; at this time, moderately slow the machine body swinging speed, and the time should not be too long, with 3 minutes being appropriate. After removing the rod, speed up the machine body swinging to help dissipate water vapor. The whole initial cake making process is generally 25-30 minutes.

Cooling and moisture redistribution: After the initial cake making is completed, because the moisture in the tea leaves is unevenly distributed, it should be properly cooled and allowed to redistribute moisture, generally for about 1 hour, so that the moisture in the initial cake is redistributed evenly.

Baking