Detailed Explanation of the Key Processing Techniques for Silver Monkey Tea

1. Quality characteristics of Silver Monkey Tea: It resembles a lively little monkey from deep in the mountains, covered in silver down, endearing to behold, with a lasting chestnut aroma, a fresh and brisk taste, a clear green liquor color, and plump, tender brewed leaves.

2. Harvesting and processing techniques for Silver Monkey Tea

Fine harvesting: Silver Monkey Tea uses the young and tender buds and leaves of the Silver Monkey cultivar as raw material. The harvesting period is generally around ten days before and after "Qingming" (Pure Brightness). The standard is one bud with the first leaf just unfurling, requiring the bud to be longer than the leaf, uniform in size, and consistent in tenderness. The buds and leaves picked at this time are made into Special Grade Silver Monkey, and every 500 grams of dry tea contains approximately 35,000 to 38,000 buds and leaves. When picking, sunny or overcast days must be chosen; picking rain-soaked leaves is strictly prohibited. At the same time, do not pick diseased or insect-damaged leaves, do not pick broken leaves, and do not pick scale leaves or fish leaves, so as to ensure the quality of the fresh leaves.

Production process: The production process of Silver Monkey Tea is divided into 5 steps: spreading fresh leaves, fixation (kill-green), rolling, shaping, and drying.

Spreading fresh leaves: After the fresh leaves arrive at the factory and pass inspection, buds and leaves that do not meet the standard are removed, and then they are spread thinly on bamboo mats at a thickness of 1 to 1.5 cm for 8 to 10 hours, with 2 to 3 turnings during this period to allow even moisture loss. Only when the leaf surface loses its luster and a fresh fragrance is detectable can the leaves be pan-fired.

Fixation (kill-green): Manual fixation is carried out in a slanted wok or an electric frying wok. When adding leaves, the wok temperature should be maintained at about 150°C, and the amount of leaves added is 400 to 500 grams. During fixation, the leaves must be tossed open, scooped cleanly, and lifted lightly, with tossing as the main action and appropriate covered pan-firing. Only when the leaves are thoroughly and evenly fixed, the grassy odor dissipates, and a fresh fragrance is produced can they be removed from the wok and spread to cool. For mechanical fixation, a drum fixation machine is used; when adding leaves, the drum body temperature is 280 to 300°C.

Rolling: Place the cooled fixed leaves on a rolling tool, hold the tea mass with both hands, and roll gently in a consistent direction to form strips, shaking them loose 2 to 3 times during the process. When rolling has proceeded until a slight amount of tea juice exudes and the strip formation rate reaches above 95%, rolling is complete. For mechanical rolling, Model 30 and Model 45 rolling machines are used. The amount of leaves added should preferably fill the rolling barrel to 90% capacity, and the required time is 2 to 5 minutes.

Shaping: Shaping is the key step in creating the beautiful appearance of Silver Monkey Tea. The wok temperature should be maintained between 100 and 80°C. Through the techniques of grasping, tossing, spreading, and rolling, while pan-firing and shaping at the same time, the shaping hand movements must be light and deft, and must not cause the white down to fall off or discolor. When the tea reaches 80% dryness, forms the unique little monkey shape, and is fully covered with silver down, it can be removed from the wok and spread to cool.

Drying: It is divided into initial drying and re-drying. Spread the cooled tea blank on a bamboo baking basket and use gentle heat for baking, with the fire temperature maintained at 60 to 65°C. During the process, take out the baking basket and turn lightly 3 to 4 times. When it is baked to 90% dryness, remove it from the heat and spread to cool so that moisture is evenly distributed, then continue baking until fully dry. When it is baked to the point that the tea crumbles into powder when pinched by hand, the aroma is strongly released, and the moisture content of the tea is below 5%, remove it from the heat, cool it thoroughly, and promptly seal it in iron boxes for storage. When using a drying machine for drying, the initial drying inlet air temperature of 110 to 120°C is sufficient for adding leaves, spread them evenly and thinly, preferably so that the screen mesh is not visible, for 5 to 6 minutes, until the initially dried leaves have a slight feel when touched, then remove the leaves and spread to cool. For full drying, the inlet air temperature is about 90°C, the thickness can be slightly thicker than for initial drying, and the time is about 15 minutes. Bake until fully dry, then remove from the heat, spread to cool, pack into boxes, and store in the warehouse. During storage, lime packets or other desiccants must be placed inside the box to prevent moisture damage and maintain the unique color, aroma, and taste quality of Silver Monkey Tea.