How to Make Black Jujube Leaf Tea: Method and Detailed Steps

Black jujube leaf tea is rich in vitamin C, amino acids, flavonoids and other components beneficial to the human body, and drinking it regularly is good for your health.

The specific production process is as follows:

1. Leaf picking and handling: The best time to pick leaves is from July to October, choosing fresh leaves free of pests and diseases. After the leaves are picked, they should be spread out to air in a ventilated indoor spot to promote the formation of amino acids in the leaves; after airing for one hour, cut the leaves crosswise into pieces of uniform size.

2. Fixing: The purpose is to use high temperature to destroy the activity of enzymes in the fresh leaves and prevent the vitamin C and other components in the leaves from oxidizing and decomposing. The method is to put the chopped fresh leaves into a hot fire at 100°C and blanch them for 1 minute, then immediately scoop them out and soak them in cold water. Cold soaking further stabilizes the color and keeps the nutrients from being lost.

3. Rolling: After the chopped leaves are cold-soaked, air them briefly, then grip them tightly by hand into a ball and push and roll it forward in one direction on a wooden board; the direction must be consistent and the pressure light, otherwise the leaf ball will fall apart. Push and roll for a few minutes, air, and repeat the rolling until the leaf juice clings to the surface of the leaves and they feel slippery to the touch.

4. Drying: Put the rolled chopped leaves into a hot wok and use a wooden rake to turn and toss them repeatedly in the wok; when the chopped leaves no longer stick when pinched and feel slightly prickly, they can be taken out of the wok and placed in a bamboo basket, then baked over a charcoal fire with no open flame; when the leaves feel clearly prickly in the hand and break at a single bend, the drying requirement has been met.

5. Packaging: After the baked tea is spread out and cooled, remove the broken bits and impurities with a winnowing basket, then grade and package it according to color, shape and flavor.

6. Blending: The product made through the above steps is black jujube green tea. If this is used as a base, it can be blended with other natural plants to make health tea, slimming tea, medicinal tea, etc. However, no matter what kind of ingredient is used, it generally must not exceed 30% of the total amount of tea.