The saying “no smoke, no Xiaguan” is widely spread among old tea drinkers who are familiar with Xiaguantuo tea. Many tea drinkers even fall in love with this “smoke aroma”, which has become the taste identification symbol of Xiaguantuo tea.
For a long time, everyone believed that the smell of smoke came from the primary production process of Maocha. In the past, tea was not worth much, and tea farmers lived a hard life. They used the same pot for cooking and frying tea, and the smell of smoke from burning firewood was easily absorbed by the tea.
However, nowadays, the price of Pu’er tea raw materials is soaring, and the raw tea primary production process has also been greatly improved. With a professional primary production plant, tea farmers’ homes also have special killing stoves, and the smoke is discharged into the air through tall chimneys. , the chance of tea being contaminated is very low.
But even so, the smell of smoke in Xiaguantuo tea still exists. Where does the smell of smoke come from and how is it produced?
Many people think that the so-called “smoke fragrance” is the transformation of “sun flavor”. The production of smoke fragrance requires the raw tea to be irradiated by the sun’s strong ultraviolet rays, and then stored in a relatively low-temperature and dry environment for more than two or three years.
Only Xiaguan can produce this taste. The same raw materials are placed in Banna and Pu’er, and the aroma of the smoke is different, because the air humidity in these places is higher than that in Xiaguan, and the humidity is high, and the oxidation rate is faster.
Tobacco aroma is more focused on the sense of taste, while the sense of smell is relatively weak. This is actually the difference between smoke and smoke.
More than half of the raw materials of the Xiaguan Tea Factory come from the Lincang area. The altitude of Lincang is above 1300 meters, and many tea gardens are at an altitude of about 1700 meters.
In areas with relatively high altitude, the ultraviolet rays are stronger, and the sun-dried green tea smells stronger. This is the taste of the tea itself. After the tea is stored, the green smell fades, other aromas decline, and the smoke aroma becomes more prominent.
This is also related to the small regional environment, just like Moutai wine can’t get the taste out of Moutai town.
New materials can’t produce smoke. Before 2005, Xiaguan Tea Factory was the leader in the tea industry in Yunnan Province, with the strongest strength. All raw materials have absolute pricing power. A tradition has been formed in the factory over the years. The raw material warehouse There must be at least 5,000 tons of inventory.
It usually takes 3 years to complete a cycle of old materials being replaced with new materials. This tradition makes all raw materials in the factory enter the refining process after more than two or three years of storage. Unintentionally, during the raw material storage process Let the smell of smoke prevail.
What is the secret of the strong taste and high fragrance of Xiaguantuo tea over the years?
This is firstly related to the first-class blending technology of Xiaguan Tea Factory, and secondly, related to the climate and environment of Xiaguan. As we all know, Xiaguan has strong wind and low air humidity, which is conducive to the rapid cooling and drying of tea leaves. This link is very refreshing for tea leaves. The improvement of tea temperature is very helpful, coupled with the high degree of tightness of the pressed Tuocha, it can also maintain the freshness and aroma of the tea to the maximum extent.
It is precisely because of the special environment in Xiaguan and the traditional craftsmanship handed down from hand to hand that the unique aroma and taste of Tuocha in Xiaguan cannot be copied.
