The Preservation of West Lake Dragon Well Tea
The differences between authentic West Lake Dragon Well tea and fake one can not only be discerned from their external packing, but can mainly from the organoleptic properties of the products as well. High quality Dragon Well tea leaves are yellowish-green, flat, smooth and straight, with the tea shoots made up of one bud and one leave. However, since mid-1980s and the opening up of market, channels for commodity circulation has been expanded greatly. Flat tea and green tea from different tea producing areas are described as “Dragon Well tea from some places”, mixing the false with the genuine in the Dragon Well tea market and confusing consumers. Therefore, we consumers shall increase awareness of self-protection. That is, we can not merely observe the appearance of the tea products, but also can steep a cup of the tea in order to identify it from its tea soup color and aroma. You can personally check whether the tea liquor is transparent, whether the tea shoots are bright and neat, and whether there are a lot of foams. Broadly speaking, top grade tea is with no foams and its tea liquid is clear and bright.
This cup of tea is not our target West Lake Dragon Well tea, because it is not so smooth and transparent, and the tea soup is a little dark yellow. Besides, its aroma is not as pure as that cup of tea.
From the perspective of the color of the tea liquor, we can differentiate the quality of different Dragon Well tea. Surely, authentic Dragon Well tea should be the same as we expect. It shall be full of rich fragrance, with full-bodied smells of the regions south of the Yangtze River. Looking at the tea gardens in the Dragon Well village in the West Lake area, we may easily think about a poetic line that if one can live in seclusion, he would rather like to be a tea grower than be a poet. Then, what should be the true taste of excellent Dragon Well tea?
Another way is to taste the tea liquor to check if the tea is mellow or not. By mellow taste, we mean that there is no astringent taste in the tea soup of good Dragon Well tea. Supposing there is bitter and astringent aftertaste in your mouth, it is sure that the tea is poor. The mellow taste is a key feature of Dragon Well tea that is different from other flat green tea, so the tasting of the tea is an vital skill to identify the quality of various tea. However, mellow is a word hard to define, especially for those who have only drink Dragon Well tea for a few times. Once you ask him or her, he or she may say that the tea is quite fragrant. Only those who often enjoy Dragon Well tea are able to experience the taste that can only be sensed, but cannot be explained in words.
Yet, if you can put into practice the methods that I’ve introduced, I’m sure that you can obtain authentic Dragon Well tea with good quality. One more tip is that high quality tea requires an effective way to store.
Generally speaking, the traditional way is to wrap Dragon Well tea in kraft paper or moisture absorption paper, then put the packs in a container with quicklime. You should renew the quicklime each half month, and when it is the rainy season, you should replace it once again. For people who have fridges at home, they can first put Dragon Well tea into some plastic bags, and push out the air inside of the bags. Lastly, seal the bags and put them into the cold closet in the fridges, which can retain the tea’s freshness.
The Dragon Well tea has been well preserved will still be richly aromatic, but if not, even for the best tea, its color will be ugly after a long time. What’s worse, the tea soup won’t be bright, and it may be tasteless, making the tea as valueless as chicken ribs, which are unappetizing and yet not bad enough to throw away. After all, you have spent not a little money on it. It will be a pity to desert it!
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