After a few adjustments, li Zhifu finally nodded.
Ye Lingyun and the Poplar tree root quickly lifted the drying cage and placed it on the drying cave.
The doors and windows of the whole drying room were closed, and the water could only pass through the gaps of the roof, so the room was very hot and stuffy. However, li Zhifu still stayed in front of the drying cage all the time, observing the state of the tea leaves at all times. During this period, he even stir – fried several times.
After about 15 to 20 minutes, the water baking process was also successfully completed.
After the tea leaves were ready to be baked, li Zhifu asked ye Lingyun to put the tea leaves into the arc of the dustpan. Then, he personally used the dustpan to remove the yellow pieces, fragments, tea powder, and other impurities. After that, he spread out the tea leaves and moved them to the green frame outside to hang them.
After li Zhifu personally checked, he let out a sigh of relief and said,””Little Xia, we’ll have to dry it for about five hours now. Let’s all go and rest for a while!”
Xia ruofei knew that li Zhifu had not slept for the whole night. Although there were a few hours of free time in between, the old people usually slept very lightly. It was hard to say if li Zhifu had even fallen asleep!
“Okay, okay, old Mr. Li, thank you for your hard work!” He quickly said. You should quickly go and rest!”
Xia ruofei didn’t rest much either, so after sending li Zhifu to his room, he quickly got into the car and lay down.
Xia ruofei slept until around 11 in the afternoon. He woke up feeling refreshed and took out a travel bag from the trunk. He went to the yard and washed up.
Li Zhifu had also woken up by this time. He was checking the state of the tea leaves on the green stand.
“Old Mr. Li, how’s your rest?” Xia ruofei quickly greeted him.
“It’s alright, I slept for a while,”said li Zhifu with a smile. Little Xia, the process of making the tea by hand is more than half done. There are still a few more steps to go, and it will be done before noon!”
“You’ve worked hard!” Xia ruofei said sincerely.
Xia ruofei’s words came from the bottom of his heart. After all, he was a 90 – year – old man! He had stayed up all night last night!
Li Zhifu smiled and waved his hand, “It’s not hard, it’s not hard. It’s such a good tea. I like it the moment I see it. I don’t feel tired at all!”
Next, li Zhifu asked ye Lingyun and yang tree root to carry the tea leaves into the baking room and began the finishing procedures such as re – baking and stir – frying.
At around 11:30 pm, the Da Hong Pao tea was finally ready!
Yang Shugen found an electronic scale and weighed it. It was about 500 grams.
However, the entire production process was not completed.
After everyone had a simple lunch in the small tea factory of Yang Shu, li Zhifu began to personally refine the Mao tea.
This was another complicated process, including preliminary picking, screening, re – picking, wind selection, preliminary baking, and piling. After li Zhifu’s personal refinement, the final product, Da Hong Pao, was finally presented to everyone.
The tea leaves of the Da Hong Pao tea leaves were sturdy and even. They were dark brown in color and had an oily luster. When he got close and smelled them, he could smell an extremely rich Tea fragrance that made one feel relaxed and happy.
Ye linyun and yang Shengmu both looked at li Zhifu with admiration.
Li Zhifu looked at the finished Da Hong Pao, which was only about 500 grams, and couldn’t help but reveal a very satisfied expression. He stroked his beard and smiled,”Little Xia, the fresh leaves you provided are of extremely high quality! I’ve been most satisfied with this tea – making process for so many years. Look at this rope, it’s quite tight and strong, and its color is quite pure. It also has such an obvious treasure aura. Not bad, not bad …”
Xia ruofei was elated.”Old Mr. Li, this is all thanks to your superb skills. Otherwise, even the best tea leaves can’t make tea leaves of this quality.”
Li Zhifu wasn’t modest when it came to making tea. He smiled and nodded.”How is it? let’s try these tea leaves!”
“Sure!” Xia ruofei immediately replied.
No matter how good the appearance of the tea leaves was, the final quality still depended on the taste. Only after soaking it in the tea and tasting it would one know.
Ye Lingyun and yang Shengmu were also full of anticipation. Yang Shengmu quickly brought a full tea set.
“Gen ‘er, find a tea jar and help Xiao Xia seal the tea leaves!” Li Zhifu said.
“Alright!”
Yang sengen’s place was a tea factory to begin with, so he naturally didn’t lack tea jars. He quickly brought over a 500 – kilogram cup and carefully placed li Zhifu’s personally made Da Hong Pao into the tea jar, sealing it tightly.
Li Zhifu put about one bubble of tea leaves deliberately left by yang Shigen into the purple sand teapot. This purple sand teapot looked a little old, and it was bright purple. It should be used by yang Shigen to make tea.
After the spring water boiled, li Zhifu poured the water into a purple clay teapot. Suddenly, the room was filled with the fragrance of tea. Everyone’s eyes lit up. The tea was really fragrant!
Li Zhifu put down the kettle and immediately picked up the purple clay teapot to pour out the tea. Da Hong Pao also needed to wash the tea, but the brewing process was very short and did not need to wait for a few seconds like tie Guanyin.
Next, li Zhifu poured in the still – Boiling Spring water. After letting it sit for about 10 seconds, he poured it directly into the fragrance cup in front of everyone.
When the tea was poured into the cup, yang Shugen’s eyes suddenly lit up and he said happily,””The tea is clear and bright! Good tea!”
Xia ruofei looked at the tea in the cup in front of him. It was dark orange and very clear.
Li Zhifu smiled and poured the tea in the cup into another tea tasting cup. Then, he picked up the cup and rubbed it gently with his hands. He brought the cup to his nose, closed his eyes slightly, and took a deep breath …
Xia ruofei followed li Zhifu’s example and sniffed the tea. He couldn’t tell what was good about it, but he felt that the fragrance was refreshing, as if his whole body was invigorated.
“Clear and distant! The fragrance of recovery filled the air! Good tea!” Li Zhifu said excitedly.
Then, li Zhifu put down the fragrance smelling cup and finally picked up the tea tasting cup. Yang Shenshen and ye Lingyun were no longer rookies. They were quite familiar with tea – tasting and also picked up the tea tasting cup after smelling the fragrance.
Xia ruofei also raised his tea cup like everyone else.
Smelling the fragrance of the tea in the room, Xia ruofei’s mood seemed to become peaceful. His eyes could not help but reveal appreciation and amusement. He slowly inhaled the tea and then slowly swallowed it.
Xia ruofei instantly felt the rich and sweet taste reverberating in his mouth. He couldn’t help but show an expression of enjoyment.
Li Zhifu opened his eyes and asked with a smile,”Little Xia, how are you feeling?”
Xia ruofei smiled and said,”old Mr. Li, I’m not an expert in tea tasting. However, I feel that the taste of this tea is very rich. At the same time, it has a very tempting fragrance.” There’s also an indescribable charm in it …”
“Yanyun!” Yang Shugen immediately replied. Master, this red – robed Yan Yun is very obvious, it’s really a top quality tea!”
Li Zhifu smiled and nodded,”My root is right. Little Xia, you can taste the fragrance of rock in it. This means that my Da Hong Pao is considered a success!”
“Yan Yun?” Xia ruofei asked in confusion.
“Yeah!” Li Zhifu nodded. In layman’s terms, it’s the charm of a rock. This is the unique charm of our Wu Yi mountain’s Da Hong Pao. ”
“It sounds a little mysterious …” Xia ruofei smiled.
“This isn’t mysterious at all. Our Da Hong Pao of Mount Wu Yi has turned that seemingly mysterious rhythm into a tangible and tasteful rhythm.” Li Zhifu said.
Then, his eyes revealed a profound look as he said,””In my opinion, Da Hong Pao is like an old man who has gone through the vicissitudes of life. After going through the hardships of life and walking through a long life, he is slowly telling you. This kind of narration can stand the grinding of time and the scrutiny of time. ”
Xia ruofei was filled with respect. He never thought that an old tea farmer who had worked in the tea industry for decades on Mount Wu Yi could say such philosophical and poetic words.
Xia ruofei looked at li Zhifu deeply and asked,””Old Mr. Li, what do you think of the quality of the Da Hong Pao made this time compared to the legendary mother tree Da Hong Pao?”
[PS: thank you to the Zheng family’s second son and Xiangjun 1 for their support!]