Chapter 100 Tuo Cha Chronicle

I have known Tuocha since 2003, when I graduated from university and worked as a book editor in a publishing house. I often deal with tea and wine, and I gradually fell in love with the taste.One day, I went shopping in the supermarket and saw Tuocha wrapped in yellow wax paper on the shelf. I bought two tuo and planned to share it with my friends. My understanding of Tuocha originated from a book "Chinese Famous Tea" that I bought when I was in middle school.I bought it at the Xinhua Bookstore in Meicheng for 27 cents. Whenever I got home, I read this book and memorized all the basic knowledge of famous Chinese tea.I grew up in Anhua pine needles and Anhua black tea production areas since I was a child. I participate in the picking and production of spring tea and black tea every year.

The tuocha I bought was not drunk by my friends, so I kept it.Soon, I bought a few more mounds, a total of more than ten mounds, and packed them in a cardboard box.During this period, I kept moving and moved to five or six places. I almost lost all my belongings, except for Tuocha, which I kept with me all the time and collected carefully.Until 2005, I lived in the home of my friend Long Guoqiang, and I still took it with me.One day, Long's second sister, Yue Hua, called and asked if Long Guoqiang had Chen Cha?It is said that my niece Yang Xue has pimples on her body and needs to take a bath with tea.I answered the call, and I told her I had some tea in my collection.The second sister came, and I gave her a tuo, and told her to steam the tuo tea by cooking and steaming, and then go to boil water for a bath.

In January 2006, I moved out of Long's house, but I didn't take Tuo Cha with me.Soon, I got married.My writing direction has changed to travel, food, and the tea I drink is also presented by friends.I have successively written dozens of essays about famous teas from various places, and opened tea-tasting columns in several newspapers and periodicals.During this period, I went to Long's house many times, but I couldn't find Tuocha.I have always wanted to write an article about Tuocha, and I insist on my writing attitude. When I write about food and travel, I emphasize the sense of presence. I have to go to the place of origin and taste it before I dare to write.

In April 2010, I accompanied my wife to Kunming to meet a professor of traditional Chinese medicine.I saw Tuocha, which I had missed for a long time, again in the tea shop near the hotel where I lived, and I immediately bought a few tuo tea to take back to the hotel.When I browsed the Yunnan tourism map, I found a place in Dali called Xiaguan.After thinking for a long time, I finally remembered that Xiaguan is the place where Tuocha is produced. After seeing Professor Wu, my wife and I went to Dali for a trip. My wife enjoyed the Cangshan Mountain and the Erhai Lake to the fullest, feeling the wind, flowers, snow and moon.I am thinking about Tuocha who is about to meet, and I am always absent-minded.My wife knows very well that the main purpose of our trip from Kunming to Dali is to taste and buy Tuocha.We went back to the hotel, had a quick supper, and went for a walk in the street.I found a tea shop not far away, so I went into the shop and asked.Boss Yang is from Xinyu, Jiangxi. The four sisters have been in the tea business in Yunnan for more than ten years.I heard that she came from Changsha and came to Dali to buy Tuocha. She was very excited and enthusiastic.I just found out in the chat that she has a Pu'er tea sales point in Changsha Gaoqiao Market, which will open in Changsha in May.She immediately set out the tea tray and made Tuocha for me to drink.

While tasting the Tuocha she brewed, we asked questions about Tuocha.She told me that Tuocha is the most famous of Yunnan Xiaguan Tuocha (Group) Co., Ltd., whose predecessor was Xiaguan Tea Factory in Yunnan Province, which was founded in 1941.Xiaguan Tuocha is a pressed Pu'er tea. The concave surface looks like a thick-walled small bowl, and the convex surface looks like a round bread. It has a delicate appearance and exquisite curves.The shape processing originated from Pu'er Tuancha in Ming Dynasty and Daughter Tea in Qing Dynasty. In 1902, it was finalized by Xiaguan Yongchangxiang, with a history of more than 100 years.The closest thing to Xiaguan Tuocha is mooncake-shaped Tuancha, which is produced by a private teahouse in Jinggu County.Yongchangxiang improves on the original shape, absorbs the smallness and convenience of transportation of the moon cake-shaped lump tea, and prevents endogenous mildew and post-fermentation factors in the transportation and storage process of the lump tea due to excessive thickness.Make into a small bowl and mortar shape.

I told Boss Yang about the taste and taste of Tuocha, and she was very surprised.I just told her that I am a writer who writes about food and travel, and I have written about dozens of famous teas.She must be my friend. Boss Yang also told me the history of Tuocha. The founder of Xiaguan Tuocha was Yan Zizhen, the head of the four major business gangs in Xizhou, Dali.Domestically, it mainly engages in Yunnan-Tibet and Yunnan-Sichuan trade, and abroad, it mainly engages in Yunnan-Myanmar, Yunnan-India trade.Its business policy is to sell Yunnan tea to Sichuan and Tibet, Sichuan silk to Burma, Burmese cotton to Yunnan, and Yunnan-Tibetan medicine to Sichuan.Yongchangxiang Xiaguan Tuocha came out, and quickly opened up sales in Yunnan, Sichuan, Tibet and other provinces. Seeing that Tuocha was profitable, other merchants invested in and operated it one after another. Xiaguan became a battlefield for many merchants to compete for Tuocha.Before the end of the Anti-Japanese War, there were 18 tea factories in Xiaguan, among which Yongchangxiang, Maoheng, Fuchunhe, Chengsheng and Hongshengxiang were the largest.Yongchangxiang's Songhe Tuocha is highly regarded in Sichuan.The bowl-shaped ones sold in the Tuojiang River Valley in Xufu (Yibin) of Sichuan, and the heart-shaped ones with handles sold in Kangzang are its representatives. The former is called Xufuzhuang tea, and the latter is called tight tea.Xufuzhuang tea is brewed with Tuojiang water, and its color, aroma and taste are excellent. The local people cherish this tea very much, and it is commonly known as Tuocha.

In 1950, Kangzang Tea Factory was named Xiaguan Tea Factory in Yunnan Province. In 1955, Yongchangxiang, Fuchunhe and Maoheng were merged into Xiaguan Tea Factory.On the basis of inheriting and developing the traditional craftsmanship of Yongchangxiang Xiaguan Tea Factory, we will continue to develop and innovate, and improve all aspects of material selection, blending, pressing, packaging, etc., and keep the traditional color, aroma, taste and shape of Tuocha. , Songhe brand Tuocha, Baoyan brand tight tea, Nanzhao brand Qizibing tea have high popularity and brand loyalty among consumers. The next day, accompanied by Boss Yang, I went to Xiaguan. I went to the foot of the snow-covered Cangshan Mountain and the rippling Erhai Lake. I tasted the sweet spring water and enjoyed the breeze. I saw the tea garden and the tea production workshop. I was very moved. .I went back to my residence, bought 20 pieces of Qizi cakes and 100 jin of Tuo tea, and ordered more than 100 catties of Tuo tea, which were delivered directly to Changsha by Boss Yang.Boss Yang gave me ten seven-zi cakes that had been treasured for twenty years as a dowry gift, and asked me to be a consultant for her Changsha Pu'er tea sales shop.

When I returned to Changsha, I divided the Qizibing and Tuocha I brought back into 20 portions and sent them to my friends. They were very excited and often asked me to drink with them.