Chapter 28 Chapter 28

I admire two creations of Anhui people. One is Huainan tofu, and the other is Lu'an melon slices. Both are amazing, especially Lu'an melon slices, which are pretty in shape and sweet in taste.One year I went to Lu’an, from Xishui in Hubei to Dabie Mountain. I remember that the car broke down near the Bailianhe reservoir, and the oil pipe was blocked. I took it down and blew it for two hours. It cleared up, and it was dark when I went up to Yingshan. up.It was dark over the Dabie Mountains, like walking on the deep earth.There is no moon in the sky, there are few stars, the dark canyon is like an ink vat, and on the steep peaks, there may be a dark red lamp flickering. I don’t know whose lamp it is. I thought there would be a girl or a boy in the sky. Poetry under the lamp, maybe an old bachelor is drinking.The peak of Dabie Mountain is in the territory of Yingshan, called Tiantangzhai, with an altitude of 1729 meters.The plants in the Dabie Mountains are distinguished by altitude. The subtropical mixed forest is below 800 meters above sea level, and the northern temperate coniferous forest is above the altitude, which is divided into two.

I have drank almost all the teas from the Dabie Mountains. The lightest one is Xianrentai from Qichun in the south, the most green is Xinyang Maojian from Xinyang in the north, the Ziyun tea from Ziyun Mountain in Huangmei County has a middle taste, and the screen seal tea from Yingshan Mountain is the mildest. The clouds and mist are slightly scattered. I don't know why I like Yingshan's autumn tea so much. It has a unique sweetness of autumn.Lu'an Guapian is considered to be the best tea on the Dabie Mountains. However, Li Shizhen, the sage of medicine, once recorded a famous tea: Qihuangtuan tea.I have never tasted or seen this tea, it is a tea that tantalizes people's appetite, maybe it has been lost.

After crossing the Dabie Mountains, I live in Huoshan County at the foot of the mountain, one of the places where Lu'an melon slices are produced. It was originally called bee wings, and it was shaped like sunflower seeds, so it was called melon slices.Because the earliest place of origin is Qitou Mountain in Mabu, Lu'an, it is called Lu'an Guapian, and the business card of Qishan is the best.Later, the construction of Xianghongdian Reservoir submerged Mabu, which almost became the swan song of Lu'an Guapian, which is really a sad move. The current Lu'an melon slices are produced in the mountainous areas adjacent to Lu'an, Jinzhai, and Huoshan, and are divided into inner and outer two mountain melon slices.Inner mountain melon slices are produced in Jinzhai Xianghongdian, Huahualing, Gongdian; Luan Huangjianhe, Shuangfeng, Longmenchong, Dushan; Huoshan Zhufo Temple; outer mountain melon slices are produced in Lu'an Shibanchong, Shipodian, Shishi Gang, Luojiaan.Lu'an has a large quantity, while Jinzhai has a high quality.Qitou Mountain is the remnant of the Dabie Mountains, with an altitude of 804 meters. It is located on the northwest edge of the Dabie Mountains and has been assigned to Jinzhai.Does Lu'an Guapian without Qitou Mountain taste the same as in the past?It's confusing to ask. I thought tea would never be the same. Is the tea Lu Yu drinks the same as the tea we drink?

Lu'an melon slices have no stems and no buds. They are all single pieces like melon seeds, flat and straight, with slightly warped leaf margins.The ordinary people like me drink melon slices, and plum slices may also be more thick. It is a slightly thicker tea, which can only be broken down by locals or old tea lovers.When I was particularly interested in tea, I practiced too much tea. I made a cup of Longjing, Maojian, Tieguanyin, Yinzhen, Biluo, Guapian and so on. I closed my eyes and drank it. To be clear, it has a clear taste and a sweet aftertaste. Because it is called Guapian, I associate it with watermelon as the name implies. In short, it has a sweet and bright feeling. Regardless, the name is just right.

I thought that Lu'an Guapian would rise to the highest status among the famous teas. First, the tea area has unique geological, geographical and climatic conditions. The tea area is located in the Huaihe River Basin at the northeastern foot of the Dabie Mountains. The annual average temperature is 15°C and the average precipitation is 1200-1300 mm. , the soil pH is about 6.5, yellow-brown soil, deep soil, loose texture, teas are all grown in hillside valleys; first, Lu'an melon slices are roasted with fine technology and clear process design, and the roasted tea leaves have color, aroma and taste , good shape, unique, most of the tea leaves can drink aftertaste, Lu'an Melon Pian is outstanding for its bright entrance and sweet aftertaste, which is the result of unique ecological geography and exquisite frying technology on one leaf Expression of kindness.

The frying process of Lu'an melon slices is divided into five processes: raw pot, cooked pot, rough fire, low fire, and old fire.1. Raw pot: The diameter of the pot for frying tea is 70 cm, inclined at 30 degrees, and the raw and cooked tea are adjacent to each other.The temperature of the raw pot is about 100°C, and the amount of leaves cast is about two taels.Stir-fry the fine fresh leaves for 1 to 2 minutes with a bamboo brush or reed broom, kill the green leaves, and stir-fry until the leaves become soft and sweep them into a strip-shaped cooking pot; 2. Cooking pot: fry the soft leaves in the cooking pot while shooting , the leaves gradually become flakes, the young leaves are fried and lightly turned over the broom handle to relax, when the old leaves are fried, the broom handle is slightly tightened, lightly patted into pieces to shape, the moisture content is about 30% and baked in the pan; 3. Maohuo: burn charcoal Fire, put the tea in a drying cage, cast 3 kg of leaves in a cage, and the upper limit of the drying temperature is 100°C, bake until 80% to 90% dry, pick out the miscellaneous leaves, and mix the young and old pieces; 4. Small fire: cast in each cage 6 kg of leaves, baked on a warm fire until fully dry; 5. Old fire: the baking temperature is high, the fire is fierce, the charcoal is burning and the flames rise, and each cage throws 8 kg of leaves. Two people carry the baking cage and bake on the charcoal fire for 2 ~ 3 seconds, remove and turn the tea, turn over and then dry again, and so on. In a drying cage, the tea leaves are turned over 60 times, and baked until the leaves are green and frosty, and put them into an iron cylinder while they are hot.It is conceivable that with such careful work, what leaves are not roasted?But Lu'an Guapian, it does not win by the pure hot aroma, this mystery is still in the tea, which is hard to comprehend.

I always think that Lu'an Guapian is a magical thing. Today, its reputation is not even as good as that of Huangya, Maofeng and Taiping Houkui in the same province. And its beauty, I believe it is a priceless tea, if you drink it with a normal heart, the bright refreshing, sweet aftertaste will always lead us to re-understand it, or to a famous mountain. Inquire.