The two masters are based on virtue and "companion with charcoal fire"

Insist on two-character writing
How much bitterness to do 
Treasures of tea since ancient times 
I really stand for you 
- Master Liu Chongpei -

"Category" and "place" determine the variety of tea, and "ren" determine the flavor of old tea. Those who can make old tea must be virtuous people, in order to truly cherish old tea and sublimate the life value of old tea . The professionalism of a tea maker is shown in the roasting process. When roasting, you must “see the sky to bake the tea and see the tea roasted tea”. Rich experience is the basic quality. Innocent and pure “heart” is what determines the quality when roasting old tea. Bad professionalism, the purer the heart of the tea maker, the more able to show the warm and mellow taste of old tea. Based on his trust in tradition, Liu Chongpei insists on using traditional charcoal roasting to correct the "Tao" and strives to preserve the natural "true" flavor of Taiwanese old tea. Even if he has to endure physical and mental hardships in the process, he still adheres to the concept of "goodness" and does his best. It is his constant wish to complete the inheritance. 

The charcoal roasting technology of old tea is "difficult"! The key is to insist that Liu Chongpei insists on longan charcoal roasted tea with "sincerity". He has to break through the barriers of technology, body and mind, and time. During the process, gray head, black face, and dripping sweat are common things. You must have stoic will to endure the hardships, because "It's very difficult", so the charcoal roasting technology of old tea is about to be lost, but in order to let those who love Taiwan old tea drink precious, Liu Chongpei devoted himself to roasting old tea, taking hardship as pleasure, so the old tea baked is "quality" He is very stable with "quantity", and he is also willing to share what he has learned selflessly.

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1. Pounding charcoal: Hand pounding large pieces of longan charcoal into the size of a ping pong ball.
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2. Into the furnace: Shovel the broken charcoal into the furnace and spread it evenly.
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3. Compaction: After repeated blows, the charcoal is compacted. If the gap is too large, the charcoal above may fall off when burning, and the flame will burn to the tea cage, causing a fire danger; High and low, affecting the taste of tea. 
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4. Ignition: Experienced masters need to master the skills and skills of ignition to prevent the unbalanced hot spot from extinguishing.
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5. Cover with ash: Cover the red-burning charcoal with charcoal ash.
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6. Whole ash: The temperature of slow-fire charcoal roasting is adjusted according to the thickness of charcoal ash and the sharp and round shape of the charcoal pile. The thickness and density of the ash affects the rate at which air enters the fire, and the amount of ash covered varies from tea to tea, so the experience and skill of the tea maker is the key.
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7. Hojicha: The simmered roasted tea is turned over once an hour, and a thermometer is placed to ensure that the fire temperature is appropriate. Hojicha production takes about 10 hours, and a hojicha master must stand by and watch the hojicha based on experience. Usually, it can be baked for 8 days and 8 nights in one fire, and white caffeine crystals will be precipitated after baking.

Precious longan charcoal

Firing longan charcoal is a test of time and endurance. The selected longan wood must be dried and sawed into sections. It is simmered at a high temperature of more than 1,000 degrees in the kiln for one month, and the firewood cannot be interrupted even if it is windy and rainy. Next, the kiln is sealed. There is no oxygen in the kiln to support combustion, so the fire is naturally turned off and cooled. The kiln is kept for another month for carbonization. After completion, the kiln is carefully selected to open the kiln for charcoal.

A little dictionary of life: precious longan charcoal

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Longan charcoal, which has been tempered by fire and time, was called "Pure Yang Fire" in ancient times. The far-infrared penetrating heat source provided will block long carbon chains such as caffeine, theophylline, and tannin in tea leaves. The structure helps to generate "gallic acid" when the old tea is stored and oxidized, but the heat source of electric roasting has no such effect.

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