After four o'clock, the sun was still poisonous.

Ye Chen boiled a pot of tea, called Ye Xing over, and together they went to the upper reaches of the reservoir to release the soft-shelled turtles, and then went to the tea mountain to pick tea leaves.

In summer, the temperature is high, the sunshine intensity is high, and the tea grows rapidly. The buds are thin and small, the leaves are thin, the purple buds are more, the appearance of the green card made is light, the aroma is not strong, the taste is bitter and astringent, and the freshness of spring tea and the green of autumn tea are missing, but it is very good to make black tea, but unfortunately, few people drink black tea here, and the black tea output of the tea factory is also very limited.

Picking tea in summer, one core has many leaves, and picking the most delicate one can also make good tea.

"Tea picking is so hard, how much can a pound of tea be sold for? Zhao Jiyang picked a handful of tea leaves and put them in the bamboo basket that Ye Chen was carrying on his waist and asked.

"Summer tea, a few yuan to a dozen yuan per catty, like a core and many leaves we pick, should be able to buy more than ten or twenty yuan, not more than thirty?" Ye Chen was not sure, and looked at Ye Xing.

"About the price. In summer, tea grows quickly, and picking does not have as many requirements as spring tea and autumn tea, and it can even be cut directly with a sickle, as long as the leaves are tender and green. Ye Xing knew more about the tea industry than Ye Chen, and said: "When the master is here, summer tea is also sold, about thirty for top goods, and five or six or seven yuan for flat goods." "Sharp goods are tea leaves with leaf tips, generally one bud and one leaf or one bud and two leaves. Flat goods are young tea leaves, a new shoot can be more than ten centimeters or even more than 20 centimeters long, as long as the tea leaves are tender and green. A few dollars a pound......

The sharp goods are all picked by hand, and the flat goods can be used in the tea picking machine, or with a sickle. Hand-picked, summer tea leaves are up to six or seven catties a day, not to mention the use of machines, with a sickle, if it is a tea garden that is managed, fifty catties a day for one person is not a problem. Cutting with a sickle is done by waiting for the sprouts to grow to a certain height before doing so.

The tea trees in the tea mountain have not been managed much after the death of the master, and the branches of the tea trees are uneven, and it is time-consuming and laborious to pick.

It's going to be dark.

Zhao Jiyang's mobile phone rang, answered the phone, looked at Ye Chen and stuck out his tongue: "My dad called, let me go back to dinner." ”

Ye Chen looked at the tea leaves picked, four or five catties, enough to practice.

When he returned home, Ye Chen took out a few remaining fighting mushrooms in the refrigerator: "Pay attention to safety when driving alone." ”

"Well, are you going to pick up mushrooms in the mountains tomorrow?"

"I'll go alone, you can sleep lazily tomorrow......"

"Then I'll come over for dinner at noon, I'm too lazy to cook alone. ”

"Good. ”

Seeing Zhao Jiyang leave, Ye Chen took the tea and went to Ye Xing's house.

"Fourth uncle. ”

The fourth uncle was sitting at the door smoking a cigarette: "Ye Xing said that you teach him to make tea, I can take a look." "The Ye family makes tea, and it is passed on to men but not to women. The fourth uncle wanted to learn to make tea, but the master just didn't teach, so the relationship between the fourth father and the master has not been good.

"Of course, I'm afraid that Ye Xing won't be able to get it, and I'll have to trouble the fourth uncle to help light the fire. ”

The first step in making tea is to wash the pot.

It is better to have a wood stove and a large iron pot.

Pour in half a pot of water and bring to a boil.

The fire is burning at the beginning, and it is difficult to grasp the fire. There is water in the pot to further clean the cauldron.

Burn wood for the fire, and burn out charcoal.

The fourth father didn't say much, he seemed cautious, and his expression seemed to carry a pious and awe-inspiring expression.

Ye Chen observed the fire from the side: "The fire is appropriately larger, and the open flame touches the bottom of the pot." ”

"Okay. ”

Seeing that the fourth uncle stabilized the fire, Ye Chen scooped out the water in the pot, waited for the water in the pot to boil dry, poured in the tea leaves picked back, and turned them repeatedly with bamboo chopsticks until the tea leaves were soft.

Stir-fry the soft tea leaves and put them in a dustpan.

"Ye Xing, wash the pot. ”

"Roger. ”

Ye Chen brought the dustpan to the place where the fourth uncle was burning the fire and rubbed it with his hands.

This step is called tea rubbing. Rubbing the tea while it is hot, rubbing it repeatedly with your hands, which is similar to kneading the dough, but you must master a degree, and you can't rub the tea leaves.

The master can directly endure the high temperature of the tea just out of the pot, and is not afraid of burns. Ye Chen can also ......

Since he was sensible, the master began to teach himself how to make it. In the step of rubbing tea, the old man used to force himself to do it, and a pair of small hands were badly burned, and the mother and the old man quarreled, so they soaked the cold water with their hands before rubbing the tea......

Now, the skin on my hands is much older. It's still very hot, I can burn my hands, but I can endure it.

Keep kneading it repeatedly, and the speed should be fast, so that it can withstand the hot tea leaves. After feeling that the tea leaves are cold, spread out the kneaded tea leaves, fry them in the pot again, take them out and knead them again...... Spread cool.

Repeat this three times.

"Fourth uncle, the fire is a little smaller. Half-indicate the fire, the flame must not touch the bottom of the pot. ”

"Okay. "The fourth uncle's eyes are a little moist, probably smoked...... Quickly withdraw the firewood.

Put it in the pan again, fry it hot, and take it out to shape.

Kneading becomes kneading, and by using external force, the leaves are kneaded and lightened, rolled into strips, reduced in size, and easy to brew.

Tea leaves from different periods have different processes, one bud has many leaves, and the length is two to three centimeters. Shaping can be divided into two processes, the first into strips, the second into rolls.

This has high requirements for the technique, and the slightest carelessness will destroy the tea leaves, and after brewing, the tea leaves can be seen to be obviously defective. Roll it into long strips, and after brewing, the tea leaves naturally disperse, like freshly picked tea leaves. In the second step of shaping, the leaves cling to the tea stalk in a spiral shape. The soaking water spreads out naturally, with the stems at the bottom and the leaves at the top. When brewing, the tea leaves naturally spread out, like flowers blooming in water.

For example, the tea made by Master Ye Chen, the picked tea leaves can be fried seven or even nine times in the pot, and the tea leaves made are condensed but not dispersed, which is the realm that can only be achieved by frying tea for a lifetime. At this point, Ye Chen's heat is too far away.

Those who can reach the realm of Master Ye Chen, I am afraid that there are only a few old men in the entire Qingshan Town.

The heat required for each process is different, and the technique is also different.

After five times of repeated stir-frying, rubbing, and twisting process, put the shaped tea leaves into a hot pot and gently turn them back and forth for five to ten minutes, stopping when they are close to drying to avoid breaking.

Finally, extinguish the open flame and dry it with the embers in the stove.

Spread and seal in a jar.

"It's so troublesome to fry a pot of tea?" Ye Xing took some tea leaves: "Try soaking in water, can you reach the realm of the master." ”

"It's far away, just look at the residue left in the pot. Ye Chen shook his head.

Ye Xing brewed tea leaves in the glass, at least it was like a flower blooming, which was not too bad. The color of the soup is turquoise, clear and distinct, and the water color is thick......

The fragrance is slightly cloudy.

However, it is normal for the aroma of freshly fried tea leaves to not settle down.

The fire of new tea is heavy, especially the freshly fried tea leaves, which are easy to catch fire when drunk. A few people looked around the tea leaves in the glass, and the condition was not bad, there was something like that.