Winter is coming, and snow is falling. can't help but remind people of a classic in "Dream of Red Mansions" - Miaoyu cooking tea.

Today, the snow is flying outside the window, and Mr. Qi and Nong Tianyi are talking about the knowledge and some skills of making tea in snow water. They are also elegant.

Nong Tianyi said, sir, then try how to make tea with snow water?

Mr. Qi Yu often uses snow water to make tea, so he told the story:

The first is to collect snow. It is best to collect snow after 3-5 days of continuous snowfall, and this winter is a great time to collect snow water. It is better to take snow from the branches and leaves of flowers and plants.

Next, put the snow water collected from the flowers and leaves in a casserole, then boil it to remove precipitated impurities and let it cool.

Then seal the cooled snow water in a jar, hide it in a cool place or bury it in the ground, and drink it in the summer. Snow water, like sake, is best stored for three to five years.

Finally, of course, it is time to take the can to make tea. The water quality of the tea brewed in snow water is light and fragrant. In particular, the tea made by Laxue has the effect of detoxification. Drinking it in moderation can also help lower cholesterol and prevent arteriosclerosis.

Nong Tian nodded again and again, and said, then, how can tea resist brewing?

Mr. Qi Yu talked about some of his feelings and experiences.

He talked about it quite layered: the age and integrity of tea leaves affect the foam resistance. Tea with all bud tips, that is, more delicate tea leaves, is not resistant to brewing, while those with one bud, two or three leaves are relatively much more resistant to brewing. In terms of integrity, it is directly proportional to the foam resistance.

The degree of rolling in tea making also affects the foam resistance. The degree of twisting and kneading is inversely proportional to the foam resistance, the deeper the twisting degree, the more the leaf cell wall is damaged, the faster the release rate of water extract will be, and the foam resistance will be reduced accordingly.

The factors in the tea brewing process also affect the foaming resistance. In the process of brewing tea, the amount of tea, the amount of water injected and the water temperature determined by the tea maker will have an impact on the brewing resistance of the tea, specifically, the less the amount of tea, the more water injected, the higher the water temperature, the lower the brewing resistance of the tea.

The age and ecological environment of tea trees also affect the foam tolerance. These two indicators are closely related, the age of the tree is not the decisive factor, the climate and ecological environment is the decisive factor, and the discussion of the age of the tree must be meaningful under the conditions of the same climate and ecological environment, otherwise it will be like Guan Gong and Qin Qiong; Back to the topic, under the same climate and ecological environment, the ancient trees with large trees and deep roots naturally have an advantage, and the small tree terrace can only secretly wipe away tears on the side.

Nongtian is a haha and a joy.

Mr. Qi Yu went on to say that the Fengshan tea in his hometown is one of the more resistant tea varieties among the many tea varieties.

The ancients paid attention to the best water for making tea is "falling water from the sky", that is, snow water, dew, rainwater, etc., thinking that it comes from the sky, clean, good taste, put the clean snow directly into the pot to boil, calm it and then filter it, filter out the impurities inside, and then boil, and then brew it as usual

It should be noted that it is best not to use snow from the city, the best is from the mountains, and if you can only find snow in the city, try not to use the first snow as well.

Tea is served in water. Good tea must have good water, which has been the consensus of tea people for thousands of years. However, there is one kind of water that is not suitable for boiling (brewing) tea, but it has been difficult to conclude since ancient times, that is, snow water.

The most famous story about making tea with snow water is the story of Taogu Dangji's "snow sweeping and cooking tea" in the snow.

Regardless of whether Tao Gu was proud or lonely at that time, the elegance of "clearing snow and cooking tea" has been passed down as a good story through the ages. Later generations have spread this allusion to the extreme. In the Yuan Dynasty, Li Dezai's loose song "Zhonglu" has words such as "the Tao family bachelor is more coquettish". Xu Wei's "Tao Bachelor Cooking Tea Map" in the Ming Dynasty; Shi Zhen's "Party Ji Cooking Snow" in the Qing Dynasty are all masterpieces of allusions into the painting. Taogu has also become synonymous with elegance because of the four words "snow sweeping and cooking tea".

Sweeping the snow and frying fragrant tea. For example, Bai Juyi's "Sweeping Snow and Frying Fragrant Tea" in the Tang Dynasty, Xin Qiji's "Writing Tea and Boiling Tea and Snow" in the Song Dynasty, and Wu Zimu's "Dream Lianglu" even wrote: "Snow falls from the sky...... Poets are talents, and when they encounter this scene, they use laxue sencha, chant poems and songs, and sing harmony. ”

Snow water to make tea, not too cold with snow. As the saying goes, you can't talk about tea without water. Naturally, it was the Ming Dynasty that reformed tea drinking. After entering the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's sentence "strike the dragon group, but pick tea buds to advance", which made the way of drinking tea have undergone earth-shaking changes, from sencha tea to tea, and the requirements for water quality have become more stringent. Xu Cishu said in "Tea Shu" that "fine tea contains fragrance, borrowed from water, and tea cannot be discussed without water." It was also from this time that there were many discussions about snow water in various tea books. With this, the sayings of "spiritual water" and "heavenly spring" appeared.

Snow is the essence of grains.

Tea books in the Ming Dynasty have become a flood trend, and literati like to talk highly, and their views often contradict each other. Cheng Yongbin's "Tea Record" has a lot of criticism about snow water: "Snow water, sexy and heavy yin, no need to store more, eat for a long time, cold damage to the stomach." He thinks that the snow water is too cold and there is no need to store too much, because eating too much will be bad for the stomach.

The new water is spicy, and the old is sweet.

The "Mei Xue Tea" section in Cao Xueqin's "Dream of Red Mansions" is a classic among the classics, which has something in common with Yuan Mei, that is, snow water needs to be stored for a period of time before drinking. However, there are also big flaws, which say "collect the snow on the plum blossoms and store it for five years", although it is very elegant and exquisite, but it is the words of the novel, which is not enough to rely on.

"Wax snow water: sweet and cold. After the winter solstice, the third E is wax, and the wax water seals the shade, and it is not bad for several years. …… If the spring snow lasts for a long time, insects will grow, which is unusable and easy to spoil. ”

In addition to the timing and place of collecting snow water, there is also a difference in season. In the Ming Dynasty, Jia Ming's "Dietary Instructions" believed that winter snow should be selected for snow water, not spring snow. Because winter snow is sweeter and less perishable; Spring snow can be stored for a long time, insects will grow, and the water quality is easy to deteriorate.

Nong Tian said "uh-huh" in a row, admiring Mr. Qi.

Mr. Qi said that he could collect more snow in the winter and store it in a water tank, which could be used in the spring of the following year. However, it is best not to use snow water to make tea, it is most appropriate to use it to make tea. Because the snow water is cold, the tea is also cold, so as not to hurt the spleen and stomach. As for the snow water that has been stored in the cellar for many years as mentioned in "Dream of Red Mansions", it is also not advisable.

Nong Tianyi said that although snow water can be used to make tea, it must be clean and pollution-free snow. The environment in ancient times was much better than now, and it was very simple for the ancients to collect snow water.

Snow water, also known as "living water" by Russian scholars. Making tea with snow water has a certain effect on the prevention of arteriosclerosis. One of the causes of arteriosclerosis is the lack of ice-like water in the body, and regular consumption of snow water is beneficial to the change of this condition, which is helpful in fighting aging and prolonging life.

Nong Tianyi said, "Snow Tian tea is three points elegant, and tea gives snow soul a piece of incense." ”

Wind flowers, snow moons, wine, tea and chess, these are extremely elegant things, and the combination of them is even more elegant. So much so that the behavior of inviting the moon to wine, sweeping snow and cooking tea is talked about, and it is also widely written by literati and scholars, so there are countless poems and stories that have been handed down. If you really want to use snow water to make tea and drink it, you must break this layer of beautification to correctly understand the water quality and efficacy of snow water, as well as the storage and use methods.

Of course, who doesn't want to bow a handful of snow on a snowy day and cook an elegant cup of tea?