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Original title: The Spirit of the Craftsmen follows the skills of collecting and brewing tea in West Lake Longjing.
China News Service, Hangzhou, March 12, Title: West Lake Longjing Tea Picking and Brewing Skills Followed by the Spirit of Craftsmen
Author Jiang Yangye
On March 12, West Lake Longjing tea was officially extracted in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Fan Shenghua, West Lake Longjing intangible cultural heritage representative heir to collect and make skills, told reporters that in the past year, the number of young people interested in handmade tea has gradually increased. The skills of collecting and brewing tea in West Lake Longjing have been successful and the crafts have become popular.
West Lake Longjing tea is known for its four unique characteristics: “green color, rich fragrance, sweet taste, and beautiful shape.” In addition to its unique geographical location and excellent varieties, its unique quality can also be attributed to its excellent production skills.
Longjing tea roasting is usually done in an iron skillet at around 200 degrees Celsius. Fan Shenghua, who was learning to fry tea at 14 and officially “debuted” at 20, has thick knuckles and callused palms.
Image shows West Lake Longjing tea production green stand Photo by Yan Lei“With the popularization of machine-roasted tea, West Lake Longjing’s harvesting and production skills have had no successors.” Fan Shenghua bluntly said that roasting tea by hand is hard work and cannot be learned in three or two years. “In recent years, many young people have shown great interest in hand-stirred tea. There are children who grew up in Longjing tea gardens and there are also young people who have come to learn from outside Zhejiang province.”
“Although there are not many people who can persist, I am still very happy.” Fan Shenghua said that hand-fried tea, picking is the prerequisite, finishing is the base, and Huiguo is the key. There are “top ten techniques” for frying West Lake Longjing tea, namely grabbing, shaking, lifting, shaking, pushing, bending, spreading, pressing, pressing and mashing.
Throughout the spring tea season, from the first wave of fresh leaves to the last wave of fresh leaves, tea producers should observe how the tea is prepared according to the weather and fresh leaf conditions, flexibly adjust the frying process and prepare each fresh leaf as the best possible quality.
Learning tea is a life-long affair. Fan Shenghua’s apprentice Yan Lei has been studying tea for 8 years and can now independently complete the special grade West Lake Longjing tea roasting.
Yan Lei said, West Lake Longjing is suitable for all ages and enjoys both elegance and common sense. His original intention is to inherit the West Lake Longjing tea gathering and brewing skills. “The master has been roasting tea for 47 years, and he still does his best to sculpt each cup of tea. The master is the light I am looking for.
For more people to learn about the skills of collecting and brewing tea in West Lake Longjing, Fan Shenghua often takes her apprentices to participate in tea fairs, intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and other activities. In 2014, Fan Shenghua began to take on teaching duties in vocational schools, Hangzhou Xihu Vocational Senior High School is one of them.
Huang Shaopeng previously studied at Hangzhou West Lake Vocational Upper Secondary School, and began learning tea-picking and brewing skills in West Lake Longjing with high school Fan Shenghua. Today, he is still in college and continues to learn this skill.
Although there are often blisters on the hands during the frying of the tea, Huang Shaopeng does not feel bitter. He said that when a good cup of tea comes out, the feeling of accomplishment and happiness is evident.
Hangzhou College of Vocational Tourism is also one of the schools where Fan Shenghua teaches. On March 12, more than 80 teachers and students from the Hangzhou College of Vocational Tourism came to Fan Shenghua’s studio to learn about West Lake Longjing tea collecting and brewing skills.
The local government is also making continuous efforts to promote West Lake Longjing tea harvesting and production techniques. It is understood that this year, the West Lake Longjing Tea “King of Tea Competition” organized by Hangzhou’s Xihu District will increase the “New Competition” to give young tea staff more opportunities to perform. (Finalize)
