The Tools for processing Tea In Chinese Tea Cultutre

In Chinese tea culture processing tea has a specific method and procedure and each step is handled with extreme care and delicacy guarantying the supreme taste and quality for this tea. Since ages some tools have been designed for handling tea and most of them are used till now but with modern technology and techniques adopted some tool might have changed but for Mindgym we still use ancient techniques to preserve the natural flavour and purity of Baifu (Our Tea Brand).

Lets go through some of major tools one by one and have a glimpse of golden times of past.

Baskets

There are many names for the baskets used in tea picking. Ying (籝), lan (籃), long (籠) and lu (筥) refer to the baskets made of loosely woven bamboo strips with capacities from one to five dou (斗).1 Tea pickers carry these bamboo baskets on their back. They have relatively large gaps in the weaving to keep the leaves well ventilated while picking.

Stove and Wok

A stove, called a “zao (竈)”, burns logs without a smokestack or chimney.2 A big thick iron or clay wok called a “fu (釜)” is used in the steaming of tea. Always use one with a wide rim.

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Steamer

The wooden or clay steamer is called a “zeng (甑)”. It does not taper down like most other ancient Chinese steamers used for cooking. It has a drawer or door for easy access to the handle-less bamboo basket, which is tied to the steamer using bamboo strips. After putting some water in the wok, the bamboo basket full of tea leaves is put into the zeng to begin steaming the leaves.

Mold

A mold (gui, 規), also know as “mo (模)” or   “quan (棬)”, is used to press the steamed tea leaves into cakes. Molds are made out of iron, and can be shaped as squares, circles or other decorative patterns.

Table

There is a table (cheng, 承), also called “tai (台)” or “zhan (砧)” on which the steamed tea leaves are pressed into molds to make tea cakes. The tables are usually made out of stone for strength and stability against the force of pressing. However, they can also be made out of pagoda or mulberry trees. In that case, the legs of the table should be half-buried into the ground for anchor.

Table Cover

A piece of oily silk or a ragged, worn-out raincoat called “yan (檐)”, or other cloth (yi, 衣) is placed on top of the table. The molds are put on top of this piece of cloth so that after the tea cakes are made, they are easily collected. After the tea has hardened, the cakes can be easily moved by lifting up the table cover.

Sieve

There is also a sieve called a “bili (芘莉)” or “yingzi (羸子)”. Bamboo strips are woven around two three-foot-long bamboo poles, leaving handles of three inches on both ends of the poles, to form a large sieve. It has square holes and is similar to those that farmers use to sieve earth in the field.

Mortar and Pestle

The mortar and pestle (chujiu, 杵臼) are also called “dui (碓)” as a pair. It is best to designate a pair that grinds steamed tea leaves exclusively. Since the pestles are made out of wood and the mortars are made out of stone, and tea leaves are prone to absorb flavors and odors, it is best that this pair only come in contact with tea leaves and nothing else.

Awl

A small awl with a hardwood handle, called a   “qi (棨)” or “zhuidao (錐刀)” is employed to punch a hole through each tea cake so that they can be strung together.  

Bamboo Twine

Bamboo twine called “pu (撲)” or “bian (鞭)” goes through the holes of the tea cakes to string them together for easier transportation.

Drying Pit

A fire pit called a “pei (焙)” is dug to dry the tea. It is two feet deep, two and a half feet wide and ten feet long with two-foot high clay walls above ground.   

Bamboo Skewer

A two-and-a-half-foot long bamboo skewer called a “guan (貫)” is used to string up tea cakes ready to be baked dry.

Drying Rack

A two-tiered, one-foot high wooden rack called a “peng (棚)” or “zhan (棧)” is placed on the top of the walls above the fire pit. The skewers with tea cakes are then placed on these racks. The half-dried cakes will be placed on the lower shelf while the nearly-finished cakes will be moved to the top shelf.

Storage Container

A covered wooden storage container, called a   “yu (育)”, is used to preserve tea cakes. It has bamboo walls covered in a paper finish. There are partitions and racks in every chamber. Below, there is a door. Behind the door there is a fan4 and a stove with constant low heat.5 This maintains the freshness of the cakes. How-ever, for people living in the South, during the rainy season, a fire will be needed to keep the tea dry.