古城靈芽 陳香自醉

文/五花肉

普洱茶因盛產于滇西南的歷史古城“普洱府”而得名。“普洱古城錦秀鄉，名茶載譽五洲揚。春尖品飲一杯少，三碗搜腸味自芳。”寥寥數筆，便把普洱茶的“名”與茶人的“癡”描繪得淋漓盡致。

Pu'er tea is named after Pu'er city in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Pu'er city is famous for the prestigious Pu'er tea. A cup of Pu'er tea is not enough, and your body will be filled with tea's aroma after having three bowls of tea. From such a simple description, the reputation of Pu’er tea and the indulgence of tea man are perfectly presented.

靈芽兩品

Pu'er Tea Falls into Two Distinct Categories

普洱茶的采摘講究“一芽兩葉”，從包裹鱗片中初探芽尖的新芽品質最優；芽尖周圍伸出兩片新葉時，茶葉的成熟度和內含物均達到理想狀態，進入標準采摘周期；等長到三葉、四葉，茶葉品質也隨之降低。

The pluck of Pu'er tea follows the "one bud and two leaves". The new bud has started to burgeon is the best; when two new leaves grow around the bud,tea's maturity level and inclusion achieve an ideal condition, which shows it can step into the standard pluck period. With more leaves grows, tea's quality goes down.

進入加工環節的普洱茶，根據工藝不同分為生茶和熟茶兩種類型，可以“一茶兩品”。從生茶到熟茶，必須經過一道工序——渥堆，將曬青毛茶堆高到700 mm左右，灑水并覆蓋麻布，通過濕熱作用人工加速茶葉發酵，促進多酚類化合物非酶性自動氧化。渥堆程度不同，茶葉會呈現綠黃、栗紅和栗黑等不同色澤，這也成為判斷普洱茶品質的重要標準之一。

When it comes to processing, Pu'er tea can be divided into raw tea and fermented tea according to diあerent processing standards. Piling is needed to make raw tea into fermented tea. In this process, sundried raw tea is piled up to about 700 mm and covered with linen after being sprayed. The fermentation of tea leaves are accelerated in an artificially humid and warm environment, which promotes polyphenols to oxidize in a non-enzymatic way. Based on degree of piling,the tea leaves will turn into different colors such as green-yellow, chestnut red, chestnut black. This is one of the important standards to evaluate Pu'er tea quality.

陳化生香

Achieve the Crusted Aroma after Fermentation

普洱茶香型獨特，以經久耐泡著名。這一點主要源自其“陳化生香”的獨特品質。The fl avor of Pu'er tea is distinct, and it is famous for its long-lasting infusion. This is mainly because of the unique characteristic: fermentation generates aroma.

不論生茶還是熟茶，普洱茶都不宜當季飲用，需要在特定的倉儲環境下進行陳化，陳化室要求避光、通風、無異味，保持溫度25 ℃、濕度75%。陳化越久，普洱茶色香味的品質提升也就越顯著。因此，普洱茶也被譽為“能喝的古董”，是唯一可以收藏的茶品，通常年代越久，口感越好，價格也越高。

Pu'er tea is not the seasonal drink no matter it is raw tea or fermented tea. It need fermentation in specif i c storage condition, where must be away from light,ventilate, no smell, at 25 ℃ of temperature and 75%of humidity. The color and aroma of Pu'er tea will significantly upgrade as the time of fermentation goes by. Pu’er tea is honored as the drinkable antique because it is the only tea variety that has collectible value. Usually, the more it ages, the tastier and more valuable it becomes.

357 g的淵源

Story of 357 g

陳化結束，普洱茶就可以進入銷售環節，通常為餅狀，每餅的重量約357 g。這一傳統最早可追溯至茶馬古道的傳說。

When fermentation completes, Pu'er tea enters the market sales phase. Usually, the shape is like a cake and the weight of one tea cake is 357 g. This tradition can date back to the legend of the Ancient Tea Horse Roads.

負責運輸的馬幫把普洱茶“蒸而團之，緊壓成型”，用馬匹駝運往返于茶馬古道。當時普洱茶的交易單位主要為“筒”和“件”：一筒為七餅，約2.5 kg，普洱茶早期又因此得名“七子餅”；一件為12筒，約30 kg，一匹馬正好可負重2件。357 g的茶餅標準也一直沿用至今。

Pu'er tea is steamed and piled into a block mass by the caravan who is responsible for transportation between the Ancient Tea Horse Roads. At that time, the trading unit of Pu'er tea could be divided into package and tube: a tube was equal to seven cakes (a unit),about 2.5 kg. Thus, Pu'er tea was also known as"Seven-piece Cake"; a package was equal to 12 tubes,about 30 kg. A horse was able to be burden with two packages. The standard of 357 g tea cake is still used today.

結 語

Conclusion

陳化生香的品質賦予普洱茶高銳持久、滋味濃醇的獨特口感。傾情普洱茶的人，品味的不僅是茶香，更是時間的醍醐、光陰的故事，歷經雕鑿，方得佳品。

Fermentation achieves the crusted aroma, which brings Pu'er tea long-lasting and mellow taste. For those who indulge in Pu'er tea, they not only taste the fl avor, but time and indulgence. Like Pu'er tea, things get better with age.