Zheng Xiong smiled awkwardly.
"Hey, forget about this, be prepared and prepare more money, it's not a bad thing."
"Your Highness, there is no need to worry. If I can't make any money, I will resign immediately. What do you think?"
No, resigning is nothing new, there is nothing to say.
With the last trace of trust in Zheng Xiong, Zhu Biao still let go.
"That's all, I'll leave you with 50,000 strings, and you can do whatever you want!"
Old digger! It’s so hard to get some money.
"I originally wanted to split it 50-50 with His Highness. You offered 50,000 guan, but now I can only give you 30-70. I will give you 70-50, and Your Highness will get 30-50. What do you think?"
After thinking about it, Zhu Biao still didn't understand where Zheng Xiong's determination came from, but since he couldn't make much money anyway, it didn't matter.
"Okay, if you're seven, you're seven. If there's nothing else, I won't leave you alone."
"My farewell, Your Highness Chitose, don't forget to send the money to the tea fryer as soon as possible!"
"Uh-huh."
When Zheng Xiong returned to the government office, without wasting much time, Zhu Biao sent dozens of tea frying masters, along with 50,000 guan of money.
Someone had money, so Zheng Xiong immediately organized everyone to start simulation teaching.
Basically no difficulty.
Taking the Song Dynasty as an example, there are five steps.
It is best to pick tea at sunrise.
Picking tea, distinguishing quality.
When steaming tea, distinguish the heat.
Grinding tea is to process leaf-shaped tea leaves into powder or paste. Song Tea requires "grinding the paste only with heat".
Making tea involves making tea cakes into molds. Lu Yu called it "making tea" and people in the Song Dynasty called it "making tea". In the Tang Dynasty, the chimneys were all made of iron, while in the Song Dynasty, some were made of copper, bamboo, and silver. The styles of chimes in the Tang and Song Dynasties were more diverse, including round, square, and flower. However, most chimes were used for tribute tea in the Song Dynasty. The molds are engraved with dragon and phoenix patterns.
The three representative green teas that Zheng Xiong wants to make are much simpler.
After withering, the fresh leaves are allowed to sit naturally to evaporate the water, but be careful about burning the leaves.
Finish and fry at high temperature.
Dry and use charcoal fire to evaporate most of the water.
The last step is tempering, which uses charcoal fire to dry out the final moisture.
When drying Taiping Houkui and Lu'an Guapian, you should always turn them over and shape them.
There is only one more step. Green tea basically involves withering, fixing, drying and tempering.
The only difference is that Keemun black tea needs to be rolled after being greened, followed by a fermentation process and finally dried to get black tea.
For other green teas, this step of rolling is basically not required. Those that do need it are large-leaf teas.
Compared with the tea cakes of the Song Dynasty, the production of green tea is very simple. The only thing that needs to be paid attention to is the heat.
Zheng Xiong gave a brief explanation on the matters that need to be paid attention to when selecting tea, and then asked them to get some grass to practice.
After that, Zheng Xiong posted a notice and recruited hundreds of people, and followed the first group of people to familiarize themselves with the process.
After two days of emergency training, hundreds of people were sent to Lu'an Prefecture and Huizhou using the routes that Zheng Xiong obtained from Zhu Biao.
At the same time, Zheng Xiong also condemned people to take the silver to Liangzhou.
Almost in a matter of seconds, when the people and money arrived, the tea leaves also reached the picking season.
"Your Highness, our tea is ready. I brought some. Please try it and see how it tastes."
In the Prince's Mansion, Zheng Xiong was in front, striding towards Zhu Biao, followed by a boy with bottles and cans hanging on his body.
Putting down the book in his hand, Zhu Biao faced Zheng Xiong and looked at the bottles and jars curiously.
"Is this the tea you are talking about? Come here, make water and make tea."
"Your Highness, you don't need to boil the tea leaves, you just need to boil some water. You can drink it by brewing it."
"Oh! Loose tea?"
"That's right! Your Highness will know after just one look."
The boy took out a small jar and pointed at the label. Zheng Xiong brewed it on the spot and introduced it to Zhu Biao.
"This is called Huangshan Maofeng. Pour hot water into a cup and brew the mist on top. The soup will be clear and slightly yellow in color, with vibrant yellow-green leaves at the bottom. The taste is mellow, the aroma is like orchid, and the flavor is profound."
After introducing one type, Zheng Xiong then picked up another one to brew and introduced it.
"This is called Lu'an Guapian. It is like a melon seed-shaped single piece. It is naturally flat, with slightly warped leaf margins. It is bright green in color and even in size. It does not contain bud tips or tea stems. It has a refreshing fragrance, a fresh and mellow taste, and a clear and translucent soup color. , the leaves are tender and bright green at the bottom.”
"This is called Taiping Houkui. When you put it into a cup and brew it, the buds and leaves will become flowers, hanging or sinking. When you taste it, it will be fragrant, mellow and refreshing, with endless aftertaste."
"This is called Keemun black tea. Its appearance is as tight as eyebrows, with slender sprouts and black color. The tea has a refreshing and long-lasting fragrance, which is both fruity and orchid-like. The tea soup is bright red and has a mellow taste."
"The rest are green tea made in various places, but there is no rush. Your Highness will take a look at these first."
Zhu Biao looked into the cup, but there was no glass, so he couldn't better observe the shape inside.
But the fragrance is so fragrant that it lingers for a long time.
Keemun black tea, after fermentation, has an overwhelming aroma that eclipses other teas.
The bubbles of Keemun black tea showed a bright red color, which also attracted Zhu Biao's great interest.
"It smells so good. How did you make it? Why is it still red?"
"Compared with others, it has an additional fermentation process. Your Highness, please try this Huangshan Maofeng first."
Smell the unique aroma of the tea leaves, blow the floating tea leaves to both sides without any instruction, and take a gentle inhale with the hot water.
The first brew is a little bitter, first bitter and then sweet, and then the mouth is filled with saliva. The aroma of tea and slightly sweet taste are endless aftertaste.
Quietly feeling the changes, not long after, a cup of brewed Huangshan Maofeng fell into Zhu Biao's stomach.
Zhu Biao clicked his tongue, but the sweetness lingered in his mouth for a long time.
"Good tea, unique. I have also tasted loose tea. Compared with this, the bitterness is stronger. Although this tea is bitter, it is not strong. The fragrance is sweet and lingers on the lips and teeth. It is good."
Zheng Xiong was also very happy to receive such a high evaluation from Zhu Biao.
After all, it was the first time that famous tea was made in this world based on hearsay from later generations, so I still felt a little unsure.
With Zhu Biao's recognition, there must be a certain market, and it will not be in vain.
"Your Highness, try this Keemun black tea again."
"good."
"The aroma is mellow and the taste is quite mellow. Good tea, good tea."
After drinking a cup of Maofeng and a cup of black tea, Zhu Biao's lips and teeth will be fragrant.
After drinking the hot tea, I felt even more warm, and a thin drop of sweat appeared on my head.
Next, Taiping Houkui and Lu'an Guapian took turns.
After drinking four large cups of tea, Zhu Biao couldn't bear it anymore and hurriedly ran to the toilet before returning.
“They are all good teas, with different tastes. Each one makes people have endless aftertaste!”
"Would you like to taste the rest, Your Highness?"
"No, that's it for today. Try it again when you have time."
(End of chapter)
