Tea Notes

闻龙Jun 2024

3.0

Word count: 1.3K words
Chapters: 5

Summary

When pan-firing the leaves, someone must stand by and fan them to dispel the heat. Otherwise they turn yellow and both fragrance and flavor are diminished—this I have tried myself. Fanned leaves stay a vivid green; unfanned ones turn yellow. When the leaves are done and taken out of the pan, place them in a large porcelain dish and still fan them briskly, so the heat they hold subsides a little. Then rub them firmly with the hands, scatter them back into the pan, and dry them over a gentle fire before putting them to the roasting basket. For rubbing brings the juices to the surface, so that when the tea is infused its fragrance comes out readily. Tianzi holds that leaves sun-dried without pan-firing or rubbing are best, but I have not yet tried this myself.

Editor's review

The Tea Notes records, in extremely concise prose, the steps of pan-firing, fanning cool, rolling, and drying, with particular emphasis on the practical effect of "prompt fanning" in preserving color and fragrance; it is an empirical tea notebook, not a systematic treatise on tea science. The book also preserves the dissenting view that "sun-drying without pan-firing or rolling" is best, opening up disagreement and room for discussion about tea-making methods, and allowing readers to sense the weight of "hand-testing and personal verification" in traditional craft. The language is spare and archaic, the information dense; it suits slow, careful reading. While reading, one may compare the phrases "dispel the heat" and "juices rise to the surface" with modern pan-firing methods, or treat the book as a tea-culture essay and savor the plain, assured tone in which the ancients recorded their techniques. The whole book is short, suited to casual reading at the tea table or during the tea-making season, and to cross-reference with similar tea books.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Tea-culture enthusiasts interested in traditional tea-making techniques
Readers who enjoy ancient tea notebooks and short essays
Beginning tea makers who want to learn the basic experience of pan-firing, rolling, and roasting
Editors, teachers, and content creators in need of short material on tea culture

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic textbook of tea science or modern scientific analysis
Beginners who want only modern brewing techniques and tasting guides
Readers unaccustomed to the terseness of classical Chinese who need extensive annotation

Reading tips

Read it through once, then make brief notes comparing the four steps—pan-firing, fanning, rolling, roasting—with the modern tea-making process.
When you reach "fanned leaves stay green, unfanned ones turn yellow," recall your everyday experience of stir-frying greens to keep them bright.
Mark the passage on "sun-drying without pan-firing or rolling" separately, and consider why the author doubts it rather than drawing a quick conclusion.
Read only a short passage at a time, and afterward jot in the margin tea-making or brewing phenomena you have observed yourself.

版权信息
正文一
正文二
正文三
正文四

FAQ

Is this book mainly about growing tea or making tea?

From the given content, the focus is on tea making, especially the operations of fanning to dissipate heat during pan-firing, rolling, drying over a gentle fire, and putting the leaves to the roasting basket, along with a discussion of the differences between firing and not firing, rolling and not rolling. It is closer to a notebook of tea-making experience than to a general account of tea cultivation or tea history.

What is the purpose of "prompt fanning" in the book?

The original says that during pan-firing someone must fan from the side to dispel the heat, otherwise the leaves turn yellow and the fragrance weakens; after the leaves are done and taken out of the pan and placed in a large porcelain dish, they must still be fanned briskly so the heat subsides a little. The author states from personal trial that fanned leaves stay green while unfanned ones turn yellow—the point is to cool the leaves and preserve both color and fragrance.

Is "sun-drying without pan-firing or rolling" the author's own view?

No. The original says Tianzi considers sun-dried tea, neither pan-fired nor rolled, to be best, but the author immediately adds "I have not yet tried this myself," indicating that he has not tested it. When reading, one should distinguish others' views from the author's personal verification and not take it as a settled conclusion.

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About the author

闻龙 Author

Wen Long is an author whose biographical details are now difficult to trace, and the available public information is limited: his native place, dates of birth and death, and career are all unknown. Only one work by him survives, the Chajian (Tea Notes), which was preserved through inclusion in later compilations of Chinese tea books. The work belongs to the tradition of classical Chinese tea literature, dealing with the practical matters of tea picking, processing, appraisal, and brewing. Written in the form of concise notes, it is clear in structure, drawing on earlier tea writings while offering its own summary. In traditional bibliography such works were often classed among tea books or miscellaneous writers; today readers often approach them from the perspective of Eastern philosophy and the aesthetics of daily life, treating them as an introduction to ancient ideas about tea drinking and personal cultivation. Given the scattered sources, Wen Long and his scholarship await further study, and readers may begin with the Chajian to appreciate the concise, practical style of old Chinese tea books.