西子湖畔 翠绿醇香

文/五花肉

西子湖畔 翠绿醇香

West Lake, the Home to the Emerald and Aromatic Longijng Tea

文/五花肉

西湖龙井，被公认为中国十大名茶之首，以色翠、香郁、味醇、形美“四绝”而闻名天下，素有“茶虽有之，但皆不及龙井”的美誉，在诸多茶品中独占鳌头。

Recognized as the best in China’s top 10 famous teas, West Lake Longjing Tea has earned its name by the features of "green color, unique fragrance, mellow flavor and elegant shape". Among numerous kinds of teas in China, it has dwarfed all its peers.

独特环境成就地理标志

Distinctive Environment Achieves Geographical Indication

“龙井”取自地名，据田汝成《西湖游览志》记载，“老龙井有水一泓，寒碧异常……其地产茶，为两山绝品。” 清代乾隆皇帝六下江南，慕龙井山水与茶名，先后四次巡幸龙井，寻山问水、观茶作歌，赋《龙井八咏》，一时传为佳话。"Longjing" was named after its birthplace. According to the West Lake Tour Annals recorded by Tian Rucheng, in ancient times, there was a pool of water in old Longjing, which was featured by unusual coldness and green color. Tea produced there ranked the top of the two mountains nearby. Qianlong, emperor of Qing Dynasty toured to South China personally six times in total, among which he attracted by the famous landscape and tea, visited Longjing four times. During his visiting, the emperor tasted Longjing Tea and composed many poems when travelling Longjing.Eight Poems of Longjing, which was composed by Qianlong, has become a popular tale at that time.

此处“老龙井”为原寿圣院所在地，因出泉而闻名，这里也成为后世龙井茶的发祥地，被认为是西湖龙井地理标志产品，尤其是龙井之上品“狮峰龙井”的主要产区。这里位于业内公认的茶树生长“黄金线”——北纬28°～32°之间，气候温暖湿润，日照充足雨量充沛，最宜茶树生长。

The old Longjing here was the original location of Shousheng Temple. Being famous for its spring, old Longjing later became the cradle of Longjing Tea and was regarded as the main production area for Shifeng Longjing Tea, a geographical indication product and regarded as the top of West Lake Longjing Tea. This place is situated at the northern latitude ranging from 28 to 32 degrees, an industry-recognized golden line for growing tea trees because of the mild climate,plentiful sunshine and rainfall.

贡茶标准流传后世延用

Tribute Tea Standards Passed Down for Later Generations

上品龙井，扁平光滑挺直，苗锋尖削，芽长于叶，叶底细嫩呈朵，色泽嫩绿，汤色明亮，滋味鲜爽甘醇。随着品质的降低，外形色泽依次为嫩绿、青绿和墨绿，茶身由小到大，茶条由光滑至粗糙。

The top Longjing Tea is identified with many characteristics. For its outlook, it boasts smooth, straight and flat tea stem, as well as sharp seedling. The shoot is longer than the leaf and the tea dregs are as delicate as flowers. Therefore, a superior Longjing Tea is light green in leaf, bright in tea color and tasty in flavor. As the tea quality decreases, the appearance and color will change from peak green, dark green to blackish green; and the tea leaves from small to big, the tea stems from smooth to rough.

据民间传说，乾隆品尝龙井茶后为其倾倒，亲自在龙井茶区采摘了一些嫩芽夹在书中带回皇宫。嫩芽夹在书中时间久了，脱水后形扁平挺秀，皇后非常喜欢，指定此种形状的龙井茶为贡茶。此后，茶农便按照此标准炒制上贡，并流传至今。

According to Chinese folk tales, Qianlong, the emperor of Qing Dynasty, was deeply attracted by the Longjing Tea at his first sip. Then he personally picked up some tender shoots from the Longjing Tea Area, clipped them in pages of books, and brought them back to the imperial palace. After being clipped in books for a long time, the shoots began to dehydrate and manifested themselves as flat, straight and graceful appearance. That captured the very heart of the queen, who later designated Longjing Tea with such shape as tribute tea. Since then, tea growers have roasted teas based on this standard and paid them as tribute to the emperor.

炒青工艺晋级中国非遗

Roasting Tea Craftsmanship Was Promoted As China's Intangible Cultural Heritage

得天独厚的环境优势，奠定了西湖龙井的品质基础，规范严格的炒青工艺，则将这种天赋的品质进一步提升。

The unique environmental advantages have laid solid foundations for West Lake Longjing Tea, while the strictly specified roasting process has enhanced this natural quality to a higher level.

标准的西湖龙井炒青工艺全部由手工完成，包括青锅和辉锅两个流程：先将茶叶放至青锅，在高温下不断变换炒制手法，将茶叶含水量由75%降低至25%～30%；摊开冷却1小时后，放至辉锅，通过抓、推、扣、磨、压等动作使茶叶定型。鲜茶炒制完成后，含水量为6%左右。这种独特的炒青工艺，于2009年被评为“中国非物质文化遗产”。

The typical roasting processes of West Lake Longjing Tea are all finished by hand, including green pot and Hui pot.These two processes are as below. First, put tea leaves into the green pot, roast them with different methods under high temperature, dehydrate their water content from 75%to 25%～30%; spread them evenly and cool them for an hour, put tea leaves into the Hui pot, shape them by grasping, pushing, buckling,grinding and pressing. After the roasting of fresh tea leaves, their water content would decrease to about 6%. This unique roasting craftsmanship was thus rated as intangible cultural heritage of China in 2009.

结 语

Conclusion龙井，诞于西湖群山幽僻之地，后以贡茶闻名于天下。“啜饮淡然，似乎无味，此无味之味乃至味也”，在极致的味觉享受之余，更是禅茶之道“和”精神的延伸，在淡雅中，颠覆平凡。

Longjing Tea, originated in the secluded mountains of West Lake, has been known to the world as tribute tea."A usual sip seemingly tastes nothing, but tasteless is the supreme taste in the world." Along with the greatest taste enjoyment, the essence of Zen teathe Spirit of Harmony has been extended. In such a simple and elegant atmosphere, let's enjoy something special.

（支持单位：上海市质量和标准化研究院）