祁紅特絕群芳最

文/五花肉

祁紅特絕群芳最

Keemun——Queen of Black Tea

文/五花肉

紅茶，是我國第二大茶類，與綠茶的清新怡人不同，紅茶屬全發酵茶，醇厚甘美，色澤紅艷，在世界范圍內深受喜愛。其中，祁門紅茶最為知名，有“紅茶皇后”的美譽。

Black tea is the second-most consumed tea in China. Instead of green tea’s fresh and pleasant features, black tea enjoys high reputation in the world for its fully fermentation, mellow fl avor and red color. Keemun black tea,known as “the queen of black tea”, is the most distinguished variety.

等級區分質量標準Quality Grade Standard

“祁紅特絕群芳最，清譽高香不二門”，說的就是祁門紅茶特有的香氣，以香葉醇、苯甲醇和2-苯乙醇為特征，似花、似果、似蜜，名曰“祁門香”。

As the Chinese poem goes, “where there is Keemum black tea, there is pleasant tea aroma”. The floral,fruity and honey aroma of Keemum black tea is full of geraniol, benzyl alcohol and 2-phenylethanol, known as the Keemun aroma.

祁門紅茶由安徽茶農創制于光緒年間，產自安徽祁門，其制作技藝多為師徒傳承，不為外人所道。根據地方標準DB 34/T 1086-2009《祁門紅茶》規定，祁門工夫紅茶按品質差異，分為特茗、特級、一級～五級，祁紅香螺、祁紅毛峰按品質差異，分為特級、一級、二級，主要以芽葉的外形、色澤、香氣、湯色等因素作為評判標準。

Originating from Qimen Country of Anhui Province,Keemun black tea was produced by the local tea growers during the Guangxu Period and developed secretly by master-apprentice inheritance. According to the local standard DB34/T1086-2009 Keemun Black Tea, the quality grade of Keemum Kung Fu black tea can be divided into premium, superior, and grade one to five; the quality grade of Keemun Mao Feng and Keemun Neptunea are divided into superior,grade one and grade two. The shape of bud leaves,color, aroma, liquor color and etc. are the standards for evaluation..

采制標準獨樹一幟Unique Standard in Picking and Processing

做好鮮葉采摘是保障茶葉品質的第一件大事。祁紅每年四月開采春茶6～7批，夏茶采4～5批，采集時對鮮葉嫩度要求較高，一般每芽只采1～2葉。

Picking fresh tea leaves is the top priority for guaranteeing the tea quality. Every April, 6 to 7 batches of Keemun spring tea and 4 to 5 batches of Keemun summer tea are to be picked. As there is a high requirement on Keemun black tea, merely 1 or 2 leaves will be picked from each bud each time.

祁紅的前期制作要求“現采現制”，避免因貯藏損傷鮮葉中的有效成分，以保持祁紅成茶鮮香濃郁的氣味。高品質祁紅采摘完成后僅用4～5個小時就會完成萎凋和揉捻兩道工序，進入發酵環節。

To avoid damaging the effective ingredients of the fresh leaves during the storage and maintain the fresh and rich aroma of Keemun black tea, the fresh tea leaves should be put into production immediately once the picking process is completed. Then, it takes only 4 to 5 hours to complete withering and rolling process,and next, it’s the fermentation process.

發酵孕育醇厚甘美Fermentation for Mellow Taste

紅茶是發酵茶，精心發酵是決定紅茶品質的關鍵工序。

As black tea belongs to fermented tea, the quality depends on elaborate fermentation.

發酵過程對溫度、濕度和氧氣量都有嚴格的標準要求。祁門紅茶的發酵室溫控制在30℃以下，空氣濕度保持在90%以上，將揉切好的茶胚裝在發酵筐里，蓋上溫水浸過的發酵布，一般4～6小時后，茶葉中所含的茶多酚逐漸氧化為茶紅素，葉脈呈紅褐色，即可進行烘焙。經過這一系列規范化的制作工藝，最終實現紅茶、紅湯、紅葉的品質特征。

The temperature, humidity, and oxygen should be strictly controlled during the fermentation process.During the fermentation of Keemun black tea, the room temperature should be under 30 ℃ and the air humidity should be maintained at above 90%. After rolling and cutting the tea leaves, tea growers take the tea buds to the fermented basket and cover them with cloth soaked by warm water. After 4 to 6 hours,the tea polyphenol contained in the tea buds gradually oxidizes into thearubigins, and the baking will be ready when the vein becomes red brown. Following by a series of normalized process, the quality and characteristics of black tea, red liquor and red leaves will be fi nally realized.

結 語Conclusion

茶之千味，不能品盡，正如人生百態，各不相同。有人偏愛綠茶的淡雅清甜，有人沉溺紅茶的濃厚醇美，唯有細細品味，才能在或濃或淡、或清或澀中，領悟出不同人生階段的酸甜苦辣和美麗風景。

Tea has thousands of fl avors and one cannot savor all of them, so does the vicissitudes of everyone's life.Some prefer the fresh and mild green tea, while some indulge the strong and mellow black tea. Nevertheless,only by savoring tea slowly can we understand all kinds of flavors in the different stages of life and learn to appreciate the unbeatable beauties on the way forward.

（支持單位：上海市質量和標準化研究院）