From the entire process of Pu-erh tea, hygiene has always been an aspect that must be emphasized in its production. The hygiene conditions during Pu-erh tea production today have significantly improved compared to around the year 2000. Hygiene has reached a very good level. However, the hygiene conditions for producing the raw material of Pu-erh tea—sun-dried green tea—in tea mountains are relatively not as good.
The hygiene issues with sun-dried green tea mainly exist in the following areas:
1. Hygiene of the fresh leaf raw material
The hygiene of fresh leaves is related to the environment of the tea garden and the containers used after picking. Generally, tea gardens near roads are more or less polluted. The most obvious is in tea gardens next to dirt roads, where dust directly "dyes" the tea leaves a dusty gray color. For fresh leaves in such conditions, if not cleaned, one can imagine how dirty the resulting tea would be. If the picked fresh leaves are transported back in unclean containers, this causes secondary contamination!
2. Hygiene of processing equipment
Among fresh leaf processing equipment, the ones that usually contaminate tea the most are the de-enzyming (kill-green) equipment and kneading equipment. If these two types of equipment are not cleaned before production, the tea produced will be contaminated and cannot be cleaned afterward. The most common signs are small black dots and unidentified substances appearing on the tea strainer during brewing.
3. Hygiene of the processing site
The hygiene of the processing site has always been a problem for primary tea processing workshops. If the workshop is not clean, and there are no dedicated spreading troughs for fresh leaves, the floor becomes the only option. For sites without dedicated equipment for leaf yellowing (wo-dui) and drying, the floor is again the only choice. Therefore, it must be ensured that no animals enter.
4. Hygiene of processing personnel
The hygiene of processing personnel has always been an issue in Pu-erh tea production. In tea regions, many tea makers are largely unaware of hygiene problems. For example, smoking while kneading tea, or not washing hands after using the toilet before resuming processing.
5. Hygiene of raw material storage
For the finished maocha (rough tea), hygiene is generally not considered. People simply place it wherever seems convenient at home. The finished maocha needs to undergo a certain period of "sweating," but during this process, it also absorbs odors. Imagine this scene: a pile of maocha stacked in a corner, with various miscellaneous items around it—"such as pesticides, animal feed, pressure cookers from cooking," etc.
Yes, the above are the hygiene problems existing in the processing of Pu-erh tea raw materials. I remember when I first entered the Pu-erh tea industry, I asked some veterans if there was a washing/cleaning step for the fresh leaves picked from the tea trees. They remained silent. From their stunned expressions, I could tell they had never even considered this question. Before I asked this, I thought: since vegetables and fruits are washed after picking (if possible) before consumption regardless of visible dirt, should Pu-erh tea be treated similarly?
Nowadays, many people have hygiene awareness. Therefore, as tea producers, please try to improve hygiene conditions. For those tea fresh leaves covered in dust by the roadside, it is recommended to wash them with water after picking!