Detailed Analysis of Pu'er Tea Tree Age
Pu'er is like life, and life is like Pu'er. How old can a Pu'er tea tree actually be? Why can Pu'er tea trees survive for so long? Pu'er tea trees are like humans—they go through experiences, only the tree's lifespan is longer. So how long can a Pu'er tea tree survive, and why can they live so long? What is the connection between human lifespan and tea?
The emergence of Pu'er tea not only allows us to enjoy sweet and delicious tea but also teaches us that although tea is bitter, its effects are excellent. From ancient times to the present, so much tea culture has been passed down. The historical origins of Pu'er tea fill us with gratitude, and we cannot help but thank nature for giving us such a wonderful gift.
Thousand-year-old wild ancient tea trees, over 1000 years old, planted or naturally grown in the Tang Dynasty or earlier. Characteristics of the tea tree:
1. Wild ancient tea trees in primitive rainforests, generally with a diameter of 1250px, circumference of 4000px, height over 15m, and age over a thousand years, extremely rare.
2. Large leaves, thick, prominent veins, deep leaf serrations, 9~16 pairs of veins, completely different from the large-leaf varieties (6-9 pairs) planted in modern tea gardens.
3. High tenderness, one bud with two leaves generally weighs 0.5~1g, three times the weight of ordinary ancient tree tea.
4. The sun-dried green tea made from it has a green-yellow liquor, a refreshing aroma, with a slight wild tea特有的 fishy smell, completely different from the aroma of cultivated tea trees. It is rich in water-soluble pectin, almost no bitterness or astringency, full of sweetness in the mouth, and an extremely long-lasting sweet aftertaste.
Large tea trees, 500~1000 years old, planted or naturally grown in the Song Dynasty. Characteristics of the tea tree:
1. Ethnic tea farmers in southern Yunnan call cultivated ancient tea trees that are over 5m tall and difficult to harvest as large tea trees. Large tea trees are usually the oldest few trees or the king of tea trees in the garden.
2. Generally, large tea trees have a diameter of 30~1250px, circumference of 100~4000px, height of 5~15m, and are mostly between 500~1000 years old.
3. The sun-dried green tea made from the tender buds of large tea trees is called large tree tea. Based on tasting experience, the older the tea tree and the better the ecological environment, the more balanced the taste, and the higher the content of water-soluble pectin and resin, making the taste gentler.
Original ecological ancient tea trees, 300~500 years old, planted or naturally grown in the Ming Dynasty. Characteristics of the tea tree:1. Most have a diameter of 10~875px, circumference of 35~2750px, height of 3~6m, and are mostly three to four hundred years old.
2. Because the surface vegetation has not been removed, the ecological environment of the tea garden is good. Although the trees are old, there are no signs of aging.
3. The sun-dried green tea made from them has thick buds and leaves, most with 9~16 pairs of veins, rich in pectin, sweet and mellow taste, with slight bitterness and astringency that stays in the mouth for only a few seconds.
Ecological ancient tea trees, 100~200 years old, planted or naturally grown in the Qing Dynasty. Characteristics of the tea tree:
1. Most have a diameter of 10~625px, circumference of 35~2000px, height of 2.5~4.5m, and are mostly one to two hundred years old.
2. Due to the removal of a large amount of surface vegetation and frequent picking, many ecological ancient tea trees show signs of aging.
3. The sun-dried green tea made from them has thick buds and leaves, most with 9~16 pairs of veins, rich in pectin, sweet and mellow taste, with weak bitterness and astringency that stays in the mouth for a short time, about ten seconds. It is difficult to distinguish from older original ecological ancient tree tea.
Old tea trees, 60~100 years old, planted or naturally grown in the Republic of China period. Characteristics of the tea tree:
1. Planted between 1912-1949 during the Republic of China period, most trees have a diameter of 5~375px, circumference of 15~1250px, height of 1.5~3m, age 60~100 years, less than 100 years.
2. The sun-dried green tea made from them has relatively thick buds and leaves, most with 9~16 pairs of veins, rich in pectin, sweet and mellow taste, with some bitterness and astringency that does not last long in the mouth, about几十 seconds, making it somewhat difficult to distinguish from ancient tree tea.
Small tea trees, 35~60 years old, planted or naturally grown between 1949-1976. Characteristics of the tea tree:
1. Tea trees planted between 1949-1976, aged 35~60 years, most plants are 80~3000px tall, with about 1500~2000 plants per mu.
2. The sun-dried green tea made from them has less thick buds and leaves. The bitterness and astringency stay in the mouth for a long time. The taste coordination is better than terrace tea but worse than ancient tree tea.
Terrace tea trees, 0~35 years old, planted or naturally grown from 1976 to present. Characteristics of the tea tree:
1. Since 1976, row-planted densely cultivated cutting-propagated clonal tea trees, most plants are 60~2250px tall, with about 2000~3000 plants per mu.
2. The sun-dried green tea made from them, due to the use of chemical fertilizers and dense planting, has high yield and fast growth cycle, strong bitterness and astringency that lingers in the mouth for a long time, making it vastly different from ancient tree tea.
When a person's age reaches 108 years, it is called tea longevity.
The origin of tea longevity: The grass radical of the character 'tea' represents twenty, the eight and ten below represent eighty, and the left-falling and right-falling strokes form another eight, adding up to 108 years.
Pu'er tea can live for thousands of years at most, while we humans can live for at most a hundred years. The longer a person lives, the more likely they are to achieve tea longevity. People who can live to 108 years old are truly remarkable.
In general, tea is like life, and life is like tea. A person's life is like that of a tea tree, only the length of time differs.