1 From eaten raw fresh tea leaves to boiled raw fresh tea leaves
Tea is the first drink from the chewing of fresh leaves of tea trees. This phenomenon of eating fresh leaves of tea trees is still preserved in ethnic minorities in Yunnan. This is the most direct and original way of using tea. The result of further development from this most primitive use method is the boiling. The raw boiled is similar to the modern cooking soup.
2 From raw boiled to boiled after grilled
Boiled raw fresh tea leaves is the direct use of fresh tea leaves without any processing. On the basis of this original utilization, the result of further development may be to cook after the grilled. In the primitive society, human beings put the hunting prey and the collected plant stems and roots on the fire until they are cooked and then eaten. This is the progress of human diet after the invention of "fire". It is conceivable that at that time, the newly harvested tea leaves will be placed on the fire and then placed in the water to be boiled. The cooked tea soup will provide people with thirst and heat. This "grilled fresh tea" approach may be the most original processing of green tea. Because the concept of modern "green tea" is the tea made after the high temperature fixation, the modern fixation has steaming fixation, stir fixation, etc., all of which use the activity of high temperature inhibition enzyme to maintain the green tea characteristics of clear tea soup and green leaves. The fresh leaves of the grilled tea actually achieve the purpose of fixation.
3 From direct use of fresh leaves to the original sunning
In the primitive society, humans directly hunted animals or collected plants, and after eating or drinking after grilling, they were used directly on the spot. Further development may be “sunning and collection” for later use. Because of the available parts of many plants, like, fruit, seeds, leaves, etc., they are seasonal. For example, in the spring, summer and autumn tea season, fresh leaves and buds can be harvested. In order to drink tea in winter or to bring tea to a distant place, it is necessary to sunning and process it into “dry tea”. Therefore, the initial processing method of tea may be “sunning and collection”. The fresh tea leaves collected will be dried directly by sun or grilled and dried, so that it can be preserved.
4 From the original sunning to the original stirring, baking, and steaming
The above-mentioned "sunning and collection" method is simple, but in some areas, there may not be many sunny days. Then how to dry and collect tea without the sun? As the demand for tea in the society increases, when there is no sun, people may use the early “甑 (ancient cookware)” to steam tea, thus inventing the original steaming. How to dry tea after steaming? So the method of stirring and baking to dry was invented.
