安溪铁观音的洗茶之礼 洗茶之礼，源于北宋

我们在泡铁观音茶时，习惯上把第一泡茶水倒掉，称之为“洗茶”。有些茶人解释这样做是因为要洗去铁观音茶叶中不干净的夹杂物如茶灰、尘埃。其实，洗茶之礼自古有之！

洗茶之礼，源于北宋

洗茶的作用有二：一为“去尘”；二为“醒茶、润茶”，以唤醒茶质，便于茶叶的舒展和茶汁的浸出。前者是从清洁卫生的角度而行洗茶之仪，后者则是为更好地品味茶之香气和滋味而设洗茶之礼。及今，茶叶加工生产的卫生情况大为改善，洗茶之前一功效就显得不是太重要了，“醒茶、润茶”则成为“洗茶”这一礼仪最主要的内涵。

其实，据学者考证，“洗茶”一词始用于北宋，原属于茶叶采制过程用语，后延伸至饮用过程中。而鲜叶从茶树上采摘下来以后经过初制、精制，其中有多道工序如做青、釜炒、揉捻、烘焙、筛拣等，不仅获得茶叶品级，而且达到卫生标准。其中偶有夹杂物如茶灰、尘埃，经注入沸水即倒掉，也迅即去除。

而第一泡铁观音茶的操作，主要是进行浸泡，有利于茶叶的舒展和茶汁的浸出，使饮用者很快感觉到茶叶香味，而不是单纯为了洗去茶叶不卫生的东西。

醒茶，吸收天地人气

醒茶是指让沉睡或尘封的茶叶通过与空气和水份的接触苏醒过来，吸收天地人气，重新焕发出茶叶的本质以便于冲泡饮用的过程。

安溪铁观音的洗茶之礼

而作为乌龙茶的铁观音，鲜叶从茶树上采摘下来以后经由初制、精制，其中有多道工序如做青、釜炒、揉捻、烘焙、筛拣等，不仅获得茶叶品级，而且达到卫生尺度。

其中偶有夹杂物如茶灰、尘埃，经注入沸水即倒掉，也迅即去除。而第一泡茶，主要是进行浸泡起到润茶、醒茶的作用，有利于茶叶的伸展和茶汁的浸出，使饮用者很快感觉到茶叶香味，而目的不单单是为了洗去茶叶上杂质。

铁观音茶叶如何会有冷气呢？由于茶叶采摘加工后，一般不会马上饮用，特别是明代以后，茶叶加工方法发生重大变化，由原先的蒸青团茶到炒制的散茶，刚加工完的茶叶火气较大。

安溪铁观音 ，为避免上火一般都要将茶叶在干燥的环境中保存一段时间后再饮用。而茶叶存放一段时间后，火气虽褪，却添冷气，如果存放时间较长，还会有陈气。而近代以来，在贮存茶叶时，为保持茶叶的内质尽可能少的发生不利变化，常将茶叶存贮在冰箱中，这更增添了茶叶的生冷之气。此时如果将茶叶拿来直接沏泡饮用，第一道茶的滋味和香气就不会好。

就如人一样，熟睡一晚后，清晨刚起来时尚有困意，没有精神，这时如果伸伸懒腰，活动一下，精神就提起来了。茶叶也一样，在存放一段时间后，也需要“醒一醒”，洗茶就可以去一下茶叶的“困意”――生冷之气。

经过洗茶后的铁观音茶叶再进行沏泡，其茶汤的香、味要较未经洗茶就沏泡的茶汤更佳。洗茶对乌龙茶尤为必需。传统上乌龙茶在加工完后并不马上饮用，一般要存放一段时间后再饮用，一是为了去除火气，避免上火，二是茶叶存放一段时间后苦涩味会下降，饮用时口感和香气都会更醇和，所以过去乌龙茶的陈茶价格要比铁观音新茶价格高许多。但茶叶存放时间久后，第一次加水时铁观音茶汤往往有生冷之气和陈腐之气，因此就需要用洗茶来减少这种负面影响。

When we brew Tieguanyin tea, it is customary to pour out the first brewed tea, which is called "washing tea". Some tea people explain that this is because they want to wash away the unclean impurities such as tea ash and dust in the tea leaves. In fact, the ceremony of washing tea has existed since ancient times!

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The ceremony of washing tea originated from the Northern Song Dynasty

There are two functions of washing tea: one is to "remove dust"; the other is to "wake up tea and moisten tea" to wake up the quality of tea and facilitate the stretching of tea leaves and the leaching of tea juice. The former is the ritual of washing tea from the perspective of cleanliness, while the latter is the ritual of washing tea to better taste the aroma and taste of tea. Nowadays, the sanitation of tea processing and production has been greatly improved, and the effect before washing the tea is not too important.

In fact, according to scholars' research, the term "washing tea" was first used in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was originally a term used in the process of tea picking and was later extended to the drinking process. After the fresh leaves are picked from the tea trees, they undergo primary processing and refining. There are many processes such as greening, kettle frying, rolling, baking, sieving, etc., which not only obtains the tea grade, but also meets the hygienic standards. There are occasional inclusions such as tea ash and dust, which are poured out by pouring boiling water and quickly removed.

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The first operation of brewing tea is mainly for soaking, which is conducive to the stretching of the tea leaves and the leaching of the tea juice, so that the drinker can quickly feel the fragrance of the tea leaves, rather than simply washing away the unsanitary things in the tea leaves.

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Wake up tea, absorb the popularity of the world

Wake-up tea refers to the process of awakening sleeping or dusty tea leaves through contact with air and water, absorbing the popularity of the world, and reviving the essence of tea leaves for easy brewing and drinking.

The purpose of "awakening tea" is to fully stretch the tea leaves and make the tea flavor easier to extract!

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Anxi Tieguanyin's Tea Washing Ceremony

As Tieguanyin oolong tea, the fresh leaves are picked from the tea trees and then processed and refined. There are many processes such as greening, pot frying, rolling, baking, sifting, etc., which not only obtains the tea grade, but also reaches the hygienic standard. .

There are occasional inclusions such as tea ash and dust, which are poured out by pouring boiling water and quickly removed. The first tea brewing is mainly to soak the tea to moisten and wake up the tea, which is conducive to the stretching of the tea leaves and the leaching of the tea juice, so that the drinker can quickly feel the fragrance of the tea leaves, and the purpose is not only to wash away the tea leaves on impurities.

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How can tea be air-conditioned? Because tea leaves are generally not consumed immediately after being picked and processed, especially after the Ming Dynasty, the tea processing method has undergone major changes.

Anxi Tieguanyin, in order to avoid getting angry, the tea leaves are generally stored in a dry environment for a period of time before drinking. After the tea leaves are stored for a period of time, the heat will fade, but the air-conditioning will be added. In modern times, when storing tea leaves, in order to keep the inner quality of tea leaves from adverse changes as much as possible, tea leaves are often stored in refrigerators, which adds to the coldness of tea leaves. At this time, if the tea is directly brewed for drinking, the taste and aroma of the first tea will not be good.

Just like a human being, when you wake up early in the morning after a deep sleep, you will feel sleepy and lack energy. At this time, if you stretch and exercise, your energy will be lifted. The same is true for tea leaves. After a period of storage, they also need to "wake up". After washing the tea, you can get rid of the "sleepy" of the tea - the cold air.

The tea leaves that have been washed and then brewed will have a better aroma and taste than those brewed without washing. Tea washing is especially necessary for oolong tea. Traditionally, oolong tea is not consumed immediately after processing, and generally needs to be stored for a period of time before drinking. One is to remove the anger and avoid getting angry, and the other is that the bitterness and astringency of the tea will decrease after being stored for a period of time, and the taste and aroma will be improved when drinking. It is mellow, so the price of old oolong tea in the past is much higher than the price of new tea. However, after the tea has been stored for a long time, the tea soup is often cold and stale when the water is added for the first time, so it is necessary to wash the tea to reduce this negative effect.