Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/786363
134 Harvest Review 2016 | teajourney.pub not usually be pressed into a cake or brick. After screening, sorting, re- moving impurities, the crude tea will be steamed in the bucket under high temperature. The steam softens the tea, which will later be transferred to a long cylindrical bamboo lattice basket that is either made on site or purchased recently. The bamboo lattice is the third outer layer, having been prepared with a fi rst layer of polygonum leaves and a second layer of palm sheets in ad- vance. Finally, the basket is sealed, commonly known as "muzzling the ox". Beating, Rolling and Tightening The sealed tea scroll is still bulky and loose. Three different tightening techniques are used by the team repetitively until the ideal 20cm diam- eter is reached. With the help of a big long iron hammer, a team of around 6 strong young men are pressing one end of the hammer to make the other end doing the beating motion. The further tightening technique is for the team to tramp and roll by foot. At the same time, the team is constantly tightening the bamboo threads. It is quite a spectacular scene to witness a large group of people working and chanting together. The third tightening technique is for the team leader to use a large hammer to beat the tea brick and further squeeze more room to tighten. It is to be repeated with the team efforts. Forty-nine days to dry The shaped Thousand-tael Tea should be placed tipped-erectly under shelter for natural drying. 49 days (about two months) of "sun shining during daytime and dew absorbing at night"will provide the appropriate amount of water in the tea scroll by slow evaporation and redistribution. The tea scroll will eventually reach an optimal condition for long-term storage. Breaking open this humongous roll of tea could require the roughest treatment of an tea. First you need an axe to cut the outer bamboo layer. Next you must use a knife and your hands to tear the inner layers of palm. Finally it takes a hammer and hand saw to slice the thousand-tael log into tea cakes, quite similar to cutting an artisan bread into slices in the grocery store. Each piece is about the size and weight of a puer cake. A tea knife and pick is used to pry and slice pieces from the slice that are suitable for the volume of one's teaware. TJ TEA DISCOVERY Three layers of bamboo are required to shape the steamed and packed tea within.