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2020
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05
Li River Spring Tea People
The attachment of the people of Guilin to osmanthus has, over the years, become an indispensable part of the spiritual connotation of this city. However, the osmanthus brings to this city not only the fragrance that fills the air but also the locals' ultimate expression of this attachment. Products made from osmanthus, such as osmanthus tea, osmanthus wine, and osmanthus cake, showcase a unique flavor that has been cultivated through osmanthus. This reflects the expectations of the people of Guilin for osmanthus tea, as well as Huang Rongxiong's dedication to it. Tea is a way of life; according to the Chinese writing system, tea represents a person amidst the grass and trees. Tea is humanity's response to nature.
The attachment of Guilin people to osmanthus has, over the years, become an indispensable part of the spiritual connotation of this city. However, the osmanthus brings not only the fragrance that fills the city; the locals have taken this attachment to osmanthus to the extreme.
Osmanthus tea, osmanthus wine, osmanthus cake, and other exquisite osmanthus products have also developed a unique flavor under the catalysis of osmanthus. This reflects the expectations of Guilin people for osmanthus tea, and it is also where Huang Rongxiong's dedication to osmanthus tea lies.
Tea is a way of life. According to the writing style of Chinese characters, tea is where people are among the grass and trees. Tea represents humanity's attitude towards nature and also towards the inner self. In this world, there are people who live for tea and accompany it; they are called tea people.
Huang Rongxiong has had a close relationship with tea throughout the first half of his life. He summarized it by saying, "I have hardly ever left tea in my life. I have been making osmanthus tea for nearly 40 years now. I have worked and lived in Guilin for decades; I am a tea person from Guilin. If I don't make osmanthus tea, then really no one else will. I have persisted in osmanthus tea for half my life, and if I don't make a name for osmanthus tea in my lifetime, I think that will be my regret."
Huang Rongxiong picks the raw tea for osmanthus black tea every year around the Grain Rain festival. The tea leaves of this season, under the right temperature, fully bathe in spring rain and sunlight. This makes the color of the Grain Rain tea green and bright, with full leaves and rich aroma. Therefore, in Huang Rongxiong's view, only the unique fresh fragrance of tea from this season can perfectly blend with the fragrance of osmanthus. To achieve the best of Guilin tea, controlling time is crucial. Osmanthus blooms only once a year, and when it blooms varies each year, depending on the weather. The short four to five days of blooming and falling is truly just a moment for a tea maker who has waited a year.
The ultimate quality of tea actually tests the depth of the integration between people and tea. What seems like monotonous and repetitive tea-making actions actually contains countless changes. Only those who truly understand tea and can express this understanding in the most delicate way can truly be called tea people.
Before the autumn equinox, the production of osmanthus tea welcomes the finishing touch—"scenting." The black tea and green tea that have been settling for half a year have been waiting for a long time, and the fully ripened osmanthus fragrance has also reached its peak. The process of scenting flowers is a game between people and time, with a series of tedious steps aimed at one goal: to ensure that the flowers achieve the best fragrance.
The flowers and tea are stirred and left to sit, repeatedly colliding, with the floral fragrance and tea flavor meeting in a myriad of styles, hand in hand, releasing the innate fragrance of osmanthus and unveiling the secret taste code. After twelve hours, the first miraculous transformation of scenting ends, but to achieve an exquisite taste for osmanthus tea, the scenting process needs to be repeated two to three times.
A process that spans half a year, in Huang Rongxiong's view, the patience of gathering and dispersing time is the essence of the final taste.
A cup of osmanthus tea embodies the hard work of tea people; perhaps only tea people like Huang Rongxiong truly understand this.
In fact, life is like a cup of tea, from initially floating on the surface to deeply settling and seriously doing things. Regarding osmanthus tea, Huang Rongxiong hopes that in his lifetime, tea lovers will know that besides the world-renowned scenery of Guilin, there is also osmanthus tea that gathers the essence of Guilin.
A drip of infusion, a flower of osmanthus; life goes from withering, to rebirth, to blooming, perhaps reminding hurried passersby that besides the beautiful mountains and rivers bestowed by nature to the people of Guilin, perhaps a cup of tea can more completely immerse the essence of Guilin in the soul from deep within.
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