In the long history of Chinese tea culture. In the past decade, the Gan Pu Cha from Xinhui, Guangdong, especially the Xiao Qing Gan, is definitely one of the highlights. Especially in the years after 2015, Xiaoqing oranges have become popular throughout the country due to their convenience, diverse brewing methods, and excellent taste. Small green tangerines are small in size and delicate in shape. The exquisitely packaged small green tangerines have become a popular and fashionable tea gift for people.
It is understood that the origin of Ganpu tea can be traced back to the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. In 1847, the Qing Dynasty painter Luo Tianchi was from Xinhui, Guangdong. After resigning from his official position and returning home, he accidentally poured tangerine peel water into a teapot to brew tea due to a cold wind. He unexpectedly discovered that the combination of tangerine peel and Pu'er tea not only has a unique taste, but also helps alleviate symptoms of cold wind. This accidental discovery prompted him to start trying to combine citrus peel with Pu'er tea, and through continuous improvement of the production method, eventually formed the modern citrus Pu'er tea. The production method of Ganpu tea gradually spread in the Xinhui area and became a local specialty product.
After the new rain in Kongshan, the weather is late for autumn. The late autumn of 2024 is a season of abundant harvest for fruit farmers who grow tea branch oranges in Xinhui, Guangdong. This year, the weather is good and the yield of our tea branch oranges is over 5000 pounds per mu. Moreover, the fruits have grown particularly well this year. I have specially selected a batch of high-quality fruits to make small green oranges. Because the fruits are good this year, the quality of this batch of small green oranges may be better than in previous years, "Huang Wanbang, the president of Xinhui Shuangshui Haotian Agricultural Cooperative, happily told reporters.
In the production workshop of Haotian Agricultural Cooperative located on Shuangshui Avenue in Xinhui, dozens of workers are busy processing and making small green oranges. The processes of fruit washing, digging, air drying, fruit sorting, de greening, and adding tea are all running smoothly and efficiently. On the exhibition stand, dozens of dustpans were already filled with semi-finished small green oranges. We have always adhered to traditional production techniques. These semi-finished products are placed here and blown with a fan to maintain a stable dry and humid environment. Now we just need to take them out to the sun (sun drying), "Huang Wanbang explained.
Huang Wanbang, who is about fifty years old, is a true Xinhui Shuangshui person. He started making citrus tea in his twenties and has been doing it for more than twenty years now. Although not well-known outside the industry, insiders know that Huang Wanbang is a skilled craftsman in making Gan Pu tea. Due to the stable and guaranteed quality of his products, many well-known brands in the industry have been his long-term partners. At present, we mainly produce products as suppliers and provide product processing services for some brand merchants. Due to the stable quality of our products, most of us have been cooperative customers for more than ten years, "said Huang Wanbang.
How is a good citrus tea "refined"? According to Huang Wanbang, if the first fruit variety is the tea branch citrus grown in Xinhui, the authentic Xinhui tea branch citrus produces a completely different flavor and taste compared to other places. The first step is to select fruits, and the variety of fruits should be chosen from "healthy" fruits of moderate size. Only good fruits can make good tea; Next is cleaning and digging the fruit. The fruit must be cleaned thoroughly, and the fruit bag must be dug clean, otherwise there will be a strange smell. Then the most important step is to "remove the green", which requires careful control of the degree. "Overheat" can damage the fruit and turn it into a "dead fruit", causing the citrus fragrance to disappear. If the heat is not enough, the green cannot be removed, and there will be a bitter taste; Next is adding tea and sun drying. Tea should be selected from high-quality Yunnan ripe Pu, and sun dried for at least 15 days.
I have been adhering to the traditional "handmade" and "sun dried" production process for over 20 years since I started making citrus tea. I personally oversee every step of the production process to ensure the quality of the products. Perhaps this is why we have always adhered to the bottom line of product quality and won the recognition of customers and the reputation of the market Huang Wanbang candidly admitted.
Xinhui Ganpu Tea, a derivative product of Xinhui Chenpi with a hundred years of historical and cultural accumulation, originated from the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. Over time, its traditional production process will be passed down from generation to generation of Xinhui people. Nowadays, Xinhui Ganpu Tea has developed into a large and good industry that drives the prosperity of Xinhui farmers, and has become an important lever for the Xinhui Hundred Million Project, writing a new chapter in the revitalization of Xinhui rural areas.
