Basic Introduction to Enshi Yulu
In 1965, Enshi Yulu was rated as one of the “Top Ten Famous Chinese Teas,” and in 2009 it was rated as the “First Historical Famous Tea of Hubei Province.” Enshi Yulu is produced in Enshi City, known as the world's capital of selenium, located in Hubei Province, China. It is one of the few steamed green teas that remain in China today, with a production process and tools that are quite ancient, similar to what is described in Lu Yu's “The Classic of Tea.” The method of making Japanese Yuzu tea is largely the same as that of Enshi Yulu, with each having its own unique characteristics in quality.
Nutritional Value
1. The Role of Selenium in Human Health
Selenium's importance in preventing liver necrosis was first discovered in 1957.
In 1973, the United Nations World Health Organization announced that selenium is an essential trace element for animal life.
The distribution of selenium on Earth is uneven. It is known that more than 40 countries and regions around the world lack selenium. In China alone, 22 provinces (cities) are selenium-deficient, affecting 72% of counties (cities). Human diseases such as Keshan disease and Kashin-Beck disease are closely related to selenium deficiency. Cardiovascular diseases and tumors also have connections to selenium levels. The human body contains only about 13mg of selenium. A deficiency can cause various diseases in animals, including muscle necrosis, myocardial degeneration, pancreatic atrophy, edema, anemia, hemolysis, and reproductive dysfunction decline. Supplementing 200 micrograms of selenium daily can prevent the occurrence of tumors to some extent. However, excessive selenium can lead to selenium poisoning, including skin discoloration, nail and finger deformities, anemia, and cognitive changes.
2. Selenium Content in Tea Leaves
The selenium content in fresh tea leaves ranges from 0.03-4.1mg/kg.
The selenium content in processed tea is 0.08-0.12mg/kg.
The majority of teas have selenium contents below 0.1mg/kg.
In the entire tea plant: old leaves > young leaves, old branches > young branches, seed shells > seeds, leaves > branches, aboveground parts > underground parts.
Product Characteristics
The quality characteristics of Enshi Yulu are: tight, fine, and straight strands, prominent white tips, a verdant and lustrous appearance, resembling pine needles, a clear and bright infusion color, a fresh aroma, a mellow and refreshing taste, and even, tender leaves at the bottom of the cup.
Moreover, Enshi Yulu has a moderate selenium content. According to the analysis by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Tea Research Institute, the dry tea contains 3.47 mg/kg of selenium, while the tea infusion contains 0.01-0.52 mg/kg, meeting the human consumption requirement of 0.3-5.0 ppm for selenium-rich teas.
Historical and Folklore
Enshi Yulu is a traditional Chinese famous tea. Since the Tang Dynasty, there have been records of “Southern Tea of Shi.” Ming Dynasty's Huang Yizheng's “The Deep Blue Bead” recorded: “Today's tea names… Chongyang tea, Pochi tea, Qi tea, Jingzhou tea, Shizhou tea, Nanmu tea (produced in Jiangling).” Legend has it that during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, there was a tea merchant surnamed Lan in Hualianxi, Enshi, who built his own kiln and personally baked tea. Because the shape of the tea he made was tightly round and straight, and green like jade, it was named Enshi Yulü. In 1936, Hubei Provincial Minsheng Company, based on Yulü, developed a green tea with a fragrant and refreshing aroma, white tips like jade, and particularly prominent, hence renamed Enshi Yulu. Enshi Yulu has won the admiration of people worldwide due to its unique quality features and has repeatedly been rated as a famous tea. East of Enshi City, Hubei Province, there are five peculiar mountains standing side by side, rising abruptly. This is Wufeng Mountain, the main birthplace of Enshi Yulu. Here, the climate is mild, rainfall is abundant, and mist surrounds the area from morning till night. The mountain is surrounded by the clear Qingjiang River; the slopes are gentle, and the valleys are broad. The sandy loam soil is deep and fertile. The excellent ecological environment not only promotes the healthy growth of tea trees but also leads to a strong metabolism within the trees, enriching them with chlorophyll, proteins, amino acids, and aromatic substances, making them ideal raw materials for producing Yulu tea with excellent color, aroma, flavor, and shape.
The steaming method used for fixing the green in Enshi Yulu dates back to the Tang Dynasty in China. Enshi Yulu is one of the few traditional steamed green teas preserved in China today.
The history of tea production in Enshi is long-standing. As early as the Song Dynasty, there was already tea production here. The creation of Enshi Yulu is said to have begun during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, there was a tea merchant surnamed Lan in Hualianxi, Enshi, who built his own kiln for baking tea. His kiln was very similar to the current kilns used for baking Enshi Yulu. The tea he made had a tightly round and straight shape, green in color, and was as precious as jade, so it was called “Yulü.” In 1936, Hubei Provincial Minsheng Company set up a factory in Qinyangba, Xuan'en County, adjacent to Hualianxi, to produce tea. The tea had a fragrant and refreshing aroma, a bright green color, and white tips like jade, which were particularly prominent, so it was renamed “Yulu.” Due to its superior quality, it quickly gained popularity and was later distributed to areas like Enshi, Xiangyang, Guanghua, and western Henan, and even exported to Japan.
The current production of Enshi Yulu still uses steam fixation, as in the past, but the craftsmanship is now more exquisite. High-grade Yulu uses one bud and one leaf, evenly sized, with short internodes and dense leaves, small buds and small leaves, and a rich green color. The processing process includes steaming, cooling, stir-frying the initial drying, rolling, stir-frying the second drying, shaping and polishing, baking, and sorting.
“Shaping and Polishing” is an important process that makes the Yulu tea smooth, glossy, upright, and finely shaped, with a clear and bright infusion, high fragrance, and mellow flavor. This process is divided into two stages. The first stage involves hand shaping, where 0.8-1 kg of the second-dried tea leaves are placed on a baking stove heated to 50-80°C. The two hands are held together, with the thumbs pointing upwards and the other four fingers slightly curved, lifting the tea leaves. The right hand moves forward while the left hand moves backward, rubbing and kneading the tea leaves in one direction and constantly scattering the tea balls. This process shapes the tea leaves into thin, round strands, which are about seven-tenths dry when they enter the second stage. In this stage, the techniques of “embracing, kneading, lifting, and binding” are alternately used to continue shaping and polishing until the tea is appropriately dry. The entire process of shaping and polishing takes about 70-80 minutes. The tea is then baked until it can be crushed into powder with the hands and the stems can be broken, after which it is sorted. Fragments, yellow leaves, coarse strips, old stems, and other impurities are removed, and the tea is then wrapped in kraft paper and stored in a sealed container with block-shaped lime.
The tea produced has tightly round and smooth strands, slender and straight like needles, a verdant and lustrous color, and is praised by Japanese merchants as “pine needles.” When brewed with boiling water, the tea leaves unfurl as if alive, initially floating gracefully in the cup before settling at the bottom, flat and complete. The infusion color is tender and bright green, like jade, with a fresh aroma and a mellow taste. Its appearance is pleasing to the eye, and its taste is refreshing, consistently favored by consumers.