Methods of Fixation for Green Tea Production
In China, fixation or kill green is typically acheived by one of the following four methods:
1. Pan-firing or frying2. Baking
3. Sun-drying
4. Steaming
In modern day China pan-firing is most widespread, followed by baking, sun-drying and steaming.
Baking is commonly used to prepare the base material for flower teas, whereas pan-fired teas represent a high proportion, though not all, of China's most exquisite greens; sun-drying is the crudest method available is generally adopted by tea makers in areas of less-renown and is rarely sold outside of provincial markets.
Steamed green teas, though the predominant method in Japan, are near-obsolete in China and largely limited to south-western Hubei. Steaming's modern iteration can be traced to the 1930s, when Yang Run Zhi (杨润之), a determined local businessman, decided to re-establish the forgotten art of steam-fixation to Enshi, in the south-western corner of Hubei; large-scale expansion of tea plots didn't occur until relatively recently at the end of the 20th century.
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