The wok is 150 C, much hotter than what it takes to boil water. This is the third firing of each batch of Dragonwell, typically fired 3-4 times before it’s called completed. Each firing elicits more of its high fragrance. Tea master Mr. Dai is an old hand- literally, this is his 23rd year hand firing Dragonwell. It’s all by touch- machines can not feel the difference in dryness between all those little tiny leaves. But in the hands of Mr. Dai, every leaf is accounted for. As for me, I am meeting the most literati of teas to be ever considered the symbol of the educated elite, at the handmade, gritty farm level.
