first drying

rough fire

Definition#

First, partial drying pass that removes much of the moisture without reaching final dryness; after cooling it is followed by 足火, the finishing dry. A Guangdong draft yellow tea standard sets 毛火 at 100–110 °C in a thin layer until the leaf feels prickly, then 足火 at about 90 °C to below 6.5% moisture.

Translation and usage#

Common confusions#

• In green, yellow and red tea primary processing 足火 is simply the final drying pass; in yancha refining 足火 (zuhuo) names a full roast level. de.wikipedia lists 足火 as the last step of Junshan Yinzhen and calls it Rösten.

Terms#

Entries that use this term 1#

Sources#