The Key Points of Temomi-Tea Operations

In hand-rolled tea making it is essential to acquire the right movements through repeated practice. If the operation is wrong the leaf will not roll up properly, and the theory covered in the previous lesson will not hold.

That lesson dealt with how the actions of pressure, heat and drying are applied over time. Here we change the angle and focus on the movement of rolling itself.

Work out thoroughly, on the basis of the leaf you want to produce, which manner of rolling suits it. Then design the whole thing — what rolling you begin with, and how you finish.

If there is a lot of large leaf, for instance, the core moisture will not come out readily as it stands, so you may need to concentrate on a stage of firm working-in. But, in line with the S-curve, you will need lighter stages before and after the firm one, so that the action rises and settles smoothly.

You may set up as many variations of rolling as you like within the overall flow, but within any one of them, keep to a single consistent sequence of movements. Changing the movement repeatedly within the same stage makes the force on the leaf uneven, and the action you are aiming for will not work reliably.

Rotate at least a full turn

The process and the operations you adopt will change with the leaf you have designed, but there are common principles. One of them is to rotate the leaf at least 360 degrees.

Half-hearted rolling produces unevenness in the shape of the leaf, and in turn unevenness in the taste. To achieve a full rotation you should think about using both hands rather than one, and about using the whole arm well.

(This does not apply where you are aiming at a flat leaf, as in Longjing.)

The friction is inside the mass

When the rolling is going well, something is happening inside the mass of leaf: the leaves are rubbing against one another and being worked by each other. You are not rolling the leaves your hand is directly touching. By moving the mass as a whole you set the leaves inside rubbing and rotating against one another — that is the ideal state.

Beginners tend to try consciously to roll each leaf their hand is in contact with. This concentrates force unevenly on a few leaves and causes damage and unevenness instead. Rather than that, hold the image of operating on the whole while the leaves inside rub and rotate firmly against each other. The 360-degree rotation described above is essential precisely because it generates that internal friction.

Rolling happens in the hand, not on the table

The leaf is actually rolled only within the hand. Not on the table.

So leaf that has spread across the table is gathered up with a scooping motion and then rolled within the hand. Even where you want to apply strong pressure, keep the image that the rolling happens in the hand, and do not press straight down onto the table. Press down and the leaf is simply crushed between table and palm; the internal friction and rotation described above do not occur. The leaves break without rolling up.

Repetition

Within each stage, repeat the rolling you have decided on thoroughly. As you become absorbed in the repetition, take in the changes you feel in your palm — moisture, smell, colour, lustre — and alter what you are doing by degrees in response.

These are the basic key points of hand-rolling operations: designing the whole, setting the conditions for the rolling, and the feel of the various movements.

They are of course not everything. As you build up your own practice, develop the operations that belong to you.