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There are various methods for tea plucking, such as pulling the tea leaves up like harvesting vegetables. This is the most intuitive and quickest method, known as the “hollow-heart vegetable plucking” method. It`s simple: using both hands, forcefully pluck the visible tea leaves and place them in the tea basket when the palm can no longer hold more leaves. The advantage is a large harvest volume, but the downside is that the leaves can grow as long as they please (the standard is one bud with two leaves, but now there are humorous terms like “five-leaf pine,” “seven-leaf gall,” “nine-story basil,” etc.), and the tea leaves may get crushed, bruised, or torn.
The correct method for tea plucking is the “one heart standing pluck,” which refers to the freshest one bud with two or three leaves standing upright on the tea bush. With the palm and fingers placed vertically at the top of the tea leaves, when the tea bud reaches the tiger`s mouth (the space between the index finger and thumb), use the thumb to press the tea leaves against the second joint of the index finger. Then, use the thumbnail to snap off the stem of the tea leaves. (If the tea leaves cannot be plucked, it means they are already too old.) Next, move the stem to the space between the index finger and middle finger to gather it. At this point, the tea bud and leaves will be separated on both sides of the tiger`s mouth, preventing the tea leaves from being crushed. This method is called the “one heart standing pluck.”
The “one heart standing pluck” method has the functions of measuring length, determining maturity, and protecting the leaves. Skilled tea pluckers can work rapidly with both hands, their speed so fast that their eyes cannot keep up. Their movements sound like a machine gun firing rapidly. Unfortunately, this method is becoming increasingly rare.
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