Pan Zhangjun: the "Songyang Tea Division" who brews wine from tea

"this is a newly developed 'tea wine', which is fermented from tea leaves, which not only has the mellowness of the wine, but also retains the fragrance of the tea." Walking into the factory building of Zhejiang Biyuntian Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., which is located in Xiping Street of Songyang County, there is a mellow aroma like wine and tea. Pan Zhangjun, general manager, told reporters that "tea wine" is the first in the country and is currently applying for a national patent.

The research and development of "tea wine" is only Pan Zhangjun's latest attempt. Fourteen years ago, the tea brand "Biyuntian" founded by him was already famous in China, and its series of products also won many honors. In 2005, "Biyuntian Tea" won the gold prize for famous tea evaluation at the third International Tea Expo in Jinan, China, and the special prize for the sixth "Chinese teacup". In 2007, "Bailong Tea" won the special prize for the eighth "medium Tea Cup". "Silver Monkey White Tea" was listed as designated tea by the General Administration Department of the State Council as a meeting and foreign affairs reception of the State Council.

As a "Songyang tea master", Pan Zhangjun is now a well-known tea expert in Songyang County. But few people know that he is a "half-monk" entrepreneur.

Pan Zhangjun, who left campus and entered society at the age of 19, was initially an ordinary power technician. Because he often helped tea farmers repair power facilities, he began to realize the broad prospects of Songyang tea industry. In 2002, Pan Zhangjun made up his mind to change careers and set up a tea processing factory in his hometown Zhangxi Township, contracted Chashan, and built the first tea base. "starting a business is like running a hard marathon, you must make unremitting efforts towards your goal, and no matter how difficult it is, you can't give up halfway." Pan Zhangjun said.

The construction of the first tea base is not plain sailing. Having no experience in growing tea, he encountered a double test of technology and climate. A severe drought withered all the tea trees in the garden: "at that time, 200000 yuan was urgently invested and continuously irrigated for a week before they were saved."

After learning the experience and lessons, Pan Zhangjun decided to learn from scratch. He actively participated in all kinds of skills training and went to various tea professional villages to learn skills. In the following year, he contracted a high mountain in Zhuyuan Township again and built a second tea base on the road to starting a business.

"it was a barren mountain with no road, no electricity, no water, only a dilapidated cabin, where many people had grown tea before, all of which ended in failure." Pan Zhangjun's friends advised him to give up at that time, but he thought that this was the best training ground to test his "actual combat skills". In order to solve the transportation problem, he pulled up a 3-kilometer aerial ropeway connecting the top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain. In order to solve the problem of lack of electricity, the electrician, who was born as an electrician, gave full play to his expertise, set up poles, installed 3.6 kilometers of lines, and finally powered the top of the mountain.

"at that time, in order to manage the tea garden well, I ate and lived on the mountain every day. Although the conditions were very difficult, it was worth the hardship for my beloved cause." Pan Zhangjun said. What we pay with all our heart is the continuous expansion of the industry. In 2012, Pan Zhangjun opened up five production demonstration bases in Yuyan, Yecun, Xiangxi and other township streets, with a total area of more than 2000 mu.

"my position is very clear, building a base and playing a brand. All the teas of the 'Biyuntian' brand are managed according to pollution-free standards. " Pan Zhangjun said that during the tea picking period, insects suddenly grew in the more than 400 mu organic tea base in Zhuyuan. Standing at the edge of the tea garden, he could hear the rustling of insects gnawing on the green tea. "do you want to take the medicine? If you don't fight, you may lose it. If you do, the brand will be smashed. " After thinking it over, Pan Zhangjun is determined to maintain the quality of tea at all costs, rely on manual cutting off all tea branches, and eradicate insect pests with the "stupidest" method.

Stick to it steadily and steadily, in exchange for a rich return. In 2005, "Biyuntian" was promoted to be one of the first enterprises in the country to obtain qs certification, and has won honors such as "Zhejiang demonstration Tea Factory", "Zhejiang Agricultural Science and Technology Enterprise", "Zhejiang Agricultural products processing demonstration Enterprise", "Zhejiang backbone Agricultural leading Enterprise", "Top 100 Tea Industry in China", "Zhejiang famous Brand products" and "Zhejiang famous Trademark".

In 2008, "Biyuntian" tea began to develop to popularity to meet the needs of different people. "although green tea is a healthy drink, people with bad intestines and stomach will feel uncomfortable if they drink too much, while black tea has no such problem at all." Although this idea is very consistent with the changes in the market, Pan Zhangjun, who first tried to make black tea, stumbled again because of his lack of experience.

"the process of black tea pays most attention to the precise control of time. If it is fermented for too long, a batch of tea will have to be scrapped." Pan Zhangjun, who tasted defeat for the first time, was blessed by misfortune because of a whimsical idea. "at that time, I found that overfermented black tea had a faint alcoholic taste. Does this mean that tea can also be fermented to make wine?"

With this idea, Pan Zhangjun immediately invited Chen Huiping, a senior winemaker from a winery in Waixian County, as the technical director, and the two worked together to develop "tea wine."

Chen Huiping, who has more than 40 years of wine-making experience, admitted that it was the first time he had heard of the idea of "tea wine" and didn't know where to start. "at first, we could only use finished tea, semi-finished tea and fresh leaves as raw materials. The most important thing in making 'tea wine' is to control temperature and humidity, not only by experience, but also by science. If there is a mistake in the data, all previous efforts will be wasted. "

Pan Zhangjun, who has no wine-making experience, observes the whole fermentation process: "the fermentation time of 'tea wine' is about three months, and the first week is the most difficult to control. Low temperature fermentation cannot be achieved, and the slightly higher temperature will make the tea leaves scrap. At that time, I set the alarm every day, and even in the middle of the night, I insisted on going to the brewing room every half an hour to check the brewing progress. "

It is with such a cautious push that Pan Zhangjun finally succeeded in brewing a pure natural "tea wine" which is completely different from the "tea wine" commonly seen in the market.

"every time you do something, you have to be willing to spend time, thought, and energy." Today's Biyuntian company is like a tourist resort, where tourists can visit the tea planting, processing and packaging process, as well as the wine brewing, production and packaging process. "when tea is integrated into the culture, what leaves people behind is tea." Pan Zhangjun, who is currently working on setting up a tea skills training school, hopes most to impart his tea experience to tea farmers, "so that we can make fewer detours and get rich together."