Tea stems are the aroma engine of oolong tea and the fermentation spacer of dark tea

Oolong teas like Tieguanyin and Wuyi Rock Tea prioritize a high aroma, requiring the picking of mature buds and three or four leaves, with the stem intact. After sun-drying, the tea stems transport moisture and nutrients to the wilted leaves through their vascular bundles, allowing them to "fully recover" during the shaking process-without tea stems, there would be no "green leaves with red edges," and the "lingering fragrance after seven infusions" would be impossible. In the pile fermentation of dark tea, tea stems create tiny gaps in the tea pile, promoting oxygen circulation and the activity of beneficial bacteria (such as "golden flower fungus"), which is crucial for flavor transformation. In Shoumei and aged white tea cakes, the tea stems, due to their rich sugar and soluble substances, continue to participate in transformation during later aging, contributing a richer jujube and medicinal aroma.