Longan Charcoal Roasting: Five Craft Steps
- Teagraphy’s official roasting craft page lists five hand-done stages for longan charcoal roasting—from lighting the charcoal to the master’s unbroken watch.
- Step one selects longan charcoal of the right size, places it in the stove in order, and lights it; step two packs charcoal in batches so the bed stays stable.
- Step three covers glowing charcoal with ash and levels it—no gaps, no open flame—so heat stays even and controlled.
- Step four baskets the tea at no more than 10 catties (about 6 kg) per basket to keep quality even across the leaf.
- Step five is keeping watch: turn the leaf at least once an hour; one basket takes from 3 to more than 10 hours of unbroken roasting.
Longan wood charcoal roasting at Teagraphy is five slow, hand-done stages—not a switch you flip on an electric drum. The official roasting craft page calls it an act of keeping watch: the master stays beside the tea, adjusting timing and heat, turning the leaf so the basket heats evenly.
Steps 01–03: fire, pack, and ash
01 Preparing and lighting the charcoal. Longan charcoal of the right size is selected, placed into the roasting stove in order, and lit. Size matters—the craft begins before any leaf touches heat.
02 Packing the charcoal. Charcoal goes into the stove in batches. As it burns through, it is packed down firmly so the bed stays stable. An unsteady fire ruins evenness later.
03 Covering and levelling the ash. Ash is spread over the glowing charcoal and levelled out, leaving no gaps and no open flame. That banked ash is how the roast stays radiant and controlled instead of scorched and smoky—the craft page warns that getting this wrong makes tea taste scorched.
Steps 04–05: basket limit and unbroken watch
04 Basketing the tea. To keep quality even, a single basket holds no more than 10 catties (6 kg) of tea. Small loads are a quality rule, not a marketing flourish.
05 The roasting master keeps watch. For even heating the leaf is turned at least once an hour, and a basket takes anywhere from 3 to more than 10 hours of unbroken roasting. Patience is the method: adjust timing and heat as needed, stay beside the tea, and refuse shortcuts.
What the five steps leave in the cup
When the watch is judged right, the spent leaf keeps resilience and a soft spring—no tearing from scorch. Liquor looks brighter and cleaner; flavour opens in layers after swallowing, with the sweet scent of longan charcoal left in the empty cup. Far-infrared heat from charcoal, the home page adds, drives off caffeine and theophylline while releasing deep grassy notes and bringing out layers of character.
Teagraphy’s insistence on charcoal alone—rather than fast electric finishing—is the same five-step discipline, repeated basket after basket in Nantou.
Why the craft refuses a faster fire
About Teagraphy states the brand is built on age-old longan charcoal roasting and roasts with charcoal alone, even though modern electric equipment can finish tea quickly. The five steps above are that insistence in practice: select charcoal, pack the bed, bank the ash, limit the basket, and keep watch for hours. Far-infrared heat from burning charcoal, the home page adds, roasts leaf and stem through, drives off caffeine and theophylline within the leaf, and brings out layers of character—the human warmth the brand calls distinctly Teagraphy.
Get any stage wrong and the same craft page is blunt: the tea is ruined, tasting smoky and scorched. That is why the master’s unbroken watch is listed as a numbered stage, not a soft skill on the side.
