When buying Tea, the variety can be overwhelming, often making it difficult for people to know where to start. Selecting tea has become a real challenge for tea enthusiasts.
To buy suitable tea, in addition to following the steps of “Observation, Smelling, Inquiry, and Brewing,” it's also important to avoid common pitfalls when purchasing tea.
Observation
Observation means looking at the shape of the tea: whether it is uniform, and how shiny its color is.
Evaluate the quality of various teas based on their uniformity, luster, and the amount of broken leaves and twigs they contain.
For example, green tea should have a fresh green color with visible white downy hairs (better if it does), while yellow or even reddish, dull colors indicate lower quality. A clear tea infusion is better.
Some famous teas have unique shapes: West Lake Longjing is usually smooth, flat, and straight with a rice-like yellow hue and no visible downy hairs; Huangshan Maofeng has many downy hairs and a peak-like appearance; Xinyang Maojian is fine, straight, and round with many downy hairs; Biluochun has slender, tightly curled leaves resembling snails.
If the tea doesn't look good visually, trust your instincts and don't be swayed by the seller's sales pitch; you should immediately move on.
Generally speaking, only after passing this first test can one proceed with further examination.
Smelling
Smelling means assessing the aroma: good tea should have a pure fragrance without any off-flavors.
The smell of tea can help determine its quality. There are two ways to smell tea: dry and wet.
When smelling dry tea, good tea should not have a grassy or odd smell. After brewing, when smelling the tea infusion, good tea should have a fresh, strong aroma without any strange odors.
If the tea has a high-pitched aroma or even a burnt smell, you need to carefully distinguish; such teas often have issues.
Some tea merchants re-bake old tea to increase its aroma, attempting to pass it off as new to make a profit.
Inquiry
Inquiry means asking about the origin: inquire about the type and place of production to roughly judge the tea's quality.
When buying tea, it's also important to know its authentic origin and corresponding variety.
For instance, according to Zhejiang provincial standards, the specific production area for West Lake Longjing is around Lion Peak, Meiwo, and Longwu in Hangzhou; Biluochun comes from the shores of Dongting Lake in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province; Oolong Tieguanyin is produced in Anxi, Fujian Province.
It's beneficial to do some preliminary research to understand basic information and ask informed questions of sellers, which will reduce the chances of being misled.
Brewing
Brewing involves tasting: ultimately, tea is meant to be drunk, so tasting is essential.
Many tea enthusiasts find that the tea they drink at a store tastes different when they brew it themselves at home, leading them to suspect foul play.
In fact, the solution to eliminate these doubts lies in our own hands.
What we need to do is brew the tea ourselves on the spot. This also has the benefit that if there is an incorrect method for brewing this particular tea, knowledgeable sellers will guide us on the proper way. We can learn more techniques and tips through this experience, which is an excellent learning opportunity.
Only by brewing the tea ourselves can we truly understand the authentic taste of the tea. While tasting, also observe the tea liquor.
Tea liquor that is rich, mellow, fresh, and has a sweet aftertaste is considered high-quality, while thin, rough, and Astringent tea liquor is of lower quality.
Inspect the infused leaves for completeness, softness, thickness, and freshness; those with visible buds are preferable, while thin, hard leaves with dark colors are less desirable.
The infused leaves of Oolong Tea are generally seven parts green and three parts red-edged.
Taboos When Buying Tea
Avoid buying “famous teas”
In today's tea market, all kinds of teas love to be labeled with grand names. For example, all Oolong teas are labeled as “Tieguanyin, Dongding, or Dahongpao”; all flattened pan-fired green teas are labeled as “Longjing”; all slender teas are labeled as “Biluochun”; all plump teas are labeled as “Huangshan Maofeng.” The list goes on, with “famous” teas everywhere.
Tea enthusiasts should remain clear-headed and carefully discern.
Avoid buying “grades”
People often see terms like “premium, divine, grand gold award, special grade” on tea packaging but may not realize that if the product were truly of high quality, it wouldn't be so affordable.
Regarding tea grades, the state has clear definitions, and enthusiasts can check beforehand to avoid being misled.
Avoid buying “packaging”
There are no shortage of teas packaged in porcelain bottles, tin cans, and rosewood boxes, and people tend to prefer teas with upscale packaging.
However, the quality of tea isn't reflected by its outer packaging. Some unscrupulous sellers pack low-quality tea into fancy packaging, passing it off as something better, essentially gilding the gingerbread.
Don't blindly trust attractive packaging; what's inside is most important.
To buy good tea, occasionally paying a bit extra is normal. Only through constant exploration and learning about tea can one buy the right tea that satisfies their preferences. (Source: Micro Tea Way, Image Source: Tea Friends Network Image Library)