How to Avoid “Rubbish Tea”
The core value of Pu'er tea is that it “improves with age,” a consensus in the industry. As time goes by, most contemporary Pu'er tea drinkers are aware that Pu'er tea improves with age under certain conditions, and some may even “deteriorate over time.” There's a saying in the Pu'er world: “Rubbish will still be rubbish after a hundred years.” Coarse but true. In this article, I'll analyze cases of Pu'er teas that deteriorated over time from the experiences of many tea enthusiasts in the Yi Pin Tea Club, as well as my nearly ten years of experience buying and storing tea. I will share some basic identification methods and experiences on selecting Pu'er teas suitable for long-term storage.
Through a survey among tea enthusiasts, I categorized the situations where they encountered “rubbish tea” into six types.
Type One: Counterfeit Issues
Counterfeit issues mainly fall into two categories. The first involves non-Yunnan large-leaf variety raw materials processed using Pu'er tea production techniques. This type of tea is not genuine Pu'er tea, but such teas do exist in the market, often produced illicitly during market booms. For example, border teas or teas from outside Yunnan's geographical indication protection area are used. By comparing the characteristics of these raw materials with those of Yunnan large-leaf varieties, one can usually identify them.
Once, a tea enthusiast brought me a loose “ancient tree tea” to taste. Upon brewing, its flavor was clearly different from typical Pu'er tea, with an aroma reminiscent of Oolong Tea processing. Examining the infused leaves revealed that they were small-leaf variety. The tea had a wild flavor. After asking, I learned it was a border wild tea. So, I suggested he enjoy it but that it had no storage value.
Another prevalent counterfeit issue involves lightly fermented teas, wet-storage teas, or blends of raw and ripe teas masquerading as aged raw teas or old raw teas. I've tasted many such counterfeits. Once, during a tea gathering, a tea enthusiast presented a tea labeled as an 80s-era old raw Pu'er for us to appraise. Upon brewing, it had a burnt aroma, a bland taste, and a complex mix of flavors. It caused noticeable dryness and irritation in the throat. Examining the infused leaves revealed that most were over-fermented or even carbonized. Clearly, this was improperly fermented material pretending to be old raw tea.
Recently, I found a sample of so-called 30-year-old raw Pu'er given to me by a tea merchant when I was new to tea. Upon brewing and examining the infused leaves, I discovered it was a blend of raw and ripe teas. With such problem teas, issues often become apparent upon brewing, and examination of the infused leaves further confirms their identity.
Type Two: Green Tea-like Processing Issues
Problems arise when the wok temperature during initial frying is too high or when the rough material is dried using a dryer, which completely destroys the activity of polyphenol oxidase. Such teas are not genuine Pu'er teas. They are often produced by manufacturers aiming to enhance the aroma and taste of fresh teas, or due to improper processing. These teas have a high initial aroma, low bitterness and astringency, and little raw flavor.
If the rough material isn't sun-dried, it won't have the characteristic “sun flavor.” Over time, the aroma will diminish or disappear, and the texture of the infusion will become increasingly thin. A tea enthusiast who has encountered such teas multiple times shared his view at the tea club: the best way to handle these teas is to consume them as green teas within a short period.
Type Three: Poor Suitability Issues
Suitability issues mainly include three situations:
First, the tea tree itself is unsuitable. Not all large-leaf variety Pu'er tea trees possess the qualities needed to make high-quality Pu'er tea. For example, some very bitter and astringent varieties are undrinkable as fresh teas and remain unpalatable even after years of storage. Some newcomers misunderstand the phrase “if it's not bitter and astringent, it's not Pu'er tea,” thinking that the more bitter and astringent the tea, the greater its potential for transformation. However, after many years, these teas remain excessively bitter and astringent. I've encountered numerous mid-aged teas like this over the years. Such teas lack collection value.
Second, the use of rainy season teas. For instance, using rainy season teas (summer teas) to produce raw teas results in fewer nutrients and a thinner, blander taste, which generally doesn't improve with age. If a raw tea has a thin texture, prominent astringency, and a watery taste, it likely contains a significant amount of rainy season tea. Many ripe teas on the market suffer from the issue of having flavor but lacking substance, often because they are made from summer teas.
Third, the use of low-quality plantation teas. Some plantation teas suffer from poor quality due to improper management (such as unfavorable soil, climate, or planting density), insufficient tree age, or excessive picking. A tea enthusiast who has stored tea for many years recalled purchasing a raw tea in 2010. At the time, it was average, and despite being stored for years, it didn't improve, making it a learning experience tea.
Type Four: Processing Defect Issues
Mainly includes several situations: First, there is one or more prominent flaws in various processing steps. For example, oversteaming, incomplete initial frying, or insufficient rolling causing a strong raw flavor; inadequate drying of compressed teas affecting their future transformation. Second, blending issues. Without focusing on harmony in blending, the tea's overall balance deteriorates during aging. Such teas are common in the mid-aged tea market, with unbalanced infusions and obvious shortcomings, greatly reducing the drinking pleasure. Third, fermentation issues.
Improper fermentation of ripe teas, particularly over-fermentation. Ripe teas with heavy fermentation odors, multiple off-flavors, uneven fermentation, or carbonized infused leaves indicate problems with the fermentation process. During my years of buying tea, I've encountered many problematic ripe teas, such as those with mixed flavors that are difficult to Drink, or over-fermented teas causing dryness and irritation in the throat.
Type Five: Improper Storage Issues
Storage is the second life of Pu'er tea, but improper storage is also a significant killer of Pu'er tea. Factors like temperature, humidity, odors, and strong light affect the transformation of Pu'er tea and can even cause catastrophic damage, such as absorbing odors leading to spoilage, excessive humidity causing mold, and water immersion directly ending the life of Pu'er tea. Last year, the Pearl River flooded, causing water damage in the Fangcun tea market, instantly turning large quantities of Pu'er tea into waste.
There are also many storage issues caused by human factors or mismanagement, with “wet-storage teas” being particularly criticized. Although opinions vary regarding storage, from a drinking perspective, any tea that doesn't appeal to consumers is considered a storage issue tea.
In fact, storage issue teas objectively exist in the mid-aged tea market, and there are many of them. During my experience buying and tasting tea, I've come across many wet-storage teas. Wet-storage teas typically have dark and turbid infusions, dull tastes, and dark and inactive infused leaves. Some storage issue teas can be improved through proper storage, but excessively wet-storage or absorbing odors can cause internal mold, turning them into irreversible problem teas.
Type Six: Misjudgment of Optimal Drinking Period
This category primarily concerns mid-aged and old teas. Every Pu'er tea has an optimal drinking period, especially for individuals. After reaching its peak, a Pu'er tea begins to decline. Of course, this peak