Black Tea is one of the six major types of Tea, known for its sweet aroma and rich taste. In the tea market, black tea enjoys high sales volumes, which unfortunately also attracts unscrupulous vendors trying to pass off inferior products as high-quality ones. In such cases, it's essential to know how to differentiate between them. Here's a guide on how to identify the quality of black tea.
Differentiating the Quality of Black Tea
To differentiate the quality of black tea, it can be categorized into three types: premium, substandard, and low-quality. The evaluation involves using your senses – touch, sight, smell, and taste – to make a comprehensive assessment.
1. Touch: Pick up a small amount and feel the tightness, weight, and thickness of the tea leaves. High-quality black tea tends to have relatively tightly bound leaves, with heavier and more substantial ones being preferable. Loose, light, and coarse leaves are indicative of lower quality.
2. Sight: Observe whether the dry tea leaves are uniform in shape and consistent in color, and check for the presence of golden tips in some varieties. After brewing, examine the clarity and color of the tea liquor and the appearance of the infused leaves. Premium black tea produces a bright red liquor that is clear and luminous, with uniformly spread leaves that are soft and tender to the touch. Substandard and low-quality teas yield darker, murkier liquors, and the infused leaves may appear dull, with a musty odor.
3. Smell: High-quality black tea has a sweet fragrance; after brewing, the aroma is sweet and full-bodied. Substandard and low-quality teas lack a distinct aroma or may have other unpleasant odors.
4. Taste: Place a small amount of tea in your mouth and chew to judge the flavor. Alternatively, you can conduct a tasting session. High-quality black tea has a sweet, rich taste, with some varieties having a lingering aftertaste. Substandard teas lack these characteristics, while low-quality teas may have a bitter taste or other unpleasant flavors.
The characteristics of tea are not solely determined by the manufacturing process but also depend on the size of the leaves and their position on the tea plant. While the grade designation cannot definitively determine the quality of black tea, it can provide a general indication. The inherent color, aroma, and taste of black tea vary depending on which part of the Leaf was used in production. Higher-quality teas tend to use the topmost tender leaves, while lower-quality teas use older leaves from lower down the plant. Generally, smaller buds used to make black tea command higher prices. Higher-grade black teas are often hand-picked, while lower grades are typically machine-harvested.
Directly tasting the tea is also crucial in assessing its quality. When doing so, pay particular attention to the aspects mentioned above.