If you want to buy good tea,
You should first know the “Four Taboos.”
1. Avoid buying by “Name”
If a tea's name is too prominent, it will flood the market, often at very low prices. The result is tragic. “Tieguanyin” doesn't resemble its name at all, “Longjing” has thick and stout twigs, and “Dahongpao” is full of charcoal flavor, claimed to have rock charm…
Any tea can vary in quality, after all, “name” only represents a type of variety, processing method, or a specific region's tea. Don't be tempted by small bargains, as you may waste money on inferior tea.
2. Avoid buying by “Packaging”
Nowadays, the packaging can cost more than the tea itself. For tea drinkers, seeing luxurious packaging should raise an eyebrow. Many “golden and splendid” or “antique-style” large gift boxes contain tea that might not even be worth the price of the box; they merely satisfy the desire for “face” when giving gifts, truly “gilded on the outside, but decayed within.”
3. Avoid buying by “Location”
When traveling and buying local specialties, did you know that you cannot buy real Longjing tea in Longjing Village? You also might not find authentic tea in Huangshan, Lushan, or Wuyi Mountain. These teas could be substandard, mispriced, or have questionable hygiene.
If there's a trustworthy local guide, it's possible to taste genuine, high-quality tea.
4. Avoid buying by “Grade”
There is a strict national standard for grading. Different types of tea have different standards and requirements for grades. Before purchasing, it's beneficial to gain some understanding.
However, many so-called premium teas exceed these standards, using terms like supreme, top-grade, etc.
How do you select good tea using “Observation, Smell, Inquiry, and Tasting”?
Observation of Dry Tea
Observe the tea in a tea tray, or if unavailable, use a white porcelain plate. Examine the color, shape, uniformity, etc., of the tea leaves. Dry tea contains the original information about the tea, revealing details about the raw materials, processing, and storage conditions.
Uniform appearance, lustrous color, and the presence or absence of fragments and twigs are indicators of quality. You can also identify the quality of different teas based on their unique shapes.
For example, if Longjing tea contains coarse old stems, it indicates a problem with the raw material.
If the tea leaves have scorch marks or spots, or have deviated from their normal color, it suggests a processing issue.
If there are obvious signs of mold or a musty smell when dry, it indicates a storage problem, making the tea undrinkable.
Smelling Dry and Wet Aroma
Aroma can be divided into dry smelling and wet smelling: High-quality tea should lack grassy or strange odors when dry. After brewing, good tea has fresh, rich, and pure aroma without any odd smells.
Each infusion can be smelled for lid aroma, liquor aroma, and after the tea cools down, cup bottom aroma and leaf base aroma. Carefully distinguish the purity, intensity, duration, and type of aroma.
Purity refers to whether the aroma is pure and free from strange odors. Strange odors refer to smells other than the natural scent of the tea, such as smoky, scorched, stuffy, stale, or moldy smells.
Intensity refers to the aroma being high and noticeable or low and faint.
Duration refers to the persistence of the aroma, determined by infusing several times. If the aroma drops quickly, it lacks endurance. If it remains strong after multiple infusions, it has good endurance and is resistant to over-infusion.
Type is determined by origin, raw materials, cultivar, processing method, and region, each tea having its unique flavor profile.
Inquiry for Information
When selecting tea, consider the authentic origin and corresponding variety. For example, Longjing tea produced in “Shifeng, Longjing Village, Wuyun Mountain, Hupao, and Meijiawu” in the West Lake District is recognized as traditionally core production area. It's also helpful to know the origins of famous teas.
West Lake Longjing – West Lake District, Zhejiang;
Biluochun – Dongting Mountain, Taihu Lake, Wuxian County, Jiangsu;
Xinyang Maojian – Cheyun Mountain, Xinyang, Henan;
Junshan Yinzhen – Junshan Island, Yueyang, Hunan;
Huangshan Maofeng – Huangshan, Anhui;
Wuyi Rock Tea – Wuyi Mountain, Fujian;
Zhengshan Xiaozhong – Tongmuguan, Wuyi Mountain, Fujian;
Qimen Hongcha – Qimen, Anhui;
Duyun Maojian – Duyun, Guizhou;
Tieguanyin – Anxi, Fujian;
Liuan Guapian – Qiyun Mountain, Lu'an, Jinzhai, Anhui.
Tasting for Flavor and Observing the Leaf Base
When tasting tea, note the presence of strange flavors, freshness, strength, coarseness, thickness, complexity, and aftertaste. Also, compare the concentration, tenderness, oily feel, and aftertaste between infusions to determine if the tea is resistant to over-infusion.
Strange flavors mainly refer to musty, scorched, and grassy tastes due to poor wok-frying or rolling.
Freshness refers to the fresh and refreshing mouthfeel, related to raw materials and storage conditions.
Strength, also called stimulation, reflects the concentration of substances in the tea soup.
Coarseness refers to whether the mouthfeel is rough or smooth.
Thickness refers to the viscosity of the tea soup; thin tea feels bland and watery.
Complexity refers to the changes in taste experienced while sipping.
Aftertaste refers to the sweet return after bitterness, a characteristic of good tea where bitterness dissipates quickly, followed by a rapid sweet aftertaste.
While tasting, also observe the leaf base. A complete, soft, thick, and fresh appearance with visible buds is desirable, while thin, hard, and dark-colored leaf bases indicate lower quality.
Tea Liquor Color
Is also an important factor in tea quality.
Regardless of whether the tea liquor is red, green,