【Nine Indicators】
Five Aspects of Appearance: Integrity and brokenness, color, tenderness, shape, and purity;
Four Aspects of Internal Quality: Liquor color, aroma, taste, and infused leaf.
Selecting tea is no easy task. To obtain good tea, one needs to master a great deal of knowledge, such as the grading standards for various types of tea, their prices and market conditions, as well as the methods for tasting and inspecting tea. The quality of tea is mainly judged from four aspects: color, aroma, taste, and form. However, for the average tea drinker, when purchasing tea, one can generally only observe the appearance and color of the dry leaves, and smell their dry fragrance, making it even more difficult to judge the quality of the tea. Here, we will briefly introduce the methods for inspecting dry tea. The appearance of dry tea is mainly judged from five aspects: tenderness, shape, color, integrity and brokenness, and purity.
1. Tenderness
Tenderness is the fundamental factor determining quality. The saying "dry appearance, wet leaf base" refers to tenderness. Generally, tea with good tenderness easily meets the appearance requirements for its category (such as Longjing's "smooth, flat, even, and straight"). Furthermore, one can also judge from the presence of "sharp tips" (fengmiao) on the tea leaves. Good sharp tips with visible white down indicate good tenderness and good processing. If the raw material is of poor tenderness, even with excellent processing, the tea leaves will lack sharp tips and white down. However, one cannot judge tenderness solely by the amount of down, as the specific requirements vary for different teas. For instance, the finest Shifeng Longjing has no down on its surface. Moreover, down can be easily faked, as much of it is artificially added. Judging the tenderness of buds and leaves by the amount of down is only suitable for "downy" teas like Mao Feng, Mao Jian, and Yin Zhen. It should be mentioned that even the freshest leaves should be a bud with one first leaf, and the practice of picking only the bud is inappropriate. This is because the bud is an underdeveloped part with incomplete chemical composition, especially a low content of chlorophyll. Therefore, one should not use only buds to make tea simply in pursuit of tenderness.
2. Shape
Shape refers to the specific form that each type of tea possesses, such as条形 for roasted green, 圆形 for pearl tea, 扁形 for Longjing, and 颗粒形 for broken black tea. For long-shaped teas, one looks at the looseness or tightness, curvature, fullness or thinness, roundness or flatness, and weight. For round teas, one looks at the looseness or tightness, uniformity, weight, and whether the grains are hollow or solid. For flat teas, one looks at the smoothness and flatness and whether they meet the specifications. Generally, a tight shape, heavy body, round (except for flat teas), and straightness indicate tender raw material, good processing, and high quality. If the appearance is loose, flat (except for flat teas), and broken, and has a smoky or burnt taste, it indicates old raw material, poor processing, and inferior quality. Taking the standards for green tea shape in the Hangzhou area as an example: Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6: Fine and tight with sharp tips, Tight and fine with some sharp tips, Fairly tight and solid, Fairly tight, Slightly loose, Coarse and loose. It is evident that tightness, solidity, and sharp tips are considered superior.
3. Color
The color of tea is closely related to the tenderness of the raw material and the processing technology. Each type of tea has specific color requirements, such as black tea being black, oily, and lustrous; green tea being emerald green; Oolong tea being bluish-brown; and dark tea being black and oily. However, regardless of the tea type, good tea requires a uniform color, a bright luster, and an oily, vibrant appearance. If the color is inconsistent, with varying shades, and is dull and lifeless, it indicates mixed raw material tenderness, poor processing, and inferior quality.
The color of tea is also greatly related to its place of origin and the season of harvest. For example, high-mountain green tea has a greenish-yellow tint, vibrant and bright, while low-mountain or plain-land tea is a deep green with a sheen. Improper techniques during processing can also often lead to a deterioration in color. When purchasing tea, one should judge based on the specific type of tea being bought. For instance, the finest Shifeng Longjing's pre-Qingming tea is not emerald green but has a natural unpolished rice color, appearing tender yellow. This is a major characteristic of Shifeng Longjing, distinguishing it from other Longjings in color. Because Shifeng Longjing commands an extremely high price, tea farmers may produce tea with this color to pass it off as the real thing. The method is to slightly over-roast the tea during processing, causing the leaves to turn yellow. The difference between the real and fake is that the real Shifeng is uniform, smooth, and clean, with a light yellow and tender green color, and its tea fragrance has a fresh scent; the fake Shifeng has loose, hollow grains, a rough texture, a yellowish hue, and a tea fragrance that smells like roasted soybeans. Without multiple comparisons, it is quite difficult to tell them apart. However, once brewed, the difference becomes very obvious. The over-roasted fake Shifeng completely lacks the rich, fresh, and mellow aroma that real Longjing should have.
4. Integrity and Brokenness
Integrity and brokenness refer to the shape and degree of breakage of the tea leaves, with uniformity being good and breakage being inferior. In a standard tea tasting evaluation, the tea leaves are placed in a tray (usually wooden), and under the force of rotation, they form ordered layers based on their size, weight, thickness, and degree of breakage. The coarsest leaves are on the top layer, the tight, fine, and heavy leaves are concentrated in the middle layer, and the broken, small leaves settle at the bottom. For all tea types, a higher proportion of middle-layer tea is better. The top layer generally contains more coarse, old leaves, resulting in a milder taste and lighter liquor color; the bottom layer, with more broken tea, often produces a too-strong taste and a darker liquor color after brewing.
The quality of tea, in the absence of scientific instruments and methods for identification, can be evaluated based on four aspects: color, aroma, taste, and form. To assess the quality of tea using these four aspects, one typically uses the methods of looking, smelling, touching, and tasting. That is, observing the appearance and color, smelling the aroma, feeling the body, and brewing to taste.
① Color — Different types of tea have different color characteristics. For green tea, roasted green should be yellow-green, baked green should be dark green, and steamed green should be emerald green; Longjing should be fresh green with a slight yellowish tint. If the color of green tea is dull or dark brown, its quality is definitely poor. The liquor of green tea should be light green or yellow-green, clear and bright; if it is dark yellow or turbid, it is certainly not good tea. Black tea should be black, oily, and lustrous, with a bright, red liquor. Some high-grade Congou black tea may form a yellow, oily ring around the edge of the cup, commonly known as the "golden rim"; if the liquor is dark, dull, or turbid, it is certainly an inferior black tea. For Oolong tea, a bluish-brown, lustrous color is desirable.
② Aroma — Each type of tea has its own characteristic aroma. For example, green tea has a fresh aroma, with high-grade green tea also having orchid or chestnut-like fragrances; black tea has a fresh and sweet or floral aroma; Oolong tea has a ripe peach-like aroma. If the aroma is low and subdued, it is definitely an inferior tea. A stale aroma indicates old tea, and a musty or other strange aroma indicates spoiled tea. Even Kuding tea has a natural fragrance when smelled. Scented tea is even more appealing to tea drinkers with its strong fragrance.
③ Taste — Also known as the flavor of the tea, the taste itself is composed of various components such as bitterness, astringency, sweetness, freshness, and sourness. When these components are in proper proportion, the taste is mellow and delicious. At the same time, different types of tea have different tastes. High-grade green tea may have a bitter and astringent initial taste, but the aftertaste is rich and mellow, making the mouth water. Coarse, old, and inferior tea is bland, or even astringent and numbing to the tongue. High-grade black tea has a rich, strong, and fresh taste; low-grade black tea is bland and tasteless. Kuding tea is very bitter upon entry, but leaves a sweet aftertaste.
④ Appearance — The quality of tea can be judged from its appearance, as the quality of the tea is directly related to the fresh leaves picked and the processing, both of which are reflected in the tea's appearance. For example, good Longjing tea is smooth, flat, and straight, shaped like a bowl nail; good pearl tea has round, tight, and uniform grains; good Congou black tea has tight and neat strips; good broken black tea has uniform and consistent particles; good Mao Feng tea has abundant down and exposed sharp tips. If the strips are loose, the grains are puffy, the leaf surface is rough, and the body is light, it cannot be considered good tea.