Regarding Pu'er tea, many friends think that the water is deep, especially those who have just entered the door of Pu'er tea. They are confused. One mountain tastes the same, and the older it gets, the more fragrant it becomes. In addition, seeing many tea products with different prices on the market, it is even more confusing. Knowing how to start, buying tea depends on Meng. What are the characteristics of a high-quality Pu'er tea in terms of color, aroma, taste and shape?
Five basic factors for judging the quality of Pu'er tea
1. Appearance of dry tea:
Pressed tea The ropes are moderately tight and well-proportioned; the color is smooth and moist; Ripe Pu'er tea has a reddish-brown, oily and shiny color, showing Jinhao; Pu'er raw tea black and shiny.
2. Aroma: Feel the purity of the tea aroma and the persistence of the tea aroma
The aroma of a standard Pu'er tea must be pure, without unpleasant smells such as peculiar smell, miscellaneous smell, or even deteriorated musty smell. .
Pu'er tea has the characteristic of getting more fragrant as it ages. Its aroma is formed by the action of microorganisms and enzymes during the fermentation process of tea. It is a light-flavored, fruity-flavored aroma formed by the coordination of many aroma substances, and the aroma will last. increase. We will feel sweet, lotus, floral, honey , nutty, old fragrance and other pure and long-lasting aromas that make people feel comfortable and happy. If a tea has an unpleasant, foreign and mixed smell, it means there is something wrong with the tea.
3. Soup color: The soup color of Pu'er tea should be bright
The soup color of a quality-guaranteed Pu'er tea should be bright or translucent. Generally speaking, Pu'er tea that has been stored for a longer time will have better transparency. For example: the soup color of Pu'er raw tea is yellow and bright, if it is an old raw tea that has been stored for many years, the soup color will be crystal clear red soup, etc.;
The soup color of Pu'er ripe tea will be bright red, cooked tea in the new tea period There will be some turbidity. The reason is that during the fermentation process of cooked tea, microorganisms will decompose the protein and fiber in the bottom of the leaves, producing a large number of protein particles and small segments of fiber. There are still many proteins and fibers that are not soluble in water. Degree. Therefore, they will continue to be decomposed into water-soluble substances, and the color of the soup will gradually turn red and bright after storage. On the other hand, if the tea soup of cooked tea that has been stored for more than one year is turbid, it is a different matter.
If the same type of tea is brewed comparatively, if one of them is turbid and has a lot of sediment, it means that there is a problem in some aspects of the raw materials, technology, and storage of the tea.
4. Taste: mellow, smooth, and sweet aftertaste
During the process of drinking tea, do not rush to swallow, drink slowly in small sips, and stay appropriately to feel the taste of the tea soup. Mainly feel the mellow, mellow, smooth, and sweet aftertaste. The mellow instant tea soup has a refreshing taste with sweetness and less irritation;
Smooth means refreshing and slippery, bringing a particularly comfortable feeling to the mouth and throat; smoothness is the taste requirement of an excellent high-quality Pu'er tea;
After swallowing the tea soup, the sweetness should obviously come back, rather than being bitter.
5. Bottom of the leaves: color, uniformity, texture
The bottom of the leaves has good gloss, well-proportioned cords, soft and tough texture when touched and kneaded, and high activity. The base color of ripe Pu'er tea leaves is reddish-brown, oily and shiny; the base color of raw Pu'er tea leaves is yellow-green and tough. If the color of the bottom of the leaves is: black, charred, unevenly mixed, prickly to the touch or rotten like mud when touched and kneaded, or the bottom of the leaves cannot be brewed, the quality of the tea is poor.
The five standards summarized above are the quality standards for high-quality Pu'er tea. Generally speaking, the quality standards of tea are mainly evaluated through the appearance and inner quality of the tea. To choose a delicious tea, you must drink more, compare more, and feel more.
