Take a look at the color:
The color of new tea is generally fresher and more pleasing to the eye, either light green or dark green. Green tea is better for its emerald green color and freshness and vitality; fried green tea is gray-green in color and slightly shiny. The color of some tea leaves is withered, dark and brown, indicating that the inner substance of the tea leaves has been oxidized to varying degrees. This kind of tea is often old tea; if there are obvious focuses or bubble spots (black or deep sauce-colored spots) on the tea leaves or the edges of the leaves are Burnt edges mean it is not good and it is not good tea; if the tea leaves are mixed in color and have a large contrast in color, it means there are yellow flakes in the tea leaves, old leaves or even old tea, and such tea cannot be said to be good tea.
Second appearance:
Various tea leaves have specific appearance characteristics, some are like silver needles, some are like melon seed slices, some are like round beads, and some are like Bird's tongue, some leaves are loose and foamy, and some leaves are tightly knotted. The leaves of fried green tea are tightly knotted and straight. Famous teas have their own unique shapes. For example, the shape of Wuzi Xianhao is "slightly flat and straight." Generally speaking, the appearance of new tea: those with bright strands and uniform size, thickness and length are considered top grade; those with dull strands, uneven appearance, and even tea stems and seeds are considered low grade. The ones that are thin and solid, have many bud heads, and have sharp edges are high in tenderness; the ones that are thick and loose, have many old leaves, and have fat swollen leaves are low in tenderness. Flat-shaped teas are better when they are flat and smooth, followed by thick, dry, and short ones; bar-shaped teas are better when they are tight, thin, round, straight, and even, rough, twisted, and short; granular teas are better when they are thick, dry, and short. The ones that are complete and firm are the best, and the ones that are loose and lumpy are the second best.
Three smells:
New tea generally has a new tea aroma. Good new tea, the tea aroma is particularly obvious. For example, new green tea has a pleasant and refreshing aroma, and its aroma can be divided into light aroma, strong aroma, and sweet aroma. The higher the quality of the tea, the richer and more tangy the aroma will be. When chewing or brewing, green tea has a sweet aroma. If you can't smell the tea aroma or smell a green, old, or burnt aroma, it is not a good new tea. If it is old tea, the aroma will be weak or have an old smell.
The fourth taste of tea:
The tea soup is sweet and fresh after the entrance, rich and refreshing, and the one with a sweet taste in the mouth is the best; usually take a small amount of samples to brew and observe, good green tea, The color of the soup is green and clear. The tea leaves are astringent at first, then strong and sweet, with a chestnut aroma.
Five pinches of dryness and wetness:
Pinch the tea leaves with your fingers to determine the dryness and wetness of the new tea. For new tea to be durable in storage, it must be sufficiently dry. Damp tea leaves have a high water content, which will not only seriously affect the color, aroma, and taste of the tea, but are also prone to mold and deterioration. To judge that the new tea is not dry enough, you can take one or two tea leaves and pinch them slightly with your thumb and index finger. Tea leaves that can be kneaded into powder are dry enough and can be purchased; if they are not kneaded into powder, it means that the tea has been damp and has a low water content. High, this new tea is easy to spoil and should not be purchased. At the same time, to avoid shoddy products, we would like to introduce the characteristics of several famous and high-quality teas for reference when purchasing new teas. Wuzi Xianhao: The shape is slightly flat and straight, like an orchid petal, the color is emerald green, the fragrance is tender and long-lasting, and it is easy to brew In the soup, the buds grow into flowers, standing upright in the cup, criss-crossing each other, the clear soup is blue liquid, and the aftertaste is fragrant. Wuzi Green Tea: The appearance is tight, thin, heavy, even, with front sprouts, green color, tender and fresh aroma, high and long-lasting chestnut aroma, mellow taste, bright green soup color, and bright green leaves at the bottom.
The purchase of tea
The appearance of dry tea is mainly judged from five aspects, namely tenderness, cord, color, wholeness and clarity.
1. Tenderness
Tenderness is the basic factor that determines quality. The so-called "look at the shape when dry and the bottom of the leaf when wet" refers to tenderness. Generally, tea leaves with good tenderness can easily meet the appearance requirements of the tea type (such as "light, flat, flat, straight" in Longjing). In addition, it can also be identified based on the presence or absence of front seedlings in the tea leaves. The front shoots are good and the pekoe is exposed, which means the tenderness is good and the workmanship is good. If the tenderness of the raw materials is poor, no matter how good the workmanship is, the tea sticks will not have front sprouts and pekoe. However, the tenderness cannot be judged only by the amount of hair, because the specific requirements of various teas are different. For example, the excellent Shifeng Longjing has no hair on the body surface. Furthermore, the hair is easy to fake, and many are artificially made. The tenderness of buds and leaves is judged based on the number of hairs, which is only suitable for "fluffy" teas such as Maofeng, Maojian, and Yinzhen.
What needs to be mentioned here is that the most tender leaves must have one bud and one leaf in full bloom. It is inappropriate to pick the heart of the bud one-sidedly. Because the bud core is an imperfectly grown part, it contains incomplete ingredients, especially the chlorophyll content is very low. Therefore, tea should not be made from the heart of the bud simply for the sake of tenderness.
2. Strips
Strips are certain shape specifications of various types of tea, such as fried green strips, pearl tea round, Longjing flat, black broken tea granules, etc. wait. Generally, for long-shaped tea, look at the elasticity, straightness, strength, thinness, roundness and weight; for round tea, look for the tightness, uniformity, weight and emptyness of the particles; for flat tea, look at the smoothness and whether it meets the specifications. Generally speaking, if the rope is tight, the body is heavy, round (except for flat tea) and straight, it means the raw materials are tender, the workmanship is good, and the quality is high; if the shape is loose, flat (except for flat tea), broken, and there is smoke and burnt The smell indicates old raw materials, poor workmanship and poor quality.
Take the green tea cord standard in Hangzhou as an example: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Fine and Tight, There are front seedlings, Tight and Thin, The front seedlings are still tight, Still tight, Slightly loose and loose
< p> It can be seen that tightness, solidity, and front seedlings are the best.3. Color
The color of tea is closely related to the tenderness of raw materials and processing technology.
All kinds of tea have certain color requirements, such as black tea and oily black, green tea and emerald green, oolong tea and black tea, etc. However, no matter what kind of tea, good tea requires consistent color, bright luster, oil and freshness. If the color is different, different shades, dark and dull, it means that the raw materials are old and tender, poor workmanship and poor quality.
The color of tea leaves is also closely related to the origin and season of the tea tree. For example, high mountain green tea has a green and slightly yellow color, fresh and bright; low mountain tea or flat tea has a dark green and shiny color.
In the process of making tea, the color often deteriorates due to improper techniques.
When purchasing tea, you should make a judgment based on the specific type of tea purchased. For example, in Longjing, the best Shifeng Longjing, the Mingqian tea is not emerald green, but has a natural brown beige color, which is bright yellow. This is a major feature of Shifeng Longjing, which is obviously different from other Longjings in color. Because the price of Shifeng Longjing is so high, tea farmers will create this color to pass it off as Shifeng Longjing. The method is to slightly over-fry the tea leaves during the frying process to cause the leaves to turn yellow. The difference between real and fake ones is that the real Shifeng is well-proportioned and smooth, light yellow and tender green, with a fragrance of tea; the fake one is pine and hollow, rough, yellowish, with the fragrance of tea and roasted soybeans. It’s really not easy to tell without multiple comparisons. But once brewed, the difference is very obvious. The over-cooked fake Shifeng does not have the rich and tender fragrance that Longjing should have.
4. Whole and broken
Whole and broken refers to the shape and degree of brokenness of the tea leaves. It is better to be even and broken.
The more standard tea evaluation is to place the tea leaves on a plate (usually wooden), so that under the action of rotating force, the tea leaves will form an orderly pattern according to the shape, size, weight, thickness and fineness. Layering. Among them, the thick ones are in the uppermost layer, the compact and heavy ones are concentrated in the middle layer, and the broken and fine ones are deposited in the bottom layer. For all types of tea, it is better to have more tea in the middle layer. The upper layer generally has more thick and old leaves, with a lighter flavor and lighter water color; the lower layer has more broken tea, and the flavor is often too strong and the soup color is darker after brewing.
5. Clarity
It mainly depends on whether the tea leaves are mixed with tea flakes, tea stems, tea powder, tea seeds, and bamboo chips, wood chips, lime, and mud mixed in during the production process. The amount of sand and other inclusions. Tea with good clarity does not contain any inclusions.
In addition, it can also be identified by the dry aroma of tea. No matter what kind of tea, there should be no peculiar smell. Each type of tea has a specific aroma, and the dry aroma and wet aroma are also different, which need to be determined according to the specific situation. Green aroma, smoky aroma, and cooked and stuffy aroma are all undesirable.