Everyone wants to buy good tea, but what is good tea? The so-called “tea has thousands of flavors, and the taste is precious” all expert opinions are just a reference; you must know that the tea that really suits you is the excellent tea.

What is the first criterion for buying tea?

The quality of tea leaves ultimately depends on the mouth to test, so buy tea that suits your own taste. It can be said that good taste is the premise and the first criterion for buying tea.

First of all, we must determine the type of tea we buy, and then judge the quality of the tea from the four aspects of color, aroma, taste, and shape, and choose the tea that suits us. But many people do not have the expertise to evaluate teas, and generally speaking, good teas are usually refreshing, not bitter, and have a long-lasting aroma. Choosing tea leaves is not that difficult with such simple criteria for buying tea.

Are more expensive teas better?

The quality of tea is not necessarily related to the price. In general, the more expensive the tea, the higher the quality and grade for the same kind of tea. Tea prices are generally affected by market supply and demand every year. In addition, artificial commercial speculation, costs, and other factors will also affect the price of tea. Therefore, we cannot judge the quality of tea-based solely on its merit of tea.

Must new tea be better than old tea?

New tea is relative to old tea. Usually, we call the tea fresh tea in that year, and the tea is not selected in the same year as old tea.

In most cases, the quality of new tea is better than that of old tea, especially green tea; but for some teas, the quality of old tea is better than that of fresh tea, such as Pu’er tea Wuyi rock tea, etc. mellow. Therefore, we cannot directly judge the quality of tea based on the terms of new tea and old tea. The comparison between fresh and old tea depends on which kind of tea is aimed at.

How do you distinguish new tea from old tea?

We can distinguish between new and old tea from five aspects: color, tea soup, aroma, taste, and leaf base.

Is spring tea better than autumn and summer tea?

Generally speaking, spring tea has a fresh, refreshing taste and a mellow aroma; summer tea is bitter and astringent. The smell is not as strong as spring tea; autumn tea is between spring tea and summer tea, and its taste and aroma are relatively peaceful.

For green tea, the quality of spring tea tends to be the best of the year. The best way to drink spring tea is green tea, which is delicious, fragrant, nutritious, and good health care effect. Drinking summer tea is based on black tea, ruddy in color and strong in taste. Therefore, the quality of spring, summer, and autumn tea has its own merits, and it is difficult to distinguish the pros and cons.

How do you distinguish spring tea, summer tea, and autumn tea?

How do you identify shoddy tea leaves?

Inferior tea is often manifested as:

• Green tea has red stems and red leaves.
• Black tea leaves are partly green.
• The color of the tea leaves is unnatural.
• There is a smoke smell, burnt smell, musty smell, or other peculiar smell.
• It contains debris.
• The tea soup is cloudy and unclear.

In addition, with shoddy tea leaves, the tea soup often tastes more bitter after brewing.

Do I need to buy brand-name tea?
The quality of branded tea is reliable, but the price is high. Compared with the loose tea, the price is more affordable, but the quality varies. For beginners, it is difficult to grasp the quality of tea, so it is more guaranteed to buy the quality of brand tea.
If you have the purchasing power, you can also choose a famous tea brand. People who know tea and drink tea often tend to pursue high-quality tea leaves, so they are more inclined to buy brand-name tea.

What certifications should I pay attention to when buying tea?
Tea belongs to a special kind of food, and the outer packaging must have the QS mark. Many brands of tea are protected by geographical indications. When buying branded tea, also pay attention to whether there are geographical indications on the outer packaging.
In addition, teas certified by relevant national food certification agencies may also have green food logos and organic food (tea) logos on the outer packaging.

Is it best to buy tea when it first comes on the market?
Freshly-launched teas, especially brand-name teas, tend to be very expensive and fluctuate. Most ordinary consumers can’t afford it, and they can wait for the tea to be on the market for some time and then buy it when the price stabilizes. For consumers who want to taste a new tea, try to buy it when it first comes on the market. After the tea has been on the market for some time, the tea leaves on the market are mixed, and it is difficult to distinguish the new tea from the old tea.

Need to shop around for tea?
For most consumers, it is difficult to identify the quality of tea. Therefore, when buying tea, try to shop around. There are more choices, and you can avoid buying inferior tea to a certain extent.

Why not be too superstitious about Mingqian tea?
Mingqian tea belongs to spring tea. Generally speaking, spring tea has the best quality. However, Mingqian tea is mainly for green tea in the Jiangnan tea area in my country, and there is no “Mingqian tea” for Tieguanyin, Dahongpao, Pu’er, etc. Generally speaking, the quality of Mingqian green tea is the best. Because many people are superstitious about Mingqian tea, some unscrupulous tea merchants often “sell dog meat with sheep’s heads” and sell low-grade tea leaves as Mingqian tea. If you blindly pursue Mingqian tea, you will likely buy fake Mingqian tea.

How to identify the tea leaves that you are not sure about?
To identify the inaccurate tea leaves, we must first understand the general characteristics of various types of tea.
Green tea is a non-fermented tea with a fresh taste, an unmistakable aroma, and a low degree of foam resistance. Black tea is a fully fermented tea with a warm and mellow taste, conspicuous flower and fruit fragrance, honey fragrance or unique longan fragrance, and rosin fragrance. Oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea with a mellow flavor, rich aroma, and good foam resistance. White tea tastes fresh, mellow, sweet, and has a pure scent. The taste of black tea is mellow and sweet, with a unique old fragrance. The taste of yellow tea is sweet and refreshing, and the aroma is pure.
After mastering such basic identification knowledge, it is effortless to identify the inaccurate tea leaves.

What are the “three essentials” for choosing tea?
The “three essentials” of tea selection are:
one look. That is to see the appearance and shape of the dry tea, the color of the tea soup, and the bottom of the leaves. Look at the color, texture, uniformity, tightness, and the presence or absence of refined grains of the dried tea, whether the tea soup is clear and bright, whether the bottom of the leaves is tender, even, and complete, and whether there are flowers, scorched spots, red tendons, or redness. Phenomena, etc.
Two, smell. Smell the aroma of dry tea to see if there is any odor. Smell the scent of the tea while it is still hot after brewing. There are different types of tea fragrances, such as sweet fragrance, fire fragrance, fresh fragrance, floral fragrance, chestnut fragrance, fruit fragrance, etc. After the temperature of the tea soup is lowered, smell the tea lid or the bottom of the cup to leave the scent.
Three products. The taste of instant tea soup. The tea taste is intense, fresh, sweet, mellow, bitter, light, or jerky.

It is said that the first thing to look at when buying tea is what should I look at?
When buying tea, the main thing to look at is the shape of the tea.
See if the tea leaves dry well. Look at the shape and color of the tea leaves. Tea leaves with neat and uniform conditions, and the color is better. If the content of tea stems, tea corners, and tea powders in tea leaves is high, most of them will affect the quality of tea soup, and less is better.

Do I have to drink tea samples before buying?
The quality of tea leaves is finally judged by tasting. Tea shops usually have samples of tea that customers can brew for free. Therefore, before buying tea, we must taste the taste and taste of tea samples.
When tasting, you can first contain a small amount of tea soup and taste it with your tongue to distinguish whether it is glycolic or sweet, mellow or peaceful, fresh or bitter. When tasting the taste of tea soup, we should make full use of the sense organs of the tongue, primarily the middle and base of the language, to feel the taste of tea.

What kind of tea soup is a good tea soup?
Different types of tea have different color and taste characteristics, but good tea soups are bright and transparent. For example, the tea soup of high-quality green tea should be light green or yellow-green, clear and bright, with a fresh taste, strong aftertaste, and mouth-watering; The tea soup of the oolong tea should be golden brown and smooth, with a mellow flavor and a strong aroma.

What are the ways to smell tea?
There are three ways to smell the fragrance: dry smell, the other is hot smell, and the third is the cold smell.
Dry smell refers to smelling the aroma of dry tea carefully to identify whether there are stale, musty, or other odors absorbed.
Hot smell refers to smelling the aroma of tea while it is hot after opening. Good quality tea has a pure and refreshing scent. It is not a good tea if it has a weak aroma, no aroma, or even a peculiar smell.

How to tell if tea leaves are dry?
Pinch lightly with your fingers to see if the tea leaves are dry. If the tea leaves are broken, the tea leaves are well dried. If they are not easily broken when squeezed hard, the tea leaves have been softened by moisture, and the quality of the tea leaves will be affected.

How do people who have no experience in buying tea simply choose tea?
People who have no experience buying tea can try a simple and easy method – the one-brew process. Methods as below:
Take an appropriate amount of tea leaves, brew with hot water, and taste the tea soup after 5 to 10 minutes to see if it suits your taste.
Take a spoon and see the color of the soup. If it is cloudy, it means that the stir-fried green tea is insufficient; if it is thin, the tea leaves are tender and fermented insufficiently. If the leaves are browned and broken, it is overcooked. Good tea soup, bright and thick in color.
Smell the tea soup, good tea. Even if the tea soup cools, the aroma remains. When brewing useless leaves, more water, and prolonged soaking, the advantages and disadvantages of tea leaves will be fully presented.

What are the ultimate requirements for buying tea?
The ultimate requirements for buying tea are manifested in two aspects:
One is to suit your own taste. The quality of tea is not determined by personal evaluation, but the tea that suits you is what you need. People with weak tastes buy West Lake Longjing tea to drink, and naturally, they will not be used to its freshness and mellowness.
The second is to suit your body constitution. It is essential to choose the tea that suits your body constitution. Green tea is cold in nature and is more suitable for people with a hot figure and a strong stomach. Oolong tea is gentle on the heart, and people with bloated bellies and indigestion can drink more. Black tea is warm in nature and suitable for people with cold bodies and weak bodies.