What methods are there for identifying the quality of jasmine tea

Jasmine tea is a natural beverage for people to drink, so it should be identified mainly by its internal qualities, while also examining its appearance (external form).

1. Appearance: evaluated by strip shape, color and evenness.

① Strip shape (called "modeling" for famous fine teas): it should be tightly rolled and sturdy. Famous teas have their own unique requirements, such as Longjing tea (Dragon Well tea), which requires flat, even and straight leaves; Biluochun, which requires curled and tender leaves, and so on. But generally speaking, spring tea usually has tightly rolled and heavy strips, while summer and autumn tea is lighter and thinner or coarse and loose. High-grade tea requires many buds with abundant downy tips, and they should be plump and strong.

② Color: jasmine tea is made from green tea as the raw material, and generally the color should preferably be tender green, yellow-green and glossy; summer and autumn tea is rather dull green and lacks oiliness, autumn tea is somewhat better, and old tea is grayish and dim.

③ Evenness: clean and even is best, and special attention should be paid to checking for non-tea inclusions, such as insects, iron nails and the like, which must not be mixed in.

2. Internal qualities: internal qualities are the main factor in the quality of jasmine tea, identified by aroma, taste, liquor color and brewed leaf base, and mainly determined by aroma and taste.

① Aroma: judged from the three factors of freshness, strength and purity. High-quality jasmine tea has an aroma that is fresh, strong and pure at the same time, and the three are both distinct from one another and interrelated.

a. Freshness: refers to the degree of lively freshness of the aroma. When evaluating a cup of jasmine tea, smell the aroma - what is the first impression of its freshness? In plain terms, is the aroma fresh? High-grade jasmine tea requires "lively freshness," which means the aroma is extremely keenly expressed, that is, "sensed on the first sniff," which is a higher expression of freshness. Lack of freshness and stale flavor are characteristic of low-grade jasmine tea or old tea.

b. Strength: refers to how well jasmine tea withstands repeated brewing. One with a lasting aroma and good staying power is a jasmine tea of good strength; on the contrary, if the aroma is thin and not lasting, with aroma in the first infusion but none detectable by the second, then the strength is poor. Generally, the strength of low-grade jasmine tea is always inferior to that of high-grade jasmine tea.

c. Purity: refers to the purity of the floral and tea aromas. For example, jasmine tea must not "reveal orchid" or the aroma of other flowers, and the tea aroma must not have a smoky, burnt or other off-flavor.

② Taste: mainly evaluate strength and fresh purity. When tasting jasmine tea, a pure, strong and mellow taste is best. Under normal circumstances, taste and aroma are generally related. Fresh aroma means a brisk taste; strong aroma means a mellow taste; pure aroma means a delicate taste; if the aroma is found to be abnormal, the taste should be carefully identified as well.

③ Liquor color: yellow-green, clear and bright is best; yellow and dim or tinged with red is inferior.

④ Brewed leaf base: tender green, yellow-green, even and bright is best; coarse and spread out, insufficiently even, dark in color or with red leaves is inferior.

When customers select and buy jasmine tea, as stated above, they should first see whether the appearance meets our requirements (strip shape, color and evenness); in addition, they can also smell the dry aroma - freshness and purity can generally be smelled out, and experienced people can also smell out the strength; then it is best to brew a cup and taste the aroma and flavor. When you can taste a fresh, brisk, strong and mellow jasmine tea flavor, and then see that the tea liquor is yellow-green and bright, it is certainly a jasmine tea of good quality, and you can buy it with confidence.