Pre-Qingming Tea is harvested before the Qingming Festival and is less prone to insect infestations. Its buds are delicate, with a fresh green color, subtle aroma, mellow taste, and beautiful form, making it a premium tea. How can one identify pre-Qingming tea? Before brewing, observe the appearance and color of the tea leaves and savor its aroma and taste.

How to Identify Pre-Qingming Tea

Method 1: Carefully Observe the Color of the Tea.

Genuine pre-Qingming tea, new tea, and Spring Tea generally have a predominantly fresh green color. This is because pre-Qingming tea is made from tea shoots which are the most tender part of the tea plant, having just reached maturity. The shoots contain high levels of chlorophyll, giving them a naturally fresh and vibrant green hue.

If the tea is from last year or older, after a year or more of exposure to air, oxidation will be evident. A closer look at such aged teas reveals a dull, “rusty” appearance.

Most green teas can be judged as new or old by carefully observing their color.

Method 2: Gently Smell the Aroma of the Tea.

Pre-Qingming Green Tea, new tea, and spring tea, having been freshly picked, retain a high level of amino acids, polyphenols, and other aromatic compounds. As such, the aroma is rich and full-bodied. Taking a small amount of new tea and gently sniffing it reveals a fresh and concentrated scent reminiscent of the pure, fresh air after rain, without any off-flavors, and with a soft and enchanting aroma.

Aged teas, having undergone a year's worth of storage and oxidation, lose much of their aromatic compounds over time. Their aroma becomes faint and may be accompanied by off-flavors.

New pre-Qingming tea has a pure, subtle, natural aroma without any off-flavors. Aged teas have a stale, “old grass” scent. Smelling the aroma is one of the most practical ways to distinguish between new and aged teas.

Method 3: Slowly Savor the Color of the Infused Tea.

Some tea enthusiasts might say that the color of the tea can be enhanced with food coloring and its aroma with fragrance additives?

If you find the tea's color attractive and its aroma strong but still cannot determine whether it is new or old, there's one final method: Brew and taste the tea.

No matter how sophisticated the counterfeiting, while the appearance of the tea can be altered, the intrinsic substances within cannot, much like a person's DNA which remains unchanged since the tea shoot's emergence.

Pre-Qingming tea, freshly picked, contains high levels of polyphenols and aromatic compounds with relatively low Caffeine content. When brewed, the tea yields a thick, refreshing infusion with only a slight astringency.

Aged teas, after being stored for a year or even two to three years, become stale. Much of their aroma and nutritional value evaporates, and the increased caffeine content results in a bitter and astringent brew with a dull taste and a numbing sensation on the palate, easily distinguishable upon tasting.