Tea enthusiasts often ask how to select good ripe pu'er tea. Today, we will share some tips on choosing high-quality ripe pu'er tea. Evaluating both the appearance and the intrinsic quality is essential as they directly reflect issues with the raw materials, processing, and storage. For ordinary tea enthusiasts, these factors are relatively easy to assess. Starting with an evaluation of the appearance and then moving on to assessing the intrinsic qualities is a practical approach.

How to Determine the Quality of Ripe Pu'er Tea

First, examine the integrity and vitality of the dry leaves and the infused leaves. High integrity and vitality indicate good quality, while broken or decayed leaves suggest poor quality. Infused leaves that are black and hard or yellow-green are not desirable.

Second, observe the clarity and color of the liquor. The liquor should be bright red; dull, dark, or unclear liquors are not ideal.

Third, taste the liquor. Aroma, Sweetness, and smoothness in the liquor are good signs, whereas off-flavors, sourness, or fermentation odors (also known as pile flavor) within a few years of fermentation are not favorable. Lightly fermented teas may still have a fermentation odor after three years, which can be considered normal.

Fourth, consider the aftertaste. Sweetness and smoothness in the mouth and throat after drinking indicate good quality, while dryness, astringency, sore throat, or bitterness in the mouth and throat are not desirable.

Four Tips for Easily Mastering the Method to Distinguish Good from Bad Ripe Pu'er Tea

1. Appearance

High-quality ripe pu'er tea typically has prominent golden tips, tightly bound and solid leaves, and a lustrous brown-red color. If the color is dark or mixed with greenish or withered leaves, it indicates poor processing or improper storage, suggesting low-quality ripe tea.

In compressed ripe pu'er tea, using cake tea as an example, look for clear and uniform leaves, intact edges, consistent thickness, moderate compression, and neatly bound leaves. Normal colors include dark brown, chestnut brown, or reddish-brown. Moldy flowers or spots on the surface indicate inferior quality.

2. Liquor Color

Ripe pu'er tea should produce a bright, deep red liquor. Yellow, orange-yellow, or dark and murky liquors indicate inferior quality. Orange-yellow or dark liquors usually result from poor control of the fermentation process, either insufficient or excessive fermentation.

3. Aroma

A characteristic of ripe pu'er tea is its aged aroma and “pile flavor.” The aged aroma is the foundational scent of ripe pu'er tea, while “pile flavor” is produced by the heap fermentation technique used in its production, which is unavoidable.

However, the “pile flavor” can be reduced or minimized, and after two to three years of aging, it will fade. High-quality ripe pu'er tea can develop fragrances such as camphor, medicinal, jujube, and aged aromas, which are pleasant due to good raw materials and processing techniques.

4. Taste

High-quality ripe pu'er tea has rich, smooth, soothing, and sweet liquor. Conversely, low-quality ripe pu'er tea has bland liquor with low smoothness, which may even produce a “numbing” sensation, causing discomfort in the mouth during consumption. After fermentation, the infused leaves of ripe pu'er tea turn brown or reddish-brown. Good ripe pu'er tea has fewer broken leaves and no foreign objects. Low-quality ripe pu'er tea has incomplete infused leaves that may contain impurities.

After fermentation, the infused leaves of ripe pu'er tea may be somewhat fragmented, so when evaluating the quality of ripe pu'er tea based on the infused leaves, focus primarily on whether there are any foreign objects present.

The above methods for assessing ripe pu'er tea generally apply, but they are not absolute. Sometimes, a ripe pu'er tea may appear unremarkable or even unappealing, but its taste can be truly captivating. Therefore, we should comprehensively evaluate the quality of a tea rather than making judgments based solely on one or a few aspects.