Facing a wide variety of Tea products, it's not easy to pick a good one. Often, there is a price but no corresponding quality. So, what should the taste of a good aged Pu'er be like?

 A good new aged Pu'er typically has a smooth and sweet aroma when tasted, with a slight bitterness and astringency. The mature aroma dissipates easily. It has a mild nature that isn't cold, a viscous and warm mouthfeel, and a sweet aftertaste. Teas with such characteristics are not only suitable for drinking but also have great collection value.
 Inspect the appearance: After compression, a common practice for aged Pu'er is to lay a layer of 3~4-grade tea leaves on the surface, known as “sprinkling.” One cannot judge the quality of the tea just by looking at its surface; it must be opened up. Observe if the tea leaves are distinct and evenly distributed in the cross-section, and if the color is brownish-red with golden highlights. The dry tea should have a slight caramel aroma, without any sour or moldy off-flavors.

 Inspect the liquor color: The basic principle of “appreciating Pu'er color” is that the color of a new tea should be a rich, dark red. White porcelain cups best display its true color. Pour a small amount of tea liquor into a Cup, enough to see the bottom clearly. A good sign is a golden rim along the cup's edge. When observing the color of the tea liquor in a glass, first check its clarity. Standard aged Pu'er tea liquor should be a bright red, not black. The clearer and brighter the tea liquor, the better. For aged teas, the liquor should be very clear with no sediment. Next, smell the aroma of the tea liquor: caramel, camphor, and aged aromas are desirable, while moldy smells are not.

 Taste the flavor: When tasting the tea liquor, let it fully contact the inner walls of your mouth, the tip, and the underside of your tongue. Carefully savor the smoothness, sweetness, viscosity, and the strength of the bitter and astringent flavors. Swallow the tea slowly and savor the aftertaste. If you not only taste the smoothness and sweetness but also feel a slight astringency that refreshes and a slight bitterness that turns sweet, and if your body feels slightly warmer, then you have likely enjoyed a fine aged Pu'er.

 Inspect the aftertaste: Aged Pu'er teas of different years will have varying degrees of “sweetness.” Unlike most teas, Pu'er tea undergoes a unique processing method where multiple enzymes remain active. During storage, these enzymes react with oxygen in the air, gradually breaking down some water-insoluble elements into water-soluble components. Therefore, an aged Pu'er should no longer have a fermentation flavor but instead have enhanced sweetness and a heavier overall character. If a new aged Pu'er can achieve almost no fermentation flavor, this is one criterion for judging a good aged Pu'er.