Pu'er ripe Tea comes in two forms: loose tea and Compressed tea. Loose tea is graded from top grade to tenth grade and beyond. Compressed teas include cakes, bricks, tuos, pillars, golden melon tea, and head-shaped tea, among others. Currently, the quality of Pu'er tea on the market varies widely, so consumers should be careful when purchasing. Here are some tips for tasting the flavor of Pu'er ripe tea.

Tasting the Flavor of Pu'er Ripe Tea

The taste of Pu'er ripe tea can be simply summarized with three words: clean, pure, and delicious!

Clean refers to a bright red and concentrated tea liquor, dry leaves without non-tea substances, and minimal sediment in the tea liquor.

Pure means that the aroma has a comfortable aged scent, no mixed flavors, the tea liquor tastes sweet and smooth upon entry, not bitter, astringent, or drying.

Delicious means that after drinking, your mouth isn't dry, your tongue isn't parched, your throat isn't constricted, there's no sourness, numbness, bitterness, or odd flavors! You'll want another Cup after finishing the first!

The final step in tasting ripe tea is examining the infused leaves. The vitality of the leaves is crucial. Light fermentation (shortening the normal fermentation time) can create an illusion of intense sweetness and prominent sweet fragrance, but this is revealed by the infused leaves. Remember to examine the infused leaves when drinking ripe tea!

Taste the flavor of the Pu'er tea liquor; when tasting, we primarily focus on its sweetness and thickness. Additionally, the thickness of the water (a glutinous rice soup-like texture), and the aged fragrance in the aftertaste are also essential components. Many tea enthusiasts may not be familiar with various flavors, so let's briefly explain them:

The thickness of the water refers to the thick and rich tea liquor, which is not thin and watery, and has a similar mouthfeel to glutinous rice soup. It is flavorful and not bland, with a rich taste.

The aged fragrance of the tea liquor refers to a unique, mellow aroma specific to Pu'er ripe tea. It's important to distinguish this from the moldy and mixed odors of spoiled tea. Aged fragrance is somewhat like wood fragrance, a natural scent of old wood that is pleasant to the nose. Moldy odors, on the other hand, indicate spoiled tea, which is a failed fermentation and should not be consumed. Unfortunately, unscrupulous merchants sometimes mislabel moldy odors as aged fragrances, so please be vigilant.