In daily life, black tea is becoming increasingly popular, with more people now turning to the trend of drinking black tea. But how can one identify the quality of black tea?

Black Tea

Black tea belongs to the category of fully fermented teas. It is made from the buds and leaves of tea plants through typical processes such as withering, rolling (cutting), fermentation, and drying. Its quality characteristics include red leaves and a red liquor, with an aromatic, bitter, and mellow flavor.

There are many types of black tea, and thus its origins are widespread. Based on processing methods and the shape of the tea leaves, it can generally be divided into three categories: Lapsang Souchong, Gongfu black tea, and broken black tea. So, how to identify the quality of black tea? Below is a detailed introduction.

1. Characteristics of High-Quality Black Tea:

(1) Appearance: The strands are tightly wound, neat, and uniform.

(2) Color: Glossy black and oily, with bud tips showing a golden yellow color.

(3) Aroma: Lapsang Souchong has a smoky pine aroma; Gongfu black tea has a sweet aroma; Sichuan black tea has a citrusy sweet aroma.

(4) Liquor Color: The tea liquor is bright red, with a bright golden ring along the edge of the bowl, and may exhibit "cooling cloudiness" after cooling.

(5) Taste: The tea liquor has a mellow, thick, and fresh sweet flavor.

(6) Brewed Leaves: The buds and leaves are even, uniform, soft, and thick, with a bright red and lively color.

2. Characteristics of Poor-Quality Black Tea:

(1) Appearance: Uneven in size and length, rough in appearance, with many impurities.

(2) Color: The leaves are dark black, bud tips are blackened, or the tea leaves appear bluish-gray or silvery-white; coarse old leaves have a withered red color.

(3) Aroma: The aroma is weak, muddy, short-lasting, or has off-odors.

(4) Liquor Color: The tea liquor is deep and dark or light and turbid.

(5) Taste: The flavor is bland or carries a rough, astringent taste.

(6) Brewed Leaves: The leaves are bluish, dark, and do not unfurl.

Through the above introduction, have you learned how to better purchase black tea? Is this helpful to you?