Mainly evaluated from five aspects: tenderness, strip tightness, color, integrity and cleanliness.
1. Tenderness - "Assess shape when dry, examine leaves when wet" refers to tenderness. Generally, tender tea leaves easily meet the shape requirements of their tea category (like Dragon Well's "smooth, flat, straight"). Additionally, check for fine tips. Good tips with visible pekoe indicate good tenderness and processing. Poor raw material tenderness results in no tips or pekoe even with good processing. But don't judge tenderness solely by fuzziness, as different teas have different requirements - premium Shi Feng Dragon Well has no surface fuzz. Moreover, fuzz can be easily faked. Using bud-leaf fuzziness as criterion only applies to "fuzzy-type" teas like Mao Feng, Mao Jian, and Silver Needle. Note: the tenderest fresh leaves should have at least one bud and one newly unfolded leaf - exclusively using bud hearts is inappropriate as they're underdeveloped with incomplete components, especially low chlorophyll content.
2. Strip Tightness - Different teas have specific shape specifications: pan-fired teas are strip-shaped, pearl teas round, Dragon Well flat, broken black tea granular, etc. For elongated teas, examine tightness, straightness, fullness, roundness/flatness, weight; for round teas, check particle tightness, uniformity, weight, solidity; for flat teas, assess smoothness and specification compliance. Generally, tight, heavy, round (excluding flat teas) and straight strips indicate tender raw material, good processing, and superior quality; loose, flat (excluding flat teas), broken strips with smoky or burnt flavors suggest old material, poor processing, and inferior quality. Using Hangzhou green tea standards as example: Levels 1-6 show progressively looser strips. Clearly, tight, solid strips with fine tips are best.
3. Color - Tea color closely relates to raw material tenderness and processing techniques. Different teas have specific color requirements: black tea should be black and glossy, green tea emerald green, oolong tea bluish-brown, dark tea black and oily. However, all good teas require uniform color, bright luster, and oily vitality. Irregular color, varying shades, or dullness indicate uneven leaf tenderness, poor processing, and inferior quality. Tea color also greatly depends on growing region and season. For example, high-mountain green tea appears green with slight yellowness, bright and vibrant; low-mountain or plain tea shows deep green with shine. Improper processing often deteriorates color.
When buying tea, judge according to the specific type. For Dragon Well, the best Shi Feng Dragon Well's pre-Qingming tea isn't emerald green but has a natural beige color, appearing tender yellow. This characteristic distinguishes it from other Dragon Wells. Due to its extremely high price, some farmers fake this color by slightly over-roasting leaves to yellow them. Differences: genuine Shi Feng has even, smooth, light yellow-green leaves with fresh fragrance; fake Shi Feng has loose, rough, yellowish leaves with roasted soybean aroma. Without repeated comparison, it's hard to distinguish, but brewing makes differences obvious. Over-roasted fakes completely lack Dragon Well's signature rich, fresh aroma.
4. Integrity - This refers to leaf completeness and breakage level, with uniformity being better than broken pieces.
Standard tea evaluation involves placing leaves on a (usually wooden) tray where rotation separates them by size, weight, thickness, and completeness into layers: coarse leaves on top, tight and heavy leaves concentrated in middle, broken pieces settled at bottom. For all teas, abundant middle-layer leaves indicate better quality. Upper layers often contain older leaves with lighter flavor and color; lower layers contain broken pieces that brew overly strong flavors and darker liquor.
5. Cleanliness - Mainly examines inclusion of tea flakes, stems, dust, seeds, and processing contaminants like bamboo chips, wood fragments, lime, or sediment. Good tea contains no impurities. Additionally, identify through dry leaf aroma. No tea should have off-odors. Each tea has specific aromas differing between dry and wet leaves - grassiness, smokiness, burnt notes, or stale flavors are undesirable. The above provides general guidance. The most reliable quality indicators are brewed taste, aroma, and leaf/liquor color. Whenever possible, taste brewed tea before purchase. For particular tea preferences, research specific characteristics and compare different purchases to master key identification points.