Pu'er Tea can be simple, made from large-leaf tea varieties, and there's no real difference between brick and cake forms when it comes to the raw materials. However, when it comes to specific mountains of origin, vintage years, and storage conditions, things get murky with confusing articles that make it all sound mystical. You might buy some supposedly high-end teas only to find the taste isn't quite right. You've spent a lot of money on what are claimed to be “ancient tree teas,” but what are the selection tips for ancient tree Pu'er tea?
One: Don't assume that long, good-looking tea leaves are necessarily from ancient trees.
Some tea leaves look very slender and glossy, with a “long-legged” appearance. This only indicates that the tea plants grew well and are of good variety, but it doesn't tell you the age of the tea tree.
This criterion cannot be used to determine whether the tea is from ancient trees, regardless of whether it's loose tea or pressed into cakes.
Two: Don't think that a tea that is sweet upon entry, not bitter or astringent, must be from ancient trees.
Unscrupulous tea sellers may mislead consumers by telling them that ancient tree teas have a mild taste, are not bitter or astringent, and are very sweet. In fact, this is related to the variety of the ancient tea tree, and it's not true that all ancient tea trees produce mild-tasting tea; it varies by region.
For example, the tea trees in Lao Banzhang produce leaves that are naturally rich in bitterness and astringency, which gives them a high degree of recognizability, but this does not mean they are ancient trees.
Three: Is a large tea tree an ancient one?
When climbing the mountains, you'll see many tea trees as tall as two- or three-story buildings. Many tea enthusiasts mistakenly believe these are ancient tea trees, but the size of a tea tree is not a reliable indicator of its age.
The size of a tea tree is determined by the ecological environment. Some tea trees grow taller due to abundant water, while others grow taller than their contemporaries due to rich soil nutrients.
To put it bluntly, to determine if a Pu'er tea is from ancient trees, you need to taste it yourself.
Four: Does it taste smooth, hold up well through multiple infusions, and leave a lingering aftertaste? It must be from ancient trees.
Ancient tree teas typically have a strong aroma, are sweet and smooth upon entry, and have a bitter base that dissipates quickly. Whether blended or pure single-origin, if the proportion of ancient tree tea is high, it will withstand many infusions, and the flavor will remain stable with little change from infusion to infusion.
Most importantly, ancient tree teas will always have a lingering aftertaste. The aftertaste is the sensation that remains in the mouth after drinking the tea, whether it's continuous sweetness and salivation or a pleasant comfort. The longer this sensation persists, the older the tree is likely to be.