Black Tea Quality Identification

Black tea is categorized into Gongfu Black Tea, Souchong Black Tea, and Broken Black Tea. The quality identification for these types is as follows:

1. Gongfu Black Tea: Quality is assessed in the following aspects:

① Appearance: Tight, fine, and even strips indicate good quality. Conversely, coarse, loose, and uneven strips indicate poorer quality.

② Color: A lustrous, blackish-brown color indicates good quality. Inconsistent color with dull, grayish leaves indicates poorer quality.

③ Aroma: A rich and fragrant aroma indicates good quality. An impure aroma with grassy notes indicates poorer quality, and a dull, stuffy aroma indicates inferior quality.

④ Liquor Color: A bright red liquor that forms a golden ring at the edge of the tasting cup is excellent. A less bright liquor is poorer, and a deep, turbid liquor is inferior.

⑤ Taste: A mellow and robust taste is excellent. A bitter and astringent taste is poorer, and a coarse and bland taste is inferior.

⑤ Spent Leaves: Bright spent leaves indicate good quality. Spent leaves with a bluish tint are poorer, and dark spent leaves with many blackish strips are inferior.

2. Souchong Black Tea:

Souchong Black Tea is only produced in Fujian. It has stout, even strips, a blackish-brown color, a distinctive pine-smoke aroma, a mellow taste, a bright red liquor, and copper-colored spent leaves. The tea produced in Xingcun, Chong'an, Fujian, is of the best quality, known as "Xingcun Souchong" or "Zhengshan Souchong". Others include "Tanyang Souchong" and "Zhenghe Souchong".

① Appearance: Souchong Black Tea requires tight, fine, and even strips for good quality. Conversely, coarse, loose, and uneven strips indicate poorer quality.

② Color: A lustrous, blackish-brown color indicates good quality. Inconsistent color with dull, grayish leaves indicates poorer quality.

③ Aroma: The distinctive pine-smoke aroma indicates good quality. An impure aroma with grassy notes indicates poorer quality, and a dull, stuffy aroma indicates inferior quality.

④ Liquor Color: A bright red liquor indicates good quality. A less bright liquor is poorer, and a deep, turbid liquor is inferior.

⑤ Taste: A mellow taste is excellent. A bitter and astringent taste is poorer, and a coarse and bland taste is inferior.

⑥ Spent Leaves: Copper-colored, even spent leaves indicate good quality. Spent leaves with a bluish tint are poorer, and dark spent leaves with many blackish strips are inferior.

3. Broken Black Tea: For Broken Black Tea, the quality assessment places special emphasis on the internal qualities of liquor taste and aroma, with appearance being secondary.

Broken Black Tea has a granular appearance, being tight, heavy, and solid, with a blackish-brown or oily brown color. The taste is strong, fresh, and brisk with a stimulating character. The aroma is fresh and rich, the liquor is bright red, and the spent leaves are evenly red and bright. Broken Black Tea is an important export category for China. Excellent representatives include Yunnan's "Dianhong" and Guangdong's "Yinghong".

① Appearance: Broken Black Tea requires a consistent and even appearance. Broken tea should have tightly curled granules; leaf tea should have tight, straight strips; flake tea should be wrinkled and thick; dust tea should be sandy and heavy. The specifications for broken, flake, leaf, and dust tea should be clear. Broken tea should not contain flake or dust tea; flake tea should not contain dust tea; dust tea should not contain ash. The color should be blackish-brown or reddish-brown, avoiding grayish, dull, or yellowish hues.

② Taste: Evaluating the taste of Broken Black Tea特别强调汤质 (particularly emphasizes the liquor body). Liquor body refers to the degree of浓、强、鲜 (strength, briskness, and freshness). Strength is the foundation of Broken Black Tea quality, while briskness and freshness represent its style. The liquor should possess strength, briskness, and freshness. If the liquor is weak, dull, or stale, the tea quality is poorer.

③ Aroma: High-grade Broken Black Tea has a particularly high aroma, featuring fruity, floral, and jasmine-like sweet notes. The aroma should still be perceptible when tasting. Yunnan's Broken Black Tea in China possesses such an aroma.

④ Spent Leaves: The color of the spent leaves should be bright red and luminous as superior, and dull and mixed as inferior. The tenderness of the spent leaves should be soft and even as superior, and coarse, hard, and mixed as inferior. For Broken Black Tea, the emphasis is on the redness and brightness of the spent leaves, while adequate tenderness is acceptable.

⑤ Liquor Color: Bright red and luminous is superior; dark and turbid is inferior. The depth and brightness of the Broken Black Tea liquor reflect its quality. The main components determining liquor color are theaflavins and thearubigins. Cream formation (creaming down or "cold后浑") is an excellent characteristic of the liquor body.

Foreign blenders习惯采用加牛乳审评的方法 (habitually use a milk-added tasting method): Add fresh milk to each cup of tea liquor, approximately one-tenth of the liquor volume. Adding too much is not conducive to鉴别汤味 (distinguishing the taste). After adding milk, a粉红明亮或棕红明亮 (bright pink or bright reddish-brown) liquor color is good; a淡黄微红或淡红 (light yellowish-red or light red) is acceptable; and a暗褐、淡灰、灰白 (dark brown, light gray, grayish-white) is poor. After adding milk, the taste should still allow a clear perception of茶味 (tea taste), which reflects the liquor's strength. Upon entering the mouth, an immediate,明显的刺激性 (obvious stimulating sensation) on both cheeks indicates the liquor's briskness. If only a明显的奶味 (pronounced milk taste) is felt with a淡薄 (weak) tea taste, then the tea quality is poor.