For seasoned tea friends, when drinking new tea, taking a sip and waiting for the aftertaste makes it easy to distinguish between good and bad tea. Senior tea enthusiasts have summarized several points to pay attention to when drinking new tea, which can be used as a reference for everyone:

1. Initial Gentle Sensation

When the tea soup enters the mouth, the first impression is crucial: is it a clear sweetness, a strong bitterness, or a heavy astringency? Is this first sip something you can accept? Some bitterness and astringency in tea are inevitable, right? But if there isn't even a hint of gentleness upon entry, and you feel no好感 for the tea soup in your mouth, then such a tea likely won't be considered further.

2. Bitterness and Astringency on the Tongue

No matter how good the quality of the new tea, how well it's processed, or how excellent its origin, it's almost impossible for new tea to have no bitterness or astringency. When the tea soup enters the mouth, first notice whether the bitterness or the astringency is more prominent. Bitterness and astringency manifest differently. Bitterness is singular, perceived on the surface of the tongue. Astringency should be a drying, puckering sensation at the back of the tongue or on the sides of the tongue. After the initial bitterness and astringency, does a sweet aftertaste develop on the tongue after a while? That is, when breathing or swallowing saliva, do you feel a slight, clear sweetness on the tongue? For analogy, after eating licorice tablets and then drinking water, that kind of sweet taste remains in the mouth. Recall if you have had such a sensation while drinking tea. How quickly does this sweetness come, and how long does it last?

3. Richness of Tea Aroma

The aroma of tea is very variable. Studying its formation would be a vast project, so let's not delve into that for now. Just observe what kind of aroma the new tea has. New tea will normally carry some grassy notes or a faint watery smell. But when drinking, besides the grassy scent, is there a light floral fragrance, the fresh scent of trees in a forest, or perhaps a subtle, elusive fruity sweetness, like standing in front of a fruit stall? Maybe it's not obvious when smelling the tea soup, as the aroma of some new teas is wrapped within the soup. After taking a sip, these scents might appear on the upper palate. If present, you can continue drinking and see if the tea aroma persists or changes with more steeps.

4. Layered Sensation of the Tea Soup

The so-called layered sensation is a somewhat elusive term. Tea drinkers, especially when trying new tea, might not pay attention to it. When the tea soup enters the mouth, the taste on the tip of the tongue might be one sensation, on the body of the tongue another, and at the back of the tongue yet another. Furthermore, the taste of the tea soup changes with the number of infusions. If the taste is monotonous from the first sip to the throat throughout the session, such new tea likely won't have outstanding performance later. For example, upon entry, there's a clear bitterness on the tip of the tongue. After a moment, a slight bitterness is felt on the body of the tongue. After swallowing, a sweetness emerges at the back of the tongue, and a fresh, fragrant breath rises in the throat upon exhalation. Recall and feel: does the new tea in your hand give such a sensation?

5. Smoothness When Swallowing the Tea Soup

Don't think that only aged tea has a smooth and slick tea soup sensation. Actually, that's not the case. The smoothness of new tea should be distinguished from that of aged tea. When drinking new tea, if upon entry you instantly feel the tongue surface being moistened, with the entire tea soup wrapping the tongue, feeling slippery and lubricating—similar to drinking honey water made with pure water, possessing not just the smoothness of water but also the slickness of honey—that's a good sign. Often, when I try new tea, the tea soup seems to skip the tip of the tongue upon entering, directly sliding to the back of the tongue and flowing into the throat, without any rough, throat-catching, or tongue-scraping sensation. Some teas don't have this quality. This is a奇妙 and very subtle detail. You might not believe it or may not have noticed, but you can pay careful attention to it.