Professional tea evaluation guidelines for reference

　　Another year, and fresh tea is just hitting the market—every day, the most common message I receive from tea enthusiasts is: "How can I pick tea that’s genuine and truly authentic?"

　　"How about cost-effective tea options?" If your tea-drinking experience is still relatively new, you can join us for a professional "tea evaluation session."

　　The operational procedure for tea evaluation is as follows:

　　Sampling → Placing the dish → Weighing the tea → Brewing the tea → Straining the tea liquor → Observing the color → Aromatically assessing the fragrance → Tasting the flavor → Examining the tea leaves at the bottom.

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　　(1) Tea Evaluation Criteria

　　The sensory evaluation consists of two main parts: dry assessment and wet tasting.

　　Dry viewing involves examining the appearance, including the tea leaf shape, age and tenderness, color, uniformity of size, and overall cleanliness.

　　Wet evaluation includes liquor color, aroma, taste, and leaf bottom.

　　The evaluation of five key factors—appearance, liquor color, aroma, taste, and leaf bottom—is known as the Five-Factor Tea Evaluation Method.

　　(II) Tea Evaluation Methods

　　1. The tossing process involves three steps: screening, gathering, and grabbing. Take a representative tea sample (150–200g) and place it onto the tea-tossing tray. Using both hands, gently and evenly screen the tea leaves to ensure they rotate uniformly. Then, gather the leaves together into a bun-shaped pile. Finally, grab the pile firmly with your hand—this will clearly reveal that the tea leaves are naturally divided into three distinct layers: upper, middle, and lower.

　　2. Weighing the Tea: Using your thumb, index, and middle fingers, carefully pick up tea from the sample tray from top to bottom, then weigh out 3 grams and pour it into the evaluation cup.

　　3. Brewing Tea: Pour boiling water into the evaluation cup up to the rim, cover it, and set the timer for exactly 5 minutes.

　　4. Pour the tea liquor: After 5 minutes, promptly transfer the tea liquor from the cup into the evaluation bowl for wet assessment.

　　5. Observing the Tea Liquor Color: The color of the tea liquor is most noticeably affected by temperature—especially in winter, when temperatures drop below 15°C. Under these conditions, the tea liquor transitions from clear to cloudy and deepens in tone. In particular, black teas may develop a "cold-cloudiness" phenomenon. As a result, teas with bright-colored liquor might be rated as lacking brightness, while those with lighter hues could be mistakenly judged as vibrant. This effect is especially pronounced for large-leaf varieties, teas with excellent tenderness, and freshly harvested leaves. Therefore, when evaluating tea, it’s crucial to first assess the liquor color—and this observation should be completed within 10 minutes.

　　6. Aroma Assessment: The ideal temperature for smelling the tea aroma is 45–55°C. Aroma evaluation should be conducted in three stages—cold, warm, and hot. Start with the "hot" sniff to check for any off-odors like smokiness or burnt notes; follow with a "warm" sniff to identify the specific type of tea fragrance; and finish with a "cold" sniff to gauge how long the aroma lingers. Each sniff should last 2–3 seconds—sniffing for longer than 5 seconds may reduce your olfactory sensitivity.

　　7. When tasting the flavor, the ideal temperature for the tea liquor is 45–55°C. Use 4–5 ml—about 1/3 teaspoon—or no more than 8 ml for each sample.

　　8. Examining the Leaf Base: Pour the leaf base from the cup onto a leaf-leaf tray to assess its age, tenderness, brightness of color, and whether it’s whole or broken. If it’s difficult to make a clear judgment, transfer the leaf base to a white porcelain plate, gently rinse it with cold water, and carefully inspect—now the details will become instantly obvious.

　　After evaluating each of the above factors, be sure to promptly write your comments and assign scores to avoid any confusion later.

　　China boasts a rich variety of teas, and the terminology used to evaluate them is equally refined—ranging from universal descriptors applicable to all six major tea categories, to specialized terms tailored specifically for each type of tea.

　　Lately, green tea has been appearing on the market quite frequently, so let's share some of the commonly used terms associated with it.

　　(1) Common Terms for Shape

　　(1) Common Terms for Shape

　　1. Brushing: Used for bud teas with abundant downy hairs and delicate, premium-grade green teas.

　　2. Fine and Tender: Tight and slender, with young, delicate buds and leaves.

　　3. Fine and Tight: The tea leaves are slender, firm, and well-formed, making them ideal for high-grade strip-shaped teas.

　　4. Tight and Firm: The tea strips are tightly knotted and solid, ideal for strip-shaped teas with plump, robust buds and leaves.

　　5. Round Knot: The round knot is solid and dense, used for round-shaped teas resembling pearls.

　　6. Flat: Shaped flat, straight, and smooth, designed for flat-style teas.

　　7. Curled: Used for tea that is shaped into a spiral curl.

　　8. Flake-shaped: Used for single-leaf teas that lack visible buds or downy tips, such as Lu'an Guapian.

　　9. Tender Green: A shade of green tinged with pale yellow, used to describe the color of delicate tea leaves harvested before Qingming Festival.

　　10. Emerald Green: A vibrant, glossy green hue that reflects freshness and vitality—perfectly capturing the high-quality raw materials, timely processing, and the ideal color of premium green tea.

　　11. Dark Green: A deep, glossy color; most roasted green teas exhibit this shade.

　　12. Green and Lustrous: Characterized by a vibrant, fresh green color with a glossy sheen—typically seen in stir-fried green teas.

　　(II) Commonly Used Terms for Tea Color

　　1. Tender and Bright Green: Featuring a pale, vibrant green hue, this is ideal for high-quality, expertly crafted young green teas.

　　2. Vibrant and Lustrous Green: A bright, verdant hue that characterizes high-quality green teas made from carefully selected, well-crafted ingredients.

　　3. Tender Yellow and Bright: A pale yellow hue, used for young tea leaves that are still tender, with low chlorophyll A content and typically harvested during periods of cooler early-season temperatures.

　　4. Bright Yellow-Green: A green hue with a hint of yellow, used for bulk green teas.

　　(III) Commonly Used Terms for Aroma

　　1. Hairy Aroma: Typically found in bud teas with abundant downy tips.

　　2. Tender Fragrance: The distinctive aroma unique to young, tender tea leaves.

　　3. Fragrant Aroma: An aroma created by the tender quality of the raw ingredients and meticulous craftsmanship—pure, delicate, and subtly elegant, never overpowering.

　　4. Floral Aroma: A fresh, floral scent—typically from gently withered leaves, expertly crafted tea, or the unique fragrance inherent to specific tea varieties.

　　5. Chestnut Aroma: Resembles the fragrance of ripe chestnuts, often developed during drying when the heat is carefully controlled to perfection.

　　(IV) Commonly Used Terms for Flavor

　　1. Fresh and Rich: A premium green tea known for its fresh, delightful flavor and excellent tenderness achieved through meticulous craftsmanship.

　　2. Tender Freshness: A crisp, refreshing taste characteristic of young, tender ingredients.

　　3. Rich and Smooth: The tea has a robust, yet refreshing flavor.

　　4. Rich and Bold: The tea has a strong, robust flavor with a lingering aftertaste.

　　5. Strong and Astringent: Characterized by a rich, robust flavor with a slightly bitter aftertaste; typically produced during summer and autumn. Most of these teas come from large-leaf varieties harvested in the warmer months.

　　(V) Common Terms Used for Leaf Bases

　　1. Tender Green and Evenly Bright: Light green, vibrant, and perfectly uniform—commonly found in premium, high-quality green teas.

　　2. Green Brightness: Exhibits a vibrant, fresh green color, commonly seen in high-quality green teas—both in terms of raw materials and craftsmanship.

　　3. Bright Yellow-Green: A bright hue with hints of yellow in green, commonly found in bulk green teas.

　　4. Evenly shaped, neat, and bright: The buds and leaves are tender and carefully harvested, with intact bud tips.

　　5. Softness: The buds and leaves are tender and delicate, often seen in high-quality, finely crafted green teas.

　　Scoring is a digital representation of tea quality. When used in combination with descriptive comments, it provides a more accurate reflection of the tea's true quality.

　　I hope that after reading this article, you’ll gain a better understanding of tea evaluation—and that it will also be helpful for your future tea-drinking experiences.