Why is Pu'er tea better as it ages? Pu'er tea quality identification

Whether drinking raw Pu'er tea or cooked Pu'er tea, it is good for our health. However, raw tea has more active ingredients. If you like to drink raw Pu'er tea, you should pay more attention. If you are not feeling well or your physique is not suitable for drinking raw Pu'er tea, we should choose to drink cooked Pu'er tea. Pu'er tea is a post-fermented tea, and the nature of the tea will become more and more mild and non-irritating. No matter how precious the tea is, health is still the most important. What do you think?

Contents of this article

1. Why is Pu'er tea better as it ages?

2. Pu'er tea quality identification

3. Can Pu'er tea be used to make milk tea?

Why is Pu'er tea better as it ages?

Pu'er tea is a post-fermented tea, which means that after the tea leaves are made, they will continue to undergo post-oxidation. The nature of the tea will become increasingly mild and non-irritating. Moreover, the longer it is stored, the more complete the oxidation will be and the mellower the taste of the tea soup will be. That is why there is a saying that Pu'er tea becomes more fragrant as it ages.

The unique quality and aged aroma of Erh tea are formed during the storage process of post-fermentation. After a certain period of time, the main chemical components in Pu'er production, such as tea polyphenols, amino acids, sugars and other substances, change, making the soup color and aroma tend to be ideal. If the storage conditions are improper or it is stored indefinitely without science, its quality will inevitably be reduced.

Pu'er tea gets better as it ages, but you should also pay attention to the storage conditions and keep it well. It is best not to drink Pu'er tea that has gone moldy. No matter how precious the tea is, health is still the most important thing.

Pu'er tea quality identification

1. Observation: Good Pu'er tea has an oily appearance and visible hair, and the tea leaves are plump, tender and tight. The taste is rich and fresh. Contemporary Pu'er tea (fermented after pile fermentation) has an oily brown (liver red) appearance and a plump, tender and tight tea leaves. The taste is aged. Pu'er loose tea (sun-dried green tea) is from grade one to grade ten and beyond. Generally speaking, the higher the tenderness of the tea leaves, the better the quality. The tenderness of tea leaves can be measured by four points: First, the number of buds. The more buds, the higher the tenderness. Second, the tightness of the tea leaves. Tight and heavy tea leaves are good. Third, the color is glossy. The color is smooth and oily. The fourth is the purity. The uniform, less stems and no impurities are good, otherwise they are bad. Pu'er Seven-son Cake Tea Compressed Tea 357g, the appearance requires thin edges and thick middle, moderate tightness, oily color, chestnut, brown and brown red are normal. Taking 357g green tea cake as an example, generally in 2-5 years, the tea cake is tight, with complete round edges and light purple tea stems; in 5-7 years, the tea cake is complete and the tea stems are all purple. In 7-10 years, the tea cake becomes lighter, with grains falling off at the edges, the tea stems are dark purple and the tips are golden. After 10 years, the tea cake becomes loose and lighter, with more grains falling off at the edges of the leaves.

2. Judging the tea soup: Put the Pu'er tea in a pot, brew it with boiling water, and pour the brewed tea juice into a glass or porcelain cup to observe the tea soup color. The tea soup color of traditional Pu'er tea is bright yellow-red, while the tea soup color of contemporary Pu'er tea is brown-red. During the processing of Pu'er tea, about 80% of theaflavins (TF) and thearubigins (TR) are oxidized, polymerized, and formed into theabrownins (TB). Together with the high content of soluble tea polysaccharides and water extracts, the material basis for the rich taste of Pu'er tea and the yellow-red-brown tea soup color (traditional and contemporary) is formed. Theabrownins are the main component of the "red" tea soup color. During the fermentation process, the activity of peroxidase is enhanced, which promotes the oxidation of theaflavins into theabrownin complexes. As the aging period of Pu'er tea is extended and the fermentation time increases, the thearubigin complexes of Pu'er tea gradually increase, and the tea soup color becomes more and more red. Since the production of thearubigin complexes is positively correlated with storage time, within a certain period of time, the "red" of Pu'er tea can be divided into ruby ​​red, agate red, amber red, and jujube red according to different qualities. Green or greenish-yellow tea soup is insufficiently aged, while brown-black tea soup is short-aged after artificial fermentation, turbid soup color, and suspended matter, which indicates improper processing technology or spoiled Pu'er tea.

3. Look at the leaves: After tasting the Pu'er tea, look at the leaves, mainly looking at the softness, color, and uniformity. The leaves are soft, plump, and elastic. The leaves are hard and inelastic, which are of poor quality. The leaves are brown-red and uniform, which are good. The leaves are uneven, black, carbonized, or rotten, and the leaves are not open, which are of poor quality.

4. Taste: The taste of Pu'er tea soup should be mellow, sweet, smooth, thick and fragrant. This is because in the post-fermentation process of Pu'er tea, there are microorganisms such as Aspergillus niger, Penicillium, Rhizopus, and Aspergillus glaucus. In particular, Aspergillus niger and yeast have an effect on tea leaves. In addition, the Mycobacterium scoparia in Pu'er tea also plays an important role in the final formation of the unique quality of Pu'er tea. Sweetness is the obvious sweet taste of Pu'er tea soup, which stimulates the tongue surface, cheeks and bottom of the tongue to produce saliva. This is because in the fermentation process of Pu'er tea, large molecular carbohydrates are decomposed into small molecular sugars and soluble sugars, and proteins are decomposed into a variety of amino acids, forming the sweet taste of Pu'er tea. Smoothness means that the tea soup should be soft and smooth, with a mellow, refreshing and peaceful taste, not strong in irritation, and flow from the mouth to the throat and stomach without hindrance, without any stinging, pricking, hanging or numb feeling. Because during the fermentation process of Pu'er tea, polyphenols and catechins are greatly reduced, while a large number of small molecular compounds are added, making Pu'er tea mellow and smooth, and the irritation and astringency are significantly reduced, with a stronger mellow feeling on the throat, achieving a feeling of unity between man and nature. The tea soup is thick and not light, and tastes fragrant and not bland. The water extract of Pu'er tea increases with the increase of years. During the fermentation process, a large amount of soluble sugar, soluble pectin and its hydrolyzate are produced. The more water extract, the thicker and thicker the tea tastes. For the unique mellow taste of Pu'er tea, it is especially important to distinguish Pu'er tea with musty, sour and peculiar smells, which are teas that have failed in the fermentation process and are Pu'er teas that cannot be drunk.

Whether drinking raw Pu'er tea or cooked Pu'er tea, it is good for our health. However, raw tea has more active ingredients, so people who are prone to insomnia, colds and fever, gastric ulcer patients, and pregnant women should not drink it. Therefore, friends who like to drink raw Pu'er tea should pay more attention. If you are not feeling well or your physique is not suitable for drinking raw Pu'er tea, we should choose to drink cooked Pu'er tea.

Can Pu'er tea be used to make milk tea?

Good to drink. From the perspective of quality, milk tea made from Pu'er tea is good to drink, because Pu'er tea itself has the advantages of mellow taste and fragrant smell. When it is added to milk to make milk tea, the milk tea will be smoother and mellow, and it will also have a sweet taste. It can be said that the quality is better than milk tea made from black tea. However, preferences vary from person to person. Some people may not like milk tea made from Pu'er tea and think that the taste is strange, so if it is targeted at people, it still varies from person to person.