How to tell newly made tea apart from aged tea:
1. Color observation
---New tea is bright and glossy. Green tea looks tender green, while white tea shows clear silvery white.
Aged tea becomes dull, yellowish and gray, losing natural luster.
---Aroma identification New tea carries fresh and strong fragrance, such as chestnut flavor and fine hair aroma. The scent of aged tea fades away, presenting stale and stuffy odor instead of fresh notes.
----Taste testing New tea delivers lively, sweet and brisk flavor. Aged tea tastes thin and flat, with no vivid freshness. Poorly stored aged tea may have obvious stale taste.
----Texture check Dry new tea is crisp and breaks easily when pinched. Aged tea turns soft due to slow moisture absorption and is hard to crush.
A. Inspect dry tea (the most straightforward method)
(1) Color New tea: Bright and lustrous. Green tea is tender green or yellowish-green, black tea is glossy black, oolong tea is glossy brownish-green. Aged tea: Dull and lusterless, dry and grayish. Green tea usually turns yellowish brown.
(2) Appearance New tea: Tightly twisted and intact, buds are plump. Aged tea: Loose in shape, with many broken pieces, thin and shrunken.
2. Smell the fragrance (the biggest difference) New tea: High and fresh aroma with pure notes, obvious chestnut, bean and floral scents. Strong tea fragrance can be smelled easily. Aged tea: Weak and stuffy aroma without freshness. Improper storage will lead to stale odor, damp odor or even mildew.
3. Touch the texture New tea: Dry and fluffy, crisp and easy to crush when twisted by fingers, not sticky or damp. Aged tea: Soft and slightly damp, hard to break. Tea stored for years absorbs ...
4. Brew and observe
(1) Liquor color New tea: The liquor is crystal clear and bright, showing vivid yellowish green, golden or bright red tones. Aged tea: The liquor is turbid, dark and deep, lacking transparency and brightness.
(2) Infused leaves New tea: The infused leaves are soft, lively and flexible with even color. Aged tea: The infused leaves are stiff, gray and lifeless, easy to break down after brewing.
5. Taste the liquor
• New tea: High briskness, full-bodied taste, obvious sweet aftertaste, and smooth liquor texture.
• Aged tea: No briskness left. The taste is thin and flat, sometimes astringent and dull, with no sweet aftertaste. Supplementary knowledge
1. Not all teas taste better when they are newly produced. Post-fermented teas such as Pu'er, dark tea and aged white tea will improve in quality with proper aging. These well-aged teas are not deteriorated stale teas.
2. How to tell well-aged tea apart from spoiled tea: Properly stored aged tea has no mildew or strange odors. Any tea with mildew, sour taste or rancid flavor should be thrown away immediately and must not be drunk.
