Hunan famous tea
Famous Teas of Hunan
Dear friends:
Hello, everyone! As you all know, tea, silk, and porcelain are three famous products that Chinese people take pride in. China is the original home of the tea plant and the first country in the world to cultivate, process, and drink tea, with a history of tea cultivation spanning several thousand years. The cultivation of tea plants, tea-processing techniques, and tea-drinking customs around the world all trace their origins to China. In Pu'er County, Yunnan, there is a "Tea Tree King" that stands 13 meters tall with a canopy of 32 meters and is 1,700 years old—the oldest surviving tea tree. The world's first scientific monograph on tea, The Classic of Tea, was written by Lu Yu, the Sage of Tea of China's Tang Dynasty. In China, planting, processing, and drinking tea have gone through a long historical process, and in the course of these activities, people created a splendid tea culture. It can be said that tea culture is a gem in the treasure trove of Chinese national culture. Tea—pure, balanced, fragrant, and delicious—is closely bound to Chinese life. Drinking tea can cultivate one's character, sharpen the mind in pursuit of truth, and foster dedication to work and harmony with others. In this sense, bringing the art of tea into the family truly fills the home with warmth. The art of tea is a fine traditional culture of the Chinese nation; it embodies a marvelous philosophy and art of living and promotes social harmony and national unity.
In the profound and extensive Chinese tea culture, the Way of Tea is the core. The ceaseless spirit of the Chinese Way of Tea can cultivate in people purity, respect, joy, and truth, keeping the mind constantly in a state of peace. Purity means cleanliness, integrity, and serene tranquility; respect means honoring others and being disciplined with oneself, with a sincere demeanor; joy means spiritual delight and pleasant conduct; truth means using wisdom and conscience to help oneself and others attain the realm of truth, goodness, and beauty. It can be seen that the Chinese art of tea is the embodiment of an elegant, serene, and harmonious social spirit.
Drinking tea as a beverage originated with Shennong. Shennong "tasted the flavors of herbs, prescribed medicines to cure illnesses, and saved people from untimely death." He "tasted the flavors of hundreds of herbs... encountering seventy poisons in a single day" without stopping, and discovered tea's detoxifying function. Using tea infusion as a beverage began very early in China, dating back at least to the Qin and Han dynasties, and the earliest records of tea affairs began in Sichuan. The ancients wrote: "Only after the people of Qin entered Shu did the practice of tea drinking begin." This refers to the Mengshan tea of Mingshan County in Sichuan. This dates at least to after Sima Cuo pacified Shu, during the time when Chang Pin was managing the southwestern barbarians. From the late Western Han to the Three Kingdoms period, tea developed into a high-grade beverage of the imperial court. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that tea drinking became a social custom regardless of region or age. Tea gradually developed from a medicinal herb into an everyday beverage, a process that took a very long time. Tea's functions also evolved from its initial medicinal and sacrificial uses to culinary use.
In China, tea is honored as the "national drink." "The seven treasures of the literati: qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, and tea." Tea connects the six arts and is a vehicle of China's traditional culture and art. Tea is regarded as a pleasure of life, a good medicine for health, a refreshing beverage, a bond of friendship, and a symbol of civilization. As one of the three major non-alcoholic beverages popular throughout the world, the habit of tea drinking has spread across the globe. In Britain, tea is regarded as a beverage for beauty and skincare, giving rise to the fashionable customs of morning tea and afternoon tea, and tea is called "the liquid of health, the drink of the soul." In the eyes of the French, tea is "the gentlest, most romantic, and most poetic of beverages." In Japan, tea is not only regarded as "a medicine for all ailments," but through the long practice of tea drinking, the Japanese elevated it beyond the realm of daily material needs, developing it into an elegant cultural art—the Way of Tea.
Tea customs are a folk tradition of China. They are the sediment of the nation's traditional culture and a reflection of people's psychology. Centered on tea-related activities, they run through people's lives and continuously evolve on a traditional foundation, becoming part of people's cultural life. They are rich in content and each displays its own splendor:
In the customs of many places in China, tea drinking is closely linked with engagement and marriage. Our ancestors observed that the tea plant can only reproduce through its seeds and cannot be transplanted, so through the ages tea has been regarded as a symbol of "unwavering fidelity." Xu Cishu of the Ming Dynasty said in A Study of the Origins of Tea: "The tea plant does not move its roots; once planted, it must bear seeds." Tea flowers are white, tea seeds are numerous, and since the tea plant does not move its roots, tea has traditionally been a symbol of "purity, steadfastness, and many sons and blessings" in Chinese marriage customs. The tea plant symbolizes faithful love and eternal friendship. Therefore, in ancient times it was common to use tea as a betrothal gift in marriage. In Dream of the Red Chamber, it is also recorded that Xifeng said to Daiyu: "You've drunk our family's tea—why won't you be our family's daughter-in-law!" In many places there is also the saying "drinking tea settles one's lifelong commitment"—"presenting tea" at engagement, "confirming tea" at marriage, and "uniting tea" at consummation; even today, the custom of "drinking the bride's tea" is still preserved in vast rural areas. On the morning after the wedding, the bride must respectfully "offer tea" to her elders to show her filial respect. The gifts given by elders in return are called "tea packets." After marriage, the matchmaker must also be thanked, which is called "matchmaker's tea."
Using tea as a sacrificial offering gradually arose around the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In ancient times, there were generally three forms of using tea as sacrifice: pouring tea into tea bowls or tea cups; not brewing but simply placing dry tea leaves; or placing no tea at all, leaving a teapot or tea cup in place as a symbol. Using tea as a sacrificial offering in ritual activities can be said to be a form of totem-worship culture derived from the development of tea culture. But it truly reflects a historical phenomenon of humanity.
In modern life, serving tea to guests, using tea to make friends, and using tea to express deep affection are not only practiced in every household but also used in institutions, organizations, and even state ceremonies. When community groups gather, tea expresses mutual respect; when parents, sisters, wives, and children in a family gather for a small drink, it also reveals boundless family affection. In short, whether it is the "support tea" of neighborhood gatherings in the Song Dynasty capital of Bianjing or today's serving of tea to guests and tea parties, tea is always a symbol of courtesy and friendship, an embodiment of amity and harmony. The culture derived from tea drinking permeates the spirit of harmony in Chinese tea-drinking arts and customs and other cultural phenomena.
Tea has high nutritional value, containing abundant vitamins and minerals, as well as various medicinal components with multiple effects. For example, caffeine and theophylline stimulate the central nervous system, promote urination, lower cholesterol, and prevent atherosclerosis; tannins have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. People who regularly drink tea have better resistance to radiation, dental caries, cancer, chronic bronchitis, dysentery, enteritis, anemia, and cardiovascular diseases. The various vitamins in tea help protect the skin, so it is called a health beverage. Chinese oolong tea is praised by the Japanese people as "a wonder drug for beauty and health."
Tea is also known as "ming" and belongs to the Theaceae family as an evergreen shrub. The tender leaves bear white down on their undersides, called "white pekoe," which falls off as the leaves mature; it is one of the indicators for evaluating tea quality. Tea leaves that are emerald green with white pekoe like snow are the finest grade. There are many types of tea. In the market, they are divided by processing techniques and quality characteristics combined with appearance differences into five major categories: green tea, black tea, scented tea, oolong tea, and compressed tea. China has many famous teas. The famous teas renowned at home and abroad include: West Lake "Longjing," Taihu "Biluochun," Sichuan Emei Mountain "Zhuyeqing," Huangshan "Maofeng," Hunan "Junshan Yinzhen," Anhui Qimen black tea, Lu'an Guapian, Henan Xinyang Maojian, Guizhou Duyun Maojian, Wuyi rock tea, and southern Fujian "Tieguanyin."
Located in the transitional zone from the Wuling mountain range to the hills, Hunan has a mild climate, four distinct seasons, abundant rainfall, and humid air. The high mountains and deep valleys are shrouded in cloud and mist year-round, with long periods of diffused light. In addition, the mountainous areas are rich in humus and contain many trace elements, making them very suitable for tea growth. This is especially conducive to the formation and accumulation of amino acids, catechins, tea polyphenols, and other aromatic substances. Therefore, Hunan has always been a major tea-producing region and also produces famous teas known at home and abroad, such as Junshan Yinzhen, Guzhang Maojian, and Taihehe.
Junshan Yinzhen
Junshan Yinzhen is also called "Gold-Encased Jade." Because its buds are plump, straight, and covered with down, uniform in length and size, resembling silver needles, and because it is produced on Junshan Island in Dongting Lake, it is named Junshan Yinzhen.
Junshan has a long history of tea production. Like famous teas from other regions, Junshan Yinzhen has been a tribute tea since the Tang Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty Gazetteer of Baling County records: "The hills of Yonghu formerly produced tea, called Yonghu tea, and Junshan tea is the most precious among Yonghu teas." Yonghu and Baling refer to present-day Yueyang.
According to legend, when Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty went to Tubo for a marriage alliance, besides bringing the gifts bestowed by the emperor and her own cherished possessions, what she could not forget was to bring Yonghu tea. She thought: traveling thousands of miles west, crossing many rivers, when would she ever taste that fragrant and delicious Yonghu tea again? During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were annual tributes, but no fixed quantity was stipulated—only Emperor Qianlong loved Junshan tea so much that he specifically set the standard of "eighteen catties of Yonghu tea as tribute each year." Therefore, from princes and ministers down to wealthy merchants, all took pride in being able to drink a cup of Junshan Yinzhen and boasted of it to others, because it was "immortal tea." Although the tea is called "Silver Needle," it is not equivalent in value to silver—one tael of silver could not buy even one tael of Junshan Yinzhen.
According to legend, someone came attracted by its fame and searched all seventy-two peaks of Junshan but could not find a single silver needle, so he went to a temple to consult an old Daoist. The old Daoist said: "Junshan has forty-eight temples and thirty-six tea pavilions. As for the silver needle, it depends on whether you have the destiny, and also on how much incense money you donate, before it can be determined whether you will be given any to drink!" This shows how mysterious it was.
In the forty-first chapter of Dream of the Red Chamber, "Jia Baoyu Tastes Tea at Green Lattice Nunnery, Granny Liu Lies Drunk in Happy Red Court," there is a passage about Junshan Yinzhen. The original text narrates: After Jia Mu and the others had finished their tea, they brought Granny Liu to Green Lattice Nunnery, where Miaoyu welcomed them in. When the party entered the courtyard, they saw luxuriant flowers and trees. Jia Mu laughed and said, "After all, they are people who cultivate themselves; having nothing else to do, they are always trimming and tending, so it looks even more beautiful than other places." As she spoke, she walked toward the eastern meditation hall, and Miaoyu smilingly invited them in. Jia Mu said, "We have all just eaten meat and drunk wine, and you have Bodhisattvas here—we would be committing a sin. Let us just sit here a while, and bring out your good tea for us to have a cup before we go."
Baoyu watched carefully to see how she would go about it. He saw Miaoyu personally carry in a small tea tray of carved lacquer filled with gold, in the shape of a crabapple flower, decorated with the design "Cloud Dragons Present Longevity," on which was a small covered cup of polychrome Cheng ware, and present it to Jia Mu. Jia Mu said, "I don't drink Lu'an tea." Miaoyu smiled and said, "I know. This is 'Laojun Mei.'" Jia Mu took it and asked, "What water is this?" Miaoyu said, "It is rainwater saved from last year." Jia Mu then drank half a cup and smilingly handed it to Granny Liu, saying, "Try this tea." Granny Liu drained it in one gulp and laughed, saying, "It's good, but a bit weak! It would be better brewed stronger." Jia Mu and everyone laughed.
From the two passages quoted above, it is entirely clear that Jia Mu did not drink the extremely precious "Lu'an Guapian tea" but was perfectly satisfied with "Laojun Mei." What tea is "Laojun Mei"? "Laojun Mei" is another name for "Junshan Yinzhen." And the water for brewing and the tea utensils for pouring involved so much particularity, showing how rare Junshan Yinzhen is.
Junshan Yinzhen is refreshing and mellow, leaving a lingering fragrance on the teeth and tongue after drinking, and lifting the spirits. The superior quality of Junshan Yinzhen tea is due on the one hand to the favorable conditions bestowed by nature, but more importantly to the rigorous picking and processing procedures. There has always been a "nine no-picking" rule: no picking in rain, no picking of wind-damaged leaves, no picking of insect-damaged leaves, no picking of thin and slender buds, no picking of buds that do not meet the length requirements... From picking to processing, the entire craft of Junshan Yinzhen tea is done by hand, and each procedure is extremely refined. Picking time is 7 to 10 days around Qingming, picking only single buds, and requiring plump, heavy, tight, and straight buds, 25 to 30 millimeters long, with a 2 to 3 millimeter stem, uniform in length and width. The fresh buds picked must also be sorted to remove impurities and spread thinly in a cool place. From the sorting of fresh buds to the finished dry tea, it must go through ten procedures including fixation, cooling, initial drying, initial wrapping and fermentation, re-drying and cooling, re-wrapping and fermentation, and final drying, lasting three days and three nights, with extremely strict requirements, hence the excellent color, aroma, taste, and shape. In 1955, this tea was entered in an international exposition and was praised as "Gold-Encased Jade" for its "buds golden as gold, bud tips white as jade," winning a gold medal.
It is not only fragrant and delicious to drink, refreshing and invigorating, but when brewed, the buds all rush to the water's surface, neatly aligned with their tips pointing upward, called "ten thousand brushes writing on the sky"; soon after, they sink one after another vertically, hanging like a school of fish spitting pearls, or spring bamboo shoots emerging from the soil, called "a forest of spears and swords"; finally, each one stands upright at the bottom of the cup, like a hundred flowers competing in beauty, called "chrysanthemums in full bloom." This unparalleled spectacle of three risings and three fallings was first seen in Junshan Yinzhen. It makes one reluctant to "waste nature's bounty" and unable to bring oneself to drink for a long time. According to tests, Junshan Yinzhen contains more than 20 kinds of amino acids and various organic components; long-term drinking of this tea can have anti-cancer effects.
Dongshanfeng Cloud and Mist Tea
Dongshanfeng organic tea is high-mountain cloud-and-mist organic tea produced in an environment free of pests, diseases, and pollution. Hunan's largest "three-free" high-mountain organic tea base is located on the plateau above 1,100 meters elevation at Huping Mountain—Dongshanfeng in Shimen County. Because the soil here is deep, with a humus layer reaching more than 20 millimeters, rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and because of the suitable climate, abundant rainfall, and year-round cloud and mist, it is suitable for the growth of various crops and constitutes the best ecological environment of interplanted forest and tea. It is a nationally certified organic food production base. The tea grown here is plumper and more tender than elsewhere, with a more fragrant and lingering taste. Moreover, it is covered in white pekoe, with full, smooth, and glossy strips, and a clear, high-quality liquor—a treasure among teas.
The unique ecological environment and the advantages of the cool high-mountain climate here provide the prerequisites for producing high-mountain cloud-and-mist tea free of pests, diseases, and pollution. A "organic" tea base of tens of thousands of mu with high technological content has now been established.
So-called organic tea refers to tea produced in accordance with natural laws and ecological principles, following the "organic agriculture" production system, not contaminated by chemicals during processing, packaging, storage, and transportation, and certified by an "organic food" certification body. Organic tea has strict requirements for the soil, water sources, and air of the tea garden, as well as for the cultivation and management of tea plants and the entire process of picking, processing, transportation, storage, and sales of tea. In the tea garden cultivation process, chemical fertilizers and pesticides are strictly prohibited; one of the conditions for determining a site as organic tea cultivation land is that no pesticides or chemical fertilizers have been used for at least three years. In addition, organic tea implements a certification system; only after strict review and meeting standards does the certification body issue an organic tea certificate, and only then can it be called organic tea. The certificate is valid for one year, and re-evaluation and re-certification are required the following year.
At the 2002 "Shimen Famous Tea Auction," as Tan Lian, the famous auctioneer of Guangdong Justice Auction House, brought down the hammer, 100 grams of "Shimen Yinfeng Wang" fetched a sky-high price of 53,000 yuan. The successful auction of "Shimen Famous Tea" caused a great stir in tea markets across the country. Even during the SARS period, Baiyun Yinhao organic tea continued to conquer tea merchants in Changsha, Wuhan, Shenzhen, and other places at a high price of 1,200 yuan per kilogram.
Dongshanfeng tea got its name in the late Qing Dynasty. A Guangdong merchant named Lu Cilun, also known as Great Elder Lu, came here to open a copper mine but failed. Unexpectedly, he tasted the excellent-quality new tea Maojian here and could not help praising it repeatedly, recognizing its development value. So in 1889 he raised funds, hired technicians, and established a tea plantation, beginning the "Taihehe" entrepreneurial venture. In 1890, Great Elder Lu hired a boat to ship 4,000 catties of tea to Wuhan for trial sales, and the product was very well received. Later, after tasting and evaluation by the British, "Taihehe" tea was judged to be one of the best-quality teas in China at the time. It was especially popular in Europe and America, particularly in British upper-class society, where it was called "gentlemen's tea," and drinking "Taihehe" became a symbol of distinguished status. From then on, the famous "Taihehe" tea was exported to the British Isles. After 1899, "Taihehe" entered its heyday, with tea areas expanding to Wufeng, Changyang, Hefeng, and other places in Hubei, and output reaching 300,000 catties. Magnificent factory buildings made of precious materials rose from the ground, and offices were set up in Jinshi, Wuhan, and other places; it had over a thousand technical personnel, 6,000 workshop workers, more than a hundred boats, and over 500 mules and horses...
In order to change the inconvenient transportation in the mountainous area, Lu Cilun had the entire 700-kilometer mountain road from Hefeng county town to Jinshi paved with bluestone slabs, allowing sedans and horses to pass side by side; and had the dangerous shoals of the more than 100-kilometer waterway from Huping Mountain to Shimen dredged, so that boats could travel unimpeded. On the water route, dozens of boats went up and down daily; on the land route, more than a hundred mules and horses passed daily; traveling merchants were as thick as weaving, creating an extraordinary bustle for a time.
In recent years, this tea has continuously won gold medals at expositions at home and abroad, and is famous for its "buds with white pekoe like jade."
Today, "Taihehe" not only preserves its fine traditions but also continuously develops new varieties and injects technological content, making it a most popular modern health food. It is not only fragrant and delicious to drink, refreshing and invigorating, but the tea contains more than 20 kinds of amino acids and various organic components; long-term drinking of this tea can have anti-cancer effects. Today, strolling along the broken bluestone post road, it seems as if the bells still ring, and the faint tea fragrance attracts people to visit the old street workshops. In the stilted houses by the river, savoring a pot of high-mountain cloud-and-mist Maojian, or visiting the "Taihehe" tea shop to pay respects to that exquisite architecture, makes one feel nostalgia for home and reflection on the past; it intoxicates both heart and mind.
Guzhang Maojian
Guzhang Maojian tea was first planted in the Eastern Han Dynasty and became a tribute tea in the Tang Dynasty. In 1929 it won a gold medal at the West Lake Exposition, and the West Lake Exposition then sent this batch of Maojian to the French International Exposition, where it won the gold medal for famous tea at the Paris International Exposition, causing a sensation worldwide, and Guzhang Maojian thus enjoyed great prominence. In 1982 it was rated a national famous tea, in 1983 it received an honorary certificate from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and was listed as a high-quality export product. Guzhang Maojian "Shikou Yinya" won the Golden Cup Award from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries in 1986, the gold medal at China's First Food Exposition in 1988, and at the 2000 Wuling Mountain Area Famous Tea Evaluation and the International Famous Tea Evaluation held in Hangzhou, it won one gold medal and four silver medals. In 2001, at the International Famous Tea Evaluation held in Japan, Guzhang Maojian won the international famous tea gold medal. A famous Chinese tea expert once evaluated Guzhang Maojian tea with the verse: "Guzhang's northern spring water, tea from Qingyun Mountain; Maojian today surpasses yesterday, its quality praised throughout China."
Guzhang Maojian tea has tight, round, and straight strips, with elegant, upright tips, a dazzling luster, visible white pekoe, a high and lasting aroma, and a mellow, refreshing taste that penetrates the heart and leaves an endless aftertaste.
The famous writer Shen Congwen, having lived in Beijing for more than forty years, still could not forget Guzhang tea. He wrote in an article: "...in the clear mellow tea of that mountain town, Guzhang County, there is a distinctive fragrant air..."
After Liberation, Guzhang Maojian was also praised by Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and other proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation. In the autumn of 1955, members of the Guzhang County tea cooperative sent Guzhang Maojian to Chairman Mao. A month later, they received a reply saying that Chairman Mao had received the tea, that it was truly a famous tea and very delicious, and that after drinking it Chairman Mao repeatedly praised it: good tea! good tea! and hoped they would vigorously develop it. Everyone in the cooperative passed the letter around to read, and they were extremely excited. Thereafter, they also many times sent Guzhang Maojian to Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and other central leaders.
In a golden autumn in the early 1960s, the Guzhang-born singer He Jiguang, with his high-pitched voice of metallic color and heroic quality, sang a mountain song rich in local flavor, "Carrying Tea on a Shoulder Pole to Beijing," making Guzhang tea known throughout the north and south of the Yangtze and captivating millions of music fans in the capital; and the new-generation Guzhang singer Song Zuying's song "Guzhang Tea Song" made her hometown's Maojian tea known to women and children alike and famous throughout the world.
Today, in Songjiazhai at Huixiping in ancient Xizhou, an ancient tea tree still grows. This tea tree has more than ten arm-thick main trunks growing from its roots, along with densely packed slender stems growing in clusters. It has a diameter of 50 centimeters, a height of 3 meters, and a canopy of about 12 square meters. According to ancient records, Xizhou was already using this tea as tribute as early as the Tang Dynasty. This ancient tea tree is a remnant of the tribute tea roasted by the Tusi King. This tea tree can produce more than ten catties of dry tea each year, and its first picking is about ten days earlier than nearby tea gardens. Coming here to view the tree, taste tea, and talk of the vicissitudes of life has a special charm.
Guzhang is not only famous for tea but is also a veritable tea hometown. This mainly refers to Guzhang's long history of tea planting—Guzhang Maojian tea was first planted in the Eastern Han Dynasty and became a tribute tea in the Tang Dynasty; secondly, it refers to Guzhang, known as a tea hometown, producing an annual per capita average of 3.4 catties of tea, the highest in the country; thirdly, it refers to Guzhang's extremely long history of tea planting and tea drinking, its rich soil for tea culture, and the social environment and ancient historical roots that gave rise to tea culture education. Through thousands of years of planting and drinking tea, the people have made discoveries and creations with strong local and ethnic characteristics. People not only value the artistry of tea-drinking customs and the exquisite craftsmanship of tea-making, but also place special emphasis on tea culture education's advocacy of the natural environment, interpersonal relationships, the tea drinker's state of mind, and the art and Way of Tea. Guzhang tea culture takes Chinese philosophy as its matrix and the nation's traditional morality as its pursuit, displaying the ethnic character and aesthetic quality of Guzhang tea culture education. Drinking tea has become a unique way for Guzhang people to relax and rest, and many middle-aged and elderly people have made giving up alcohol for tea a fashion. Guzhang's Way of Tea has now entered communities, forming a major feature of community culture. Tea is linked with the life of Guzhang people; therefore, Guzhang is a veritable tea hometown.
Tea has so many benefits, and Hunan is rich in tea. So how should one select tea, and how can one distinguish new tea from old tea?
First, one can distinguish old tea from new tea by the color of the tea leaves. Green tea with an emerald, verdant color and a bright yellow-green liquor is a sign of new tea. Second, new tea has a fresh, rich fragrance, while old tea's aroma becomes low, dull, and murky. Third, one can also distinguish new tea from old tea by taste: new tea generally has a mellow, fresh, and brisk taste, while old tea tastes flat and not brisk. In short, new tea gives people a feeling of bright color, high fragrance, and mellow taste.
Now that you know how to distinguish new tea from old tea, when purchasing, you only need to examine five aspects: tenderness, strip shape, color, integrity, and cleanliness.
Tenderness: Tenderness is the basic factor determining quality. The saying "examine the appearance when dry, examine the infused leaves when wet" refers to tenderness. Generally, tea with good tenderness easily conforms to the appearance requirements of its type (such as Longjing's "glossy, flat, even, and straight"). In addition, one can also judge by whether the tea has good tips. Good tips with visible white pekoe indicate good tenderness and good workmanship.
Strip shape: Generally speaking, tight strips, heavy body, round (except for flat-shaped tea) and straight indicate tender raw material, good workmanship, and excellent quality.
Color: The color of tea is closely related to the tenderness of the raw material and processing techniques. But regardless of the type of tea, good tea requires a consistent color, bright luster, and a fresh, oily appearance.
Integrity: Integrity refers to the appearance and degree of breakage of the tea leaves; uniform integrity is good, while broken pieces are inferior.
Cleanliness: Good tea in terms of cleanliness contains no foreign matter whatsoever.
Tea has become a beverage loved by people around the world today, not only because it has a unique flavor, but also because tea has nutritional value and health benefits for the human body. Of the 86 elements needed by the human body, as many as 28 have been identified in tea, so tea is a supplementary source of human nutrition. Tea's effects in developing intelligence, preventing aging, improving immune function, improving intestinal bacterial structure, deodorizing, and detoxifying have been confirmed by many scientific studies, so it is also a good functional regulator. At the same time, tea also has certain preventive effects and auxiliary therapeutic effects on many diseases. With the development of modern society, people's demands for food have gradually shifted from the "subsistence type" to the "gourmet type" and "health type." This wonderful beverage, tea, will bring good news for human health.