What does a long brew reveal about brewed tea leaves?

After a long brew, the spent tea leaves carry readable clues about quality. Bubbles attached to unfurled leaves usually point to roasting temperatures that were too high, though on rock tea and some yellow tea they are a normal sign. Scorch marks, how fully the leaves open, elasticity, color and impurities all indicate picking and processing level, even without tasting.

The method is simple: brew with hot water until the leaves fully unfurl, then spread them flat on a plate and inspect. Silicon veins in black tea, the frog back of rock tea and scorch spots in yellow tea each mark a style. In a tea shop, asking for a tasting before buying lets a buyer check the wet leaves first and judge whether the price matches the leaf.

Many people throw away the tea leaves after drinking tea, but these steeped leaves actually hold a wealth of quality information. By observing the bubbles, scorch marks, degree of unfurling, elasticity, color, and impurities of the brewed leaves, you can roughly judge the picking and processing level of the tea without even tasting it. This article systematically sorts out the typical characteristics of brewed leaves for various types of tea, including the "frog back" of rock tea, the scorch spots of yellow tea, and the silk-like veins of black tea, and offers purchasing advice to help you pick good tea in a tea shop with more confidence.

The tea residue after brewing actually contains a great deal of information about the tea you are drinking. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked and casually thrown away. If you are willing to carefully examine those moist leaves, you can read more clues about tea quality, picking methods, and processing techniques. With the methods shared in this article, you can judge whether a tea is good or bad without even tasting it yourself.

Mastering the skill of tea appreciation will make you more at ease when buying tea. This skill is especially practical when you have the chance to taste before paying. Imagine you walk into a tea shop intending to buy some good-quality tea. The first thing you see is an overwhelming array of choices. It is certainly easier to let the shopkeeper recommend a few for you, but why be in such a hurry? It is very common to ask the owner to brew a pot of tea for you. While drinking it, you can also observe the brewed leaves along the way! Moreover, the shopkeeper will think you are a knowledgeable person, will naturally bring out good products to serve you, and will not casually quote outrageous prices.

To do this experiment yourself, simply brew the tea with hot water until the leaves fully unfurl, then spread the leaves flat on a plate.

Bubbles on brewed tea leaves

Sometimes you will find small bubbles attached to the surface of the unfurled leaves. This is mostly caused by excessively high temperatures during roasting, indicating that this batch of tea has certain problems in the production process. If you are tasting before buying, it is best to avoid this kind of tea. However, for rock tea and some yellow tea, the appearance of bubbles is actually a good sign. This kind of bubble on rock tea is called "frog back" in China.

The term "frog back" describes the dry brewing state of oolong tea, especially Wuyi rock tea. It refers both to the small white dots on the dry leaves that look like grains of sand and to the blister-like raised bumps on the brewed rock tea leaves, resembling the swollen back of a frog.

The frog back on rock tea comes from the traditional long roasting process. Without careful observation, it is usually difficult to spot on the greenish-brown dry leaves.

Yellow tea is another type of tea where bubbles can be seen.

This term is used to describe scorch spots the size of fish roe on dry tea leaves, as well as small bubbles on the brewed leaves of yellow tea.

Yellow tea needs to go through high-temperature roasting. Because the temperature during roasting is relatively high, scorch spots the size of fish roe are produced.

In short, bubbles on tea leaves are usually a sign of poor processing. In order to improve efficiency, merchants often sacrifice processing quality. However, for yellow tea and rock tea, these round spots can be regarded as a normal phenomenon in the production process.

Black scorch spots

Finding black scorch spots is worse than seeing bubbles. Take green tea as an example. If you occasionally see obvious black scorch marks or small black dots on the brewed leaves, it means that during roasting the temperature was either too high or the technique was not up to standard. A small number of black scorch spots is not a big problem, but if there are too many, it should not be the case.

Silk-like texture

On some dry tea leaves or brewed black tea leaves, you can see that the veins are separated from the leaf blade, looking like a loofah sponge. This is usually caused by excessive piling during production and is not the best state for tea. When you encounter tea like this, it is better to avoid it.

Degree of unfurling

As the number of infusions increases, high-quality tea will gradually unfurl and eventually fully open. This kind of tea has been processed properly and ages stably. This is also a sign that it can withstand multiple infusions, and the tea liquor still tastes excellent.

If the tea leaves open completely very quickly after steeping, then they were likely made from coarse, old, or stale leaves, and the flavor will fade after just a few infusions.

If the leaves still have not unfurled after many infusions, or have only unfurled slightly, then it can basically be concluded that the problem comes from production issues such as excessive heating and roasting as well as an improper aging environment. This kind of tea usually makes the throat dry and is very uncomfortable.

Integrity

The fewer broken pieces of tea after brewing, the better the tea. After brewing, good tea will present a beautiful and neat appearance.

Elasticity and flexibility

Pinch the brewed tea leaves with your fingers and feel their elasticity and flexibility. If both the elasticity and flexibility are good, it means the tea leaves are tender and the processing technique is appropriate. In addition, if this characteristic is found in brewed Pu'er tea leaves, it also indicates that its natural aging process is good.

If the brewed tea leaves feel dull and lacking in elasticity, that means the tea leaves are already old, or the production process was very poor.

Color

The color of brewed tea leaves is mainly related to Pu'er tea.

For recently produced raw Pu'er, the brewed leaves are relatively fresh green. For high-quality raw Pu'er that has fermented well under suitable temperature and humidity, the brewed leaves will show a bright orange color.

If Pu'er tea is stored in a humid environment with poor ventilation, then even if it has been stored for decades, the brewed Pu'er leaves will not turn yellow or red. If the tea has not fermented sufficiently, the brewed leaves will be black and rough.

Overly strong aroma

Brewed tea leaves should always carry a faint fragrance. Any strange odor may mean that something is wrong with the tea. A very obvious smell may indicate artificial flavoring and added essences. Judging the quality of brewed tea in this respect really requires some experience.

If the tea was burnt during production, it is usually accompanied by a strong mixed smell of smoke and fire. In the case of Pu'er, it will lose its good natural aging ability.

Impurities

Impurities in tea are also a cause of strange odors and bad tastes, and they are harmful to health as well. If tea farmers are dishonest and add other things to increase the weight of the tea, this situation may occur. If you encounter this kind of tea, for your health, we suggest you give it up.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.