The nature of what we do exposes us to quite a few teas, and quite a few varying quality levels of teas.

We’ve tasted the best, earliest harvested greens straight from the hands of the tea craftsman, only hours after the leaves were picked. We’ve also tasted supermarket teas, doctored with peach, raspberry and mango. And in the process, we’ve become a bit snobby about our teas. We’d like you to be too.

Tea quality is a function of many things. It’s about where the tea comes from, down to the specific region where it’s grown. It’s about the unique variety that delivers the most intense aftertaste with an irresistible aroma. It’s about the appearance and beauty of the leaves themselves. Those things vary between different tea types. So what one looks for in a green tea may not be what one looks for in an oolong tea or a black tea.

What follows is our guide to tea quality across the various tea types, based on our experience and from that experience, our own preference.

Green

A green tea’s quality is a product of its harvest time and how fresh the tea is. At Red Blossom, we differentiate between those teas harvested in the Spring and those that are harvested later. Spring teas are inherently lighter and smoother, while later harvest teas are strong and tend to be bitter and astringent. As far as green teas go, the Spring teas are better quality teas than Summer and Fall teas.

When purchasing green teas, it’s important to keep in mind that “strong” and “bold” are not the characteristics to look for. Instead, the lighter and sweeter and smoother the green tea, the higher the grade.

White

There’s a reason why most commercial grade white teas are flavored -with persimmon, honeydew, vanilla, and the like. Most lack the freshness and quality to produce the floral aroma, creaminess and sweetness of a good quality white tea.

As is the case with green teas, white tea quality is a function of when it’s harvested and how fresh the tea leaf is. Related to the harvest time is the growth stage of the leaf. The higher grade the white tea, the higher relative concentration of bud to leaf. Silver Needle is the highest grade of white tea and consists only of unopened tea buds.

White teas should have a very smooth, non-astringent character that doesn’t “catch”. They should also be quite sweet, and aromatic with a hint of fresh sweet soymilk.

Oolong

Given its very wide range of characteristics, it’s difficult to discuss oolong tea quality without considering the four distinct types of oolongs: Wuyi, Formosa, Anxi and Phoenix. However, oolong teas in general have several common characteristics which are given more weight when evaluating the quality of an oolong versus either a green, white, black or pu-erh.

The most important of these common characteristics is the finish. More than any other teas, the quality of an oolong is assessed based on the length, strength and quality of the finish or aftertaste. At Red Blossom, we always instruct our customers to give an oolong tea time to show itself on the finish before any assessment or evaluation is made of the tea.

The Chinese call that finish “hui gan” or “return sweetness”. The term “gan” doesn’t translate directly into the sweetness we know when we think of sugar or candy. Rather “gan” is the residual sweetness that is usually delivered usually by way of what most people in the west would consider to be “bitterness”. Bittersweet or dark chocolates are a great way to experience “hui gan”.

Beyond that finish, oolongs are also evaluated by its aroma, taste and appearance of the leaves. Here the characteristics are more dependent on the provincial character of each of the four oolong tea types.

Black

Black tea is one of those tea types that we feel we have our work cut out for us, because most people already have preconceived notions for what they think makes for a good quality black tea. And most of those preconceived notions come from years of low grade tea bags over-brewed in the “English Style” (i.e., over-brewed and astringent then doctored with milk and sugar).

A good quality Chinese black tea, notwithstanding its color, should be sweet and mild. Depending on the varietal, a good Chinese black tea should carry hints of caramel, with a mild maltiness for black teas that come out of Yunnan, or aromas of berries and oranges. Most importantly, a black tea should not be astringent, because it is intended to be enjoyed without the addition of milk and sugar.

Pu-erh

Those unfamiliar with pu-erh teas or have had bad experiences with pu-erh teas tend to wrinkle their nose when mention is made of pu-erh’s earthiness. Because of the nature of pu-erh teas and the fermentation they undergo, that earthiness of aroma is inevitable. That should not translate into earthiness of flavor. While a good aged pu-erh will smell of earth, it should not taste of soil.

The ultimate determinant of a pu-erh’s quality is the quality of the base tea, its age and how and where it has been stored. At Red Blossom Tea Company we have a fairly good sense for the age of our pu-erhs and the environment in which they are kept (our pu-erhs are stored on shelves, off the floor and away from walls). Pu-erh teas stored in this manner should be quite sweet and smooth. The older the tea, the smoother and sweeter, and stored in a very dry environment, should also retain a bit of complexity. There should be a decent “hui gan” to the tea.

Experience, Context and Understanding Quality

There are thousands of teas available on the market today and just as many tea vendors. On a trip to Taiwan several years back, we were told that to truly learn about tea, one just needs to drink it – and develop a palate that comes from drinking all teas – good or bad. While we believe that’s good advice, we feel that you’d find the experience much more enjoyable if you dabbled in a few bad teas, learn what you need to learn, then have a more enjoyable time tasting good teas.

Eventually, you too will be able to distinguish the difference between a low and high grade tea, the good from the bad.