Pu-erh tea: Difference between revisions

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===Judging quality===

~~[[Image:Wetstored-ripe.jpg|250px|thumb|Spent leaves of badly stored shou pu'er. Note the crumbling leaf faces that are barely held together by leaf veins]]~~

Quality of the tea can be determined through inspecting the dried leaves, the tea liquor, or the spent tea leaves. The "true" quality of a specific batch of ''pu'er'' can ultimately only be revealed when the tea is brewed and tasted. Although, not concrete and sometimes dependent on preference, there are several general indicators of quality:

* ''Dried tea'': There should be a lack of twigs, extraneous matter and white or dark mold spots on the surface of the compressed ''pu'er''. The leaves should ideally be whole, visually distinct, and not appear muddy. The leaves may be dry and fragile, but not powdery. Good tea should be quite fragrant, even when dry. Good pressed pu'er often have a matte sheen on the surface of the cake, though this is not necessarily a sole indicator of quality

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 ===Judging quality===
-[[Image:Wetstored-ripe.jpg|250px|thumb|Spent leaves of badly stored shou pu'er. Note the crumbling leaf faces that are barely held together by leaf veins]]
 Quality of the tea can be determined through inspecting the dried leaves, the tea liquor, or the spent tea leaves. The "true" quality of a specific batch of ''pu'er'' can ultimately only be revealed when the tea is brewed and tasted. Although, not concrete and sometimes dependent on preference, there are several general indicators of quality:
 * ''Dried tea'': There should be a lack of twigs, extraneous matter and white or dark mold spots on the surface of the compressed ''pu'er''. The leaves should ideally be whole, visually distinct, and not appear muddy. The leaves may be dry and fragile, but not powdery. Good tea should be quite fragrant, even when dry. Good pressed pu'er often have a matte sheen on the surface of the cake, though this is not necessarily a sole indicator of quality