An honest tea batch tells you quite a lot about itself. The problem is that most buyers don't know what to look for.
What Should Be on a Tea Label?
Batch name and harvest year: Tea is an agricultural product; the harvest year is as important as it is for wine.
Specific growing region, not just “northern mountains”.
Harvesting and processing methods: hand-picked, pan-fired, sun-dried, or machine-dried.
Expiration date or storage recommendations. For white tea and Pu-erh, the tea house should clearly state that the tea improves with age if stored correctly.
Sensory Inspection
Dry leaves: whole, few fragments, no broken stems or impurities. Feels light and crisp when picked up, not limp.
Dry aroma: clean and fragrant. Musty, burnt, or harsh artificial scents are all bad signs.
Tea liquor: clear, bright, not cloudy. Cloudiness is often due to broken leaves or rushed processing.
Wet leaves after brewing: unfurls into whole leaves, soft and elastic. Crumbled, patchy dark leaves indicate poor quality tea.
Aftertaste Tells the Truest Story
Good tea leaves a sweet aftertaste in the back of the throat, lingering for several minutes after swallowing, leaving the mouth feeling clean, not dry or scratchy.
If it's only fragrant at first and then fades quickly, it's highly likely that the tea has been artificially flavored.
Good ancient tree tea also gives a subtly warm sensation spreading down the back — tea makers call this 'qi' (tea energy).