Pu-erh tea (raw) is a dynamic tea. Because of its core value of “improving with age,” Pu-erh tea continues to grow and change along the path of post-fermentation. This is reflected in the liquor color gradually shifting from yellow toward red, the mouthfeel transitioning from bitter and astringent toward sweet and mellow, and the tea’s nature changing from cooling to warming. For a tea that is dynamic and evolving, how should we appraise it? We must not only judge its quality but also determine where it stands in the post-fermentation process and its future aging trajectory.<\/p>\n
Although “improving with age” is a product of time, the effect of time on Pu-erh tea is not absolute, because there is also space. For example, two teas with the same ten years of aging, stored in different warehousing environments and under different temperature and humidity conditions, will show different transformation results. Therefore, we cannot simply use a time concept to determine where a Pu-erh tea stands in post-fermentation.<\/p>\n
How does one appraise and judge a Pu-erh tea in flux? Many experienced tea masters have made different attempts and efforts. Mr. Tai Junlin, who has been engaged in Pu-erh tea production and commerce for over twenty years and regularly deals with tea merchants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Pearl River Delta region, has developed a set of “Six-Dimensional Appraisal Methods” based on extensive research into aged and middle-aged tea samples. This method specifically addresses the difficulty of appraising Pu-erh tea.<\/p>\n
At the Shanghai Daketang Midsummer Tea Gathering in July 2019, Tai Junlin shared the principles of the “Six-Dimensional Appraisal Method” and used it to appraise four middle-aged teas with aging periods ranging from 7 to 24 years. A “six-dimensional appraisal chart” was generated for each tea. The hexagonal chart is composed of six triangles, each divided into upper and lower sections. Different teas show different color ratios in the upper and lower sections, allowing one not only to see at a glance how the tea tastes but also to intuitively understand its aging state. The method attracted great attention, and I subsequently conducted an in-depth exchange with Mr. Tai Junlin.<\/p>\n
Tai Junlin believes that not all Pu-erh teas can follow the “correct path” of improving with age. If any problem arises in raw materials, processing, or storage, it will artificially disrupt the various factors that promote microbial fermentation in Pu-erh tea. The tea may then fail to follow the path of “improving with age” and instead embark on an irreversible road of “oxidative browning.” Along this path, whether it takes a few years or several decades, one will never obtain the aged Pu-erh tea one hopes for, but merely an “expired red tea” whose color has turned red and whose flavor has faded.<\/p>\n
Only by protecting and promoting the microbial fermentation factors throughout the entire process, from fresh leaf picking through initial processing and factory production, and by promptly placing the finished tea into professional storage to inoculate microbial communities, promote microbial colonization, development, growth, and reproduction, can microbial transformation of Pu-erh tea take place, setting the tea on the path of microbial fermentation and leaf transformation. In three to five years, we obtain what we call “tea that has found the way.” Once a tea has found the way, it will continue along this path, and after many years, we will have the aged Pu-erh we desire.<\/p>\n
When first researching appraisal methods, Tai Junlin simply wanted a simple way to judge whether a Pu-erh tea could “find the way” or had already done so. But when he surveyed the entire Pu-erh tea market, he saw that since Pu-erh tea’s comprehensive revival in China at the beginning of the twenty-first century, vast quantities had been collected and stored. More than ten years had passed, and the tea had entered the “middle-aged tea” timeframe. But among this enormous stockpile, could all the teas “find the way” and achieve the path of “improving with age”? The answer is certainly no. So how can consumers, collectors, and merchants quickly assess the value of the Pu-erh tea before them, determine whether it is worth buying, worth collecting, or worth continuing to store? Tai Junlin felt that every tea deserved an “identity marker.”<\/p>\n
From what aspects should Pu-erh tea be evaluated? “Whatever pleases the palate is precious” is not entirely correct. Good tea should have standards. Establishing standards for good tea is important. Tai Junlin believes that many current standards remain at the production end: tea evaluation, for example, is more often used to guide production rather than consumption. So he wanted to establish standards for good tea from the commodity end of Pu-erh, to guide consumption. Before consumers can drink tea with understanding, they must first be able to judge whether the Pu-erh they are drinking is good, and what stage and realm it has reached in its post-fermentation aging. Thus, through continuous revision and refinement, the “Six-Dimensional Appraisal Method” was formally born.<\/p>\n
The “Six-Dimensional Appraisal Method” uses sensory evaluation to quantify six dimensions of Pu-erh tea performance: sweetness, thickness, mellowness, smoothness, liveliness, and warmth. The “liveliness” and “warmth” dimensions carry a weight of 30% each, while the other four carry 10% each. Each dimension is scored on a ten-point scale. For example, “warmth” is primarily reflected in the liquor color, progressing through ten stages: “yellow-green, golden yellow, orange-yellow, orange-red, vivid red, deep red, red-brown, pomegranate-red and translucent, ruby-red and translucent, wine-red and translucent.” Each of these ten color expressions corresponds to a score bracket. Through six dimensions, ten levels, and weighted calculation, a comprehensive score is derived. The minimum score is 1, the maximum 10, and the range is divided into four “realms” reflecting the different developmental stages of Pu-erh tea:<\/p>\n
Below 2: Entering the Realm (finding the correct path, initial warmth)
2 to 5: Cultivating the Realm (five flavors emerging, warmth growing, cooling diminishing)
5 to 8: Walking the Realm (five flavors complete, warmth dominant, cooling vanished)
8 to 10: Transforming Realm (melts upon entry, warmth and five flavors as one)<\/p>\n
The score does not represent the quality level of the tea; it more reflects which developmental stage the Pu-erh tea is in. Thus, freshly made raw teas generally score lower, while well-aged old teas generally score higher. However, if storage problems have produced undesirable aromas or flavors, corresponding deductions are applied.<\/p>\n
From the six-dimensional scores, the resulting “Six-Dimensional Appraisal Chart” provides the most intuitive display of the tea’s current state and future direction. Each dimension has its corresponding transformation pathway: bitterness to sweetness, strength to thickness, greenness to mellowness, astringency to smoothness, sharpness to liveliness, coolness to warmth. On the chart, these appear as different color proportions. For example, a new raw tea will have relatively little color in warmth, liveliness, and smoothness, but if the colors for thickness and mellowness are already prominent, it indicates a tea with good potential for future transformation. Tai Junlin emphasizes: for Pu-erh tea to improve with age, the tea substance must be weighty. “Thickness” is the foundation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Author: Old Tea Head · Lin Shen (LamSam)
\nZen Tea Manor ZENTEA MANOR
\nTianying Supply Chain Company
\nwww.zentea-shop.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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