About the grade of tea. How to distinguish good tea from bad? High quality tea: taste features

A person who, on duty, literally sticks his nose into every cup of tea, is called a teatester. It's like a sommelier, only in the tea industry. To achieve mastery in this profession, it will take ten years. And not many succeed in becoming a recognized expert, since not everyone has a talent for this profession. One of such rare specialists (there are only two of them in Kazakhstan) Saida Islambakiyeva, quality manager and teatester of Piala Gold tea, devoted 20 years of her life to this occupation.

“In Soviet times, tea-testers were trained in Georgia,” says Saida. - They drank mainly Georgian tea in the USSR - Indian tea was in short supply. Later, when I did an internship in India, we tested several hundred varieties of tea every day: 50 cups are brewed on one table. While we are testing them, new tea is brewed for us at the next one. So I had to taste 500 cups every day.”

Daily testing of tea for taste, color, richness of aroma is one of the main tasks of Saida Islambakiyeva. But Saida did not begin to love tea less. On the contrary, experience allows her to create a special recipe. Her blends are one of the main assets of the Piala Gold brand and, of course, they are kept in strict confidence. And getting into the laboratory where this sacrament takes place is just as difficult as any other secret object. But Comode got an invitation!

How to conduct an examination at home

The first lesson that Saida Islambakiyeva teaches us will be useful to everyone! This theoretical knowledge can be applied at home in the kitchen. And it is not necessary to be a professional expert to deal with the main myths that exist around the teacup.

Myth 1. If tea quickly colors water, then it contains a chemical dye.

Truth: good tea completely gives all the properties, so the water quickly becomes dark. But - only in boiling water! But if the tea leaves brightly colored even cold water, it means that some kind of “chemistry” is present in the tea.

Another way to check is to add lemon to tea. Natural tea from this significantly pales and acquires a bright orange color. Tea with dye will remain the same dark shade.

Myth 2. Loose tea is better than tea in granules.

True: tea can be both granulated and leaf - its quality depends primarily on the country of growth and the method of leaf processing. For example, Kenyan teas are distinguished by the fact that the leaf is very thin and fragile, and the granular form is primarily due to the need to preserve the leaf during transportation. In addition, granulated tea is more expensive to produce and better gives all its properties when brewed.

Myth 3. If there are brown marks on the cup, then there is a dye in the tea.

True: traces primarily depend on the strength of tea and the amount of tannin - it is he who gives astringency and fullness. Therefore, if you like strong, rich tea, then it is not surprising that you see sediment on the dishes. And it's not dye.

Myth 4. Cloudy tea in a cup is an indicator of strength

Truth: the color of the infusion should always be transparent, no matter how strong it may be. Turbid and too dark colors of the liquid indicate the low quality of the raw material, that the sheet is poorly dried. And also about the presence of small impurities: perhaps dust or even bacteria.

Myth 5. The appearance of an iridescent film on the surface of tea indicates its poor quality (chemical impurities, excess fertilizer, etc.)

Truth: An iridescent film can form under the influence of the composition of the water. It turns out that the amazing properties of tea allow you to check the properties of water! Saida Islambakiyeva recalled how difficult it was to test tea in India because the water was of poor quality. Therefore, to the great amazement of her Indian colleagues, she always brings water with her.

Dry tea and wet tea

The second lesson is practical. We are prepared for tasting several types of tea - leaf and granulated. Exactly the way it is done everywhere in the world: dry tea leaves are poured out of cans onto special paper. A fresh, slightly spicy breeze spreads in the air. The aroma is delicate, expensive, floral-woody notes are felt in it. And the smell of the sun - the hot Kenyan mountain sun.

Samples of tea are not brewed like at home. Everything is strict here: exactly three grams of each variety are weighed on rare pharmacy scales with tiny weights and lowered into small cups with lids. The same small bowls are attached to the cups. This is a special fine porcelain dish made in Sri Lanka. An hourglass measures exactly five minutes, the standard for making a tasting drink. After that, it is poured from cups into bowls, and we are offered to evaluate each type of tea.

“The first is the fragrance,” Saida Islambakiyeva instructs. – The remains of tea leaves in a dry cup are studied separately. You need to lift the lid and literally stick your nose into the cup... Yes, like this... Inhale... Check if there are any foreign smells in the tea leaves... Believe me, our consumer feels all the nuances. Because tea for Kazakhstanis is like bread. People know him too well."

We, carefully following the instructions, study all the samples. Saida continues:

“The second important indicator is color. For good tea, it should be uniform, bright, have a pronounced copper tint, as in these samples, see? By the color of the boiled leaf, you can determine whether there were violations during processing back there, at the plant at the plantation. The brighter the color, the higher the quality of the tea - look how luxurious ... "

Saida teaches: “And now the main indicator is taste. For testing, we take a sip and try to wash the entire oral cavity with the liquid. We do not swallow tea… Yes, the procedure is not very aesthetic. After spitting out tea, you need to listen to the sensations: viscosity, bouquet, aftertaste. If there are any extraneous shades or bitterness, this should already alert us. No? Everything is fine?"

We are not real tea-testers, but we manage to catch the aftertaste. The taste seems to stratify, breaks up into dozens of the finest notes. And each blooms in its own way, dances on the tongue ...

Hike to the tea production laboratory "Piala Gold" allowed me to look at tea with different eyes. Not just brewed sheets. Not just a drink. It's a whole philosophy! Just like in Harry Potter - brew your love, take a sip of kindness and feel connected with the whole world!

February 18, 2017

There are many criteria that you should pay attention to when choosing tea. Not all of these points are easy to check, but they are worth knowing about. This will set a good basis for choosing tea, and every year you will discover more and more new criteria for yourself.

uniform sheet. If you need to use buds for tea, all buds should be of the same collection time, the same size and the same hairiness. If the leaf is mature, the leaves should be the same size. Blending in first-class tea is a rarity, which is only sometimes determined by the recipe. Most often, if you see a variety of leaves - in front of you is a small amount of good tea, diluted with a large amount of cheap tea.

Raw material collection time. The spring collection is valued several times higher than the autumn one. The best raw materials are harvested in early spring, while in May the quality of raw materials already leaves much to be desired. If in early spring the raw materials are collected and sorted by hand, selecting the varieties of raw materials, then in May the bushes are processed mechanically and such leaves are used to make cheap tea. However, there are regions where the tea harvest is shifted by 2-4 weeks and in May there is just the time of the first spring harvest.

tea age. Some teas cannot be aged, and some teas change flavor over the years. Everyone knows that pu-erhs are aged, but many people forget that there are wonderful aged oolongs, red teas, and even white teas. However, even in China, old green or yellow tea is often sold. These teas don't age well. Worst of all, even when you arrive at the factory, you expect to buy the freshest tea, and frankly expired tea is often sold in the shop at the factory. It's not always like this, but it happens

doneness. Many teas need to be well roasted to bring out their flavors. Often this is done several times, and sometimes even for many years. But if you have too fried tea in front of you, this is most likely an indicator that the manufacturer is trying to hide low-quality raw materials. If you overcook a leaf, you no longer recognize it as an old, unevenly fermented, wet, or inopportunely harvested leaf. So you should learn to distinguish between good roasted tea and overcooked fake.

Leaf not damaged. When manually assembling, they try to minimize the impact on the sheet so that it does not crumple, is not damaged and does not begin to oxidize ahead of time. Unfortunately, high-quality manual collection can be found only in China, Korea, and Japan. The rest of the teas, with rare exceptions, are harvested by machine or semi-mechanically. In any case, even manual harvesting does not always guarantee the high quality of raw materials.

Bush variety. There are varieties that can be planted in different regions, there are those that take root worse and grow in one place in limited quantities. A rarer bush is not always a tastier tea, but often more expensive.

Tree age. The tea tree under normal conditions grows very slowly. It is believed that the tea leaf is filled with flavor only in trees older than 30 years. Pu-erhs that are made for long-term aging need raw materials from old trees that are at least 90 years old. That's why young pu-erh factories rarely have worthy specimens

place of growth. Depending on where the tea tree grows, the tea will have different flavor profiles. If the tree grows in a place where there are no pests, favorable soil, not too dry, not too active sun - the taste of tea will be as mild as possible. If one of these conditions is not met, the tree will "survive", protect itself, and most often this will affect the taste as bitterness and astringency. At the same time, in such tea, the taste will be more pronounced, because many red teas are absolutely successfully grown in not the most favorable places.

naturalness. There are factories that use chemicals to increase their yield. Actually, almost all tea producers, unfortunately, use one or another chemistry when growing tea, and some do not disdain to use frankly dangerous substances in large quantities. This is especially true for Indian factories. Subsequently, this affects the chemical composition of tea. This is why ordering tea from AliExpress is not the best idea. When we sign a contract with a new tea supplier, we send some of the tea to the laboratory. If we get a result about the content of dangerous chemicals in tea, it will never get on our shelf.

Aromatization. Most often, flavored teas are of low or very low quality. There are exceptions, there are flavored teas of the highest quality, but usually if you buy such tea, you know for sure about its quality. Such teas are very expensive, and their aromatization is natural and minimal. More .

Unfortunately, even after many years of studying tea, it is not always possible to speak with confidence about the quality of tea. Especially when it comes to old aged teas. Go and find out if there was a spring gathering 15 years ago or an autumn one. But still, most factors can be learned to determine, and with experience you pay attention to more and more variables. And you just know more Chinese tricks, which they sometimes use in bad faith to increase marginality. Selling another Northern Fujian Oolong instead of Da Hong Pao is a sweet deal for many of them. You try 2003 pu-erh in the store, buy 12 pieces (two bundles), print it out at home, and there 2013 pu-erh. And you paid a lot of money. So learn to understand tea, do not let yourself be deceived and look for those suppliers you can trust!

Keep track of your weight without going beyond the normal values ​​​​of the Body Mass Index: from 19 to 25. "" will help you with this.

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To prevent physical inactivity, increase your regular physical activity to at least (150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week), try to move more.

Anthropometry

Prevent the development of abdominal obesity, which increases the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, etc. Watch out: for men, it should not exceed 94 cm, for women - 80 cm.

Health control

To monitor the health of the digestive system, once a year, undergo an examination by a therapist, determine the body mass index and blood cholesterol levels, and at the age of over 50, be checked for colon cancer.

healthy eating

To avoid problems with weight and blood glucose levels, limit consumption to 6 teaspoons per day (for women), 9 teaspoons per day (for men).

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Eat at least 300 g per week, including fatty varieties (mackerel, trout, salmon). The omega 3 acids contained in fish help in the prevention of atherosclerosis.

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For a healthy digestive system and a proper balance of nutrients, make it the mainstay of your diet by eating at least 6-8 servings per day (300 ml of whole porridge and 200 g of bran bread).

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Do not exceed 20 ml of ethanol for women and 30 ml of ethanol for men. This is the best way to minimize the harm from drinking alcohol.

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 19.04.2009

 Tao of Tea

“Sometimes additives such as…, jujube fruit, orange peel, dogwood berries or mint are brewed with tea. Such constituents may simply be scattered over the surface for decoration... Such drinks are no more than slops from gutters and ditches; nevertheless, alas, it is the general custom to make tea in this way.

Lu Yu, "Tea Canon" (China, 8th century AD)

How to distinguish good tea from bad

To begin with, you must clearly decide what grade you want to buy tea. The most important thing, in our opinion, is that the tea must be fresh. In China, the "four tea jewels" are revered - the shape of the tea leaf, color, aroma and taste, these parameters are evaluated and enjoyed during tea drinking.

elite tea, High Quality differs from low-grade in uniformity. If the tea is of high quality, then the tea leaves should be the same, and the shape should correspond to the type of twist. There should not be a broken leaf, as well as small tea leaves in high-grade tea. If you take a white sheet of paper and pour a pinch of tea on it, then there should be no more than 10 percent of small particles.

You can also test tea leaves in this way, take it and rub it a little in your hand, if it turns into dust, then most likely it is overdried during processing, which will negatively affect the tea infusion - it may contain a smell of smoke. If the tea leaves roll into pellets, it means that it has not been dried enough, which can affect the storage of tea, mold may appear in it. If the tea good quality and all production technologies are observed, the tea leaf will break into small pieces. Fresh tea should have a deep color, but neither too bright nor too dark. With age, the color of tea fades, and this also happens if it has not been stored properly. When you sniff a dry tea leaf, its fragrant natural aroma fills you, literally envelops you. It is always subtle, natural and pleasant. If the tea is low grade, fake or old, then the aroma is practically not felt, or it is sharp and chemical, literally knocking you off your feet. The aroma should be natural and natural, without third-party flavoring.

When making tea, it is important how many brews or (straits) it withstands, as well as what color the infusion is obtained. In a hot cup, the aroma should last for a very long time. Ideally, the infusion should be light, clear and fragrant. The higher tea quality, the greater the number of brews it can withstand. High-quality oolong teas can withstand more than 10 brews. They are truly endless!

The taste of high-quality tea is multifaceted and natural, in the throat you can feel honey, floral, nutty and creamy shades. Chinese tea is a real symphony of flavors and aromas! Not only the taste, but also the aftertaste is unusually expressive in high-quality tea. After brewing, you can also appreciate the "cha-di" tea bottom. If we consider the drunk tea, then the tea leaf or buds should be even, with bright, clear veins. After tea drinking, the state that tea bestows is important, depending on its grade. Perhaps you will experience a surge of strength and energy, an upbeat mood, or perhaps you will feel relaxation, sometimes turning into subtle meditative states that set you in a contemplative mood.

We are convinced that after trying several times good tea(Alpine teas are considered the most valuable and delicious) your taste buds will remember its pleasant taste, and you will easily be able to distinguish good tea from low-grade tea. Indeed, sometimes sellers, often chasing quick profits, use this phrase in their marketing decisions, but such an inscription, sometimes on very beautiful packaging, can only be an empty phrase. Of particular importance is how the tea was stored. This is very important, because tea that has not been stored properly, unfortunately, turns into hay, and becomes devoid of all useful substances! You don't eat rotten food, do you? Is not it?

What quality tea is not worth buying

• Branded teas, in a beautiful package with some pathetic name “tea with wild strawberry flavor” or “Green tea with cherry pieces”, because, at best, the flavors will be harmless to your body, and creating the appearance of a product’s naturalness, the manufacturer often hides use of the achievements of peaceful chemistry. Mass consumption teas are bought in bulk, the quality of the tea is often not monitored. Firms selling such tea, alas, are focused not on quality, but on low prices and big profits, and high-quality tea, even in China, cannot cost 50-100 yuan (250-500 rubles per kilogram). You can't call this tea tea!
• It is not recommended to buy tea in glass jars, as the light oxidizes the tea leaf and, unfortunately, loses its beneficial properties.

Often tea companies take advantage of the ignorance of the buyer, and often pass off average tea as high quality. Therefore, in order to understand the grade of the leaf, we have optimized for you a convenient navigation through the world of tea.

In an effort to make more profits, tea companies often buy up stale tea at bargain prices. It is best to buy tea in stores that supply it in small batches, they do not store it, unlike businessmen who carry it in large trucks for the mass consumption segment. Also, large companies most often do not have the opportunity to monitor the quality of each batch of tea, by the way, tea testers of our website, taste each batch before purchasing it, carefully assessing the taste, aroma and aftertaste of the drink and, of course, the conditions that it bestows .

Therefore, you should not buy tea in the shops of large supermarkets, such teas are designed for the mass consumer and are often low-grade, therefore they do not have the health benefits that quality Chinese tea. Find out what health benefits you can get from drinking quality Chinese tea here (coming soon).

Also, the price of tea is often unreasonably high due to a long chain of intermediaries, expensive rent, premises and warehouses. We supply tea directly, without intermediaries, in small batches as they are sold, so we always have tea delicious and fresh.

In general, understanding and the ability to understand tea comes with experience. We are deeply convinced that after drinking real high-quality Chinese tea, you will no longer confuse it with anything. Because high-grade tea has an unforgettable palette of flavors and aromas, it does not need to be drunk with rolls or sweets in order for it to be at least a little “some”. Our tea is delicious in itself, and insanely fragrant. Among other things, it gives surprisingly pleasant conditions every time, unlike low-quality tea.

What kind to start with if you want to become a connoisseur of tea - or just to finally find the exact tea that you can enjoy every day? Let's figure it out in this article. And first, let's remember

What kind of tea is there?

When people talk about "tea varieties", what do you think they mean?

Everyone knows that tea is a plant, a tea bush. Plants of different varieties, from the point of view of botany, have different decorative or physiological characteristics. For example, two varieties of peonies or tomatoes may differ in external data, have different colors and shapes of petals, the size and taste of fruits, etc. And many still think that green and black tea are made from different plants. In fact, there is one type of tea plant - camellia sinensis - and many varieties of it. The type of tea (green, black, yellow, etc.) depends on the processing of the tea leaf.

We will not go into botanical details. After all, for the buyer, the taste, aroma, color of the finished drink matters. These indicators are determined commercial grade.

Commercial grade of tea - an indicator of quality

The trade grade of tea consists of many factors. In addition to the variety of tea plant (Chinese, Assamese, Cambodian), the following are taken into account:

• the place of growth of the plant itself (this is country of origin, the most famous are Chinese, Indian, Ceylon, Kenyan and other teas from Africa, Georgian, Vietnamese, Japanese and, of course, native Krasnodar, characteristics plantations),
• time and conditions of collection (which leaves are collected, manually or by machine, collection season, etc.),
• features of sheet processing (drying, twisting, grinding and many more special processes).

And that's not all - many varieties of tea are obtained by blending and additional aromatization(There is nothing wrong with this if the flavors are natural).

All these factors affect the final grade of tea. And as a result, we can read on the pack, for example, "Chinese green large-leaf tea (... company name)". Here every word matters.

Blending is another reason for the variety of teas

Blending (and in simple terms - mixing) is carried out by tea-packing factories. Each blend gets its own unique name and sometimes becomes the "face of the company". The composition of such a mixture may include 1-2 dozen varieties of tea leaves grown in different countries.

Which tea maker is the best?

In Soviet times, we had access to one type of tea, which many still miss ("with an elephant"). Then the country rushed to the other extreme, and only imported tea could be bought in stores. Now the choice is great, there would be money.

It is very difficult to choose the best tea manufacturer. Mainly because the same company produces 3-5 different brands of tea in several price categories - expensive, medium, economy. And ardent adherents of Greenfield tea, in fact, choose the same manufacturer as economical lovers of the Princess Nouri brand (both are made by the Orimi Trade company). Therefore, the definition of "the best tea producer" is very conditional.

Of the Russian tea producers, we note the following companies:

• "Orimi trade", she owns the brands "Princess Noori", "Princess Kandy", (as well as Gita, Java), as well as Tess, Greenfield,
• "May"- and this is not only May Tea, but also Lisma, Curtis,
• Unilever- "Conversation", Brooke Bond, Lipton (the owner of the company is England, but the production is located in Russia).

Among foreign teas, the most famous "Dilmah"(supplier of Ceylon tea), English Twinnings, « Ahmad, Ceylon "Riston"(positions itself as "premium English tea"), « Akbar".

When selecting tea varieties for the rating, we were based on customer reviews and research results. We did not consider rare, elite and expensive varieties that are sold only at auctions or in tea shops of a narrow specialization. The ranking contains popular trade grades of black and green tea, which are easy to find in stores near your home.