Four Ways to Judge Tea
By Ron Campbell, Owner of Merkaba
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1) By the look: The shape of the leaf, and the color. The shape varies for different kinds of tea. The unbroken tea leaf is always preferable. Good green teas in general are smaller, more delicate buds and leaf, and oolongs are a bigger leaf where the 'created' edge is obvious. Broken leaves are also a sign of machine-harvested tea. However, some tea, especially black tea, is cut to provide for stronger taste. Also, many oolongs are deliberately 'bruised' or abraded to give flavor and improve appearance. Both the dry leaves and wet leaves should be examined (wet leaves when they are fully opened). There is a lot to be learned from the wet leaf, like how the leaf was oxidized. With green teas, hand fired leaves will be a little bit yellow, steamed tea has the look of a leafy green vegetable, like spinach and baked green tea will be a very dark green. Upon brewing the tea it should become close to the color it was when it was picked. Age will affect the color of the tea water, causing it to be brown or very murky green. The color of black tea water should be bright reddish gold and should leave a ring in the cup. With oolongs the dry tea leaves can be anywhere from bright green to dark green/brown dependant upon processing.

2) By the smell: Generally, there are two smells to consider, the dry smell and the wet smell. The dry smell should be obvious. If there is no smell to the dry leaves they are very suspect. Green tea should have a light, fresh, soothing fragrance, from a light orchid to a chestnutty smell. Black tea should have a sweet, floral fragrance, and the smell should not be easily lost. The aroma of dry Oolongs can range from peach to floral to sweet corn. In judging scented tea, the aroma should be maintained over multiple infusions. If a scented tea loses it's smell quickly, the quality is poor. The fragrance of a tea is just as important in judging a tea as its taste.

3) By touch: Determine if the tea leaves are smooth or coarse, whether or not it crumbles easily, and whether it is heavy or light. A good green tea feels smooth, not coarse, and the wet leaves should be tender. Others varieties may be heavy and dense. Wet tea leaves from these will generally be tender, almost like silk, but also sturdy. Whatever the tea, it should not crumble easily; if it does, it has been baked too long or is too old.

4) By the taste: The best way to judge a tea, of course, is by the taste. Green tea should taste fresh, not stale, and should not be too astringent. Black tea should be full bodied and fresh. In general, good tea has a sweet aftertaste and should feel very slippery going down the throat. The aftertaste should linger for a noticeably long time, like the feeling you have after listening to music, when a good tune lingers. Remember that tasting tea is like tasting wine: slurp it to aerate it, let it slide down the middle of the tongue in one sip, and down the sides of the tongue in the next, followed by the whole tongue with big slurping. Pay attention to the subtleties and the complexity of the tea. A large part of learning to appreciate tea is learning to slow down and pay attention to the subtleties.

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Ron Campbell and his wife Kathy own and operate Merkaba, which features a wide variety of teas and tea items, and gifts for all your spiritual and cultural needs. Their teas come from all over the world and include organic herbal teas, healing teas, Yerba Mate, green teas, black teas, oolong, white teas, pu-erh, flavored tisanes, chai teas, flavored and blended teas. You'll find all kinds of tea products including filters, thermometers, tea bag squeezers, tea cozies, gourds, tea pots and tea sets, mugs and cups, mesh tea infusers, bombilla and even coffee and tea scoops. For more information about Merkaba's retail shop in Idyllwild, CA, or online store visit: http://www.southwestblend.com/merkaba/index.htm