Standards for Evaluating What Makes Good Tea

In the culture of tea and the art of tea tasting, tea artisans are often very meticulous and detailed in selecting and evaluating what makes good tea. Those who appreciate tea also pay special attention and understand what good tea is. This reflects the sophistication of the tea drinker. To evaluate the quality of tea, various criteria are used, such as the tea’s origin, the timing and technique of harvesting, the processing methods, and more. In this article, let’s explore with Chính Long Vietnamese Tea the criteria for judging what makes good tea.

What Makes Good Tea and Its Origin

When it comes to anything—people, objects, or events—people always care about its origin. The same goes for tea. To understand what good tea is, one cannot ignore the tea’s origin. The origin here refers to the tea-growing region and the climatic and soil conditions there. These natural factors are important and should not be overlooked, as they contribute significantly to the growth of the tea plant. Good tea-growing regions produce high-quality and reliable tea products. With a tropical monsoon climate and diverse soil distribution, tea plants have favorable conditions for development, making Vietnam a cradle of tea cultivation.

Currently, Vietnamese teas mainly come from three major regions: northern teas in Thái Nguyên, scented teas and oolong teas in Bảo Lộc, and ancient Shan tea trees in the Northwest. The midland areas best known for green tea cultivation include Tân Cương, Đại Từ, Trại Cài, and La Bằng in Thái Nguyên. This is the largest tea farming region in the North, famous for small-leaf tea varieties, especially curled “hook” shaped teas with rich flavor. When talking about famous tea regions in Vietnam, the Northwest must not be overlooked. Here, there are native tea forests hundreds of years old on the Hoàng Liên Sơn mountain range, renowned for the Shan Tuyết ancient tea trees. Shan Tuyết tea, covered with a layer of white hair on its leaves, is popular both in Vietnam and worldwide. Additionally, oolong tea in Vietnam is best produced in Lâm Đồng and Cao Bằng provinces.

Timing and Techniques for Tea Harvesting

To understand what makes good tea, tea drinkers must also pay attention to the timing and techniques of tea picking. Enjoying tea is not just about sipping a cup, but about all the stages involved in making a good pot of tea, including harvesting—the art of tea appreciation in Vietnamese culture.

The timing of picking tea leaves is crucial, determining the quality of the leaves. The best time during the day is often at dawn, when the first sunlight shines. At this time, tea leaves still hold morning dew and absorb the purity of the gentle early sunlight. In a year, there are two main harvest seasons: spring and summer. Picking too early means the tea hasn’t fully developed; picking too late means the leaves become tough and mature. Thus, tea artisans are always meticulous to harvest tea at the right season and time, ensuring fresh, high-quality buds and leaves.

Not only must the tea be harvested at the right time, but the technique of picking is also important. Tea picking significantly affects the growth, yield, and quality of the tea plant. Research shows that tea branches naturally produce 3–4 flushes per year due to the apical dominance suppressing the growth of lateral buds. Picking tea disrupts this balance, stimulating the lateral buds to grow new branches and buds. Consequently, the tea plant develops more branches and buds, increasing yield in subsequent harvests.

Tea pickers often use manual picking by hand. In some regions of the Northwest, tea pickers are required not to let their skin touch the buds and leaves to preserve the natural essence and purity of the tea quality. For Chính Long Tea’s Khiết Nhi variety, tea must be picked by pure young women from the villages, reflecting the meticulous and strict art of tea appreciation.

How to Process Tea to Ensure Good Quality

When understanding what makes good tea, tea artisans and drinkers know that processing determines about 70% of the product’s quality. This stage directly affects the buds and leaves, requiring carefulness and precision. Different tea types have different processing methods to preserve the final tea leaf quality. For example, oolong leaves are partially oxidized, unlike green tea which is unoxidized and black tea which is fully oxidized. Tea makers must ensure all processing steps are done correctly for each tea type to awaken the full flavor of the final tea leaves.

Besides standard processing techniques, ethnic groups in the Northwest, such as the Dao people, have unique methods. The ancient Shan Tuyết tea buds are lightly pan-fired over a Dao stove, minimally processed, then tightly packed into bamboo tubes. These bamboo tubes are carefully selected and sterilized by the Dao to prevent mold during storage. At Chính Long Tea, this tea is called Khiết Nhi, a tea embodying Dao cultural identity.

Conclusion

Describing what makes good tea is difficult because each tea drinker has different tastes and perceptions. However, good tea must be a product of quality, gathering all key factors: origin, timing and technique of harvesting, and processing methods. Therefore, the question “What makes good tea?” can partly be answered by the care and attention at these stages before the product reaches the consumer.