10 years of experience in buying green tea

Every spring, when flowers bloom, the buds in the tea garden begin to sprout new green, and spring tea is put on the market in large quantities between Qingming and Guyu.

These tea leaves will be stored in cold storage until the end of the year.

As a person who loves green tea, I have accumulated some experience in the process of buying tea over the past ten years, so I will share it with you here. If there are any shortcomings, please add them.

How to buy green tea?

Before we get into the specific purchase experience, let's make one thing clear:

The quality of green tea is often proportional to its price.

Good products are not cheap, and cheap products are not good. You get what you pay for. This is a correct concept to a large extent, but it is not absolute.

This is not only because of the influence of fame, production area, and craftsmanship, but also because the picking and planting methods of tea, including brand, marketing and other factors will directly affect the value of tea.

Therefore, mastering some basic purchasing skills can allow us to choose the green tea that suits our needs.

Buying suggestions for novices

For novices who are just getting started, it is recommended to start from the following aspects:

Choose a big brand

The tea of ​​a big brand is usually guaranteed in quality and reputation. It can reduce our trial and error costs.

Secondly, choosing a well-known brand can reduce the risk of buying inferior tea, of course, you also have to consider your own pocket strength.

Look at sales

Sales are often a reflection of the popularity of the product.

Choosing tea with high sales means that it has been recognized in the market, but now this is just a reference. There is still water in the current online sales, so you should consider this moderately.

Choose a price that suits you

Price is an important factor when choosing tea.

Choose tea that suits you according to your own financial ability, and you don’t have to pursue overly expensive products.

Now that technology and industry are developed, it is mainly not pure handmade tea or master tea. Tea around 300-500 yuan can also be very good.

Key points for tea lovers with a certain foundation

For friends who already have a certain foundation in tea, the following points can help you choose green tea more accurately:

The more famous, the more expensive

As a historical tea, the price of West Lake Longjing is generally higher than that of Jingshan tea.

This is because the brand effect and historical accumulation of West Lake Longjing make it more valuable.

Therefore, when choosing tea, the relationship between fame and price should be considered.

The more core the production area, the more expensive the price

The core area of ​​the production area often produces higher quality tea. For example, the price of West Lake Longjing in the first-level production area is significantly higher than that of Longjing in the second-level production area, and the price of the second-level production area is higher than that of ordinary Longjing.

This is because the core production area itself is so large, and the climate, soil and other conditions are a little better, more suitable for the growth of tea trees, and the quality of tea is naturally better.

Time order, the earlier the more expensive

Mingqian tea (tea picked about a week before or after Qingming Festival) is usually more expensive than Yuqian tea (tea picked after Qingming Festival);

Because Mingqian tea is the first wave, after brewing and accumulating in winter, the tea leaves are fuller, the tea buds are more tender, and the taste is better.

Therefore, the picking time of tea is closely related to its quality. The earlier the tea is picked, the more popular it is, but it is not the case that the earlier the better.

Tea with various adjectives is generally more expensive

If the tea packaging is marked with words such as "organic tea", "old tree tea", "wild tea", "group species", "pure handmade", "hand-picked", etc., it usually means that its quality is high and the price will rise accordingly.

These adjectives not only represent the planting and production process of tea, but also reflect the scarcity and unique personality of the tea itself.

Tea with various medals

Tea that has won awards, or tea that is linked to famous tea masters or events, is often expensive.

These teas usually have unique stories and cultural backgrounds, such as the special prize of the Tea Expo and the Milan Memorial Tea, which have unique blessings, so the price may be a little higher.

Understand the shelf life of tea

When buying green tea, it is also important to understand the shelf life of tea.

Generally speaking, the shelf life of green tea is 1 year.

For example, tea produced during the Qingming Festival must be the most expensive at that time. After all, green tea is fresh and refreshing. If it is placed in a cold storage and sold in June or July, the price will naturally be discounted or lower. In fact, if it is stored well, the taste may change slightly, or it may be similar.

Let's take a look at the channels for buying tea now

Tea specialty stores

When buying in tea specialty stores, you can communicate directly with the store owner, learn more about the tea, and really taste the tea, but the price may be relatively higher.

Online shopping malls

Now many e-commerce platforms have tea specialty areas. Choosing reputable merchants and checking user reviews can help you find high-quality tea.

The price of online shopping malls may be cheaper because of the large quantity, but the disadvantage is that you can't drink it.

Tea Expo and Tea Exhibition

There are tea expos and tea exhibitions every year, where you can taste all kinds of tea. Many of them are really source manufacturers, and you can order them for a long time. The price is also affordable, but you still need to learn more about tea knowledge to avoid being indoctrinated.

Live broadcast platform

In recent years, with the rise of live broadcasts, live broadcast rooms are tempting with low prices and various activities, but pay attention to the things in the live broadcast room, and be sure to carefully identify them, because once there is an after-sales problem, it will be more troublesome than the physical one.

In conclusion

The above is my summary of my purchase experience over the past ten years. I hope it can help you avoid being deceived when buying green tea.

Whether you are a novice or a tea lover with a certain foundation, as long as you master these key points, you can find tea that you like, taste good, and can afford.