10 best varieties of brewed tea

Who among us does not like the rich aromatic taste of tea? If you are tired of its usual options, you want to become a connoisseur of this drink, or just finally to find the very ideal product for you, you should understand how and which sort to choose. With these questions we understand in our ranking of the best varieties of brewed tea.

How to choose a quality tea

It’s not so easy to pick up quality tea that you can enjoy. And it's not about the popular cheap options for tea, packaged in bags. How to understand that the selected dry tea brewing will be of high quality? It is necessary to pay attention to several criteria.

The color of tea leaves. Ideally, tea leaves should be black (if talking about black tea). Any extraneous shades (gray, brown and "rusty") are unacceptable: they speak about the average quality of the product. Green tea can have many shades, but only green. The presence of brownish tea leaves indicates that the tea is old. The presence of whitish or too bright tea leaves indicates that several harvests were mixed in one package - this is unacceptable.

No impurities. Tea with extraneous matter ordinary people call tea with "wood", and experts - "box" tea. Often in the impurities can fall as fragments of tea branches, and plywood, paper, or even foil. Low-grade teas are the remnants of tea production, and the packaged options do tea powder and dust.

Mass uniformity. Quality tea is represented by a mass of tea leaves of the same size. The product of average quality consists of tea leaves of various sizes with an admixture of a large amount of dust.

Tangle of tea leaves. The degree of twisting of tea leaves speaks about the quality of fermentation and, accordingly, of the tea itself - the more twisted the tea leaves, the better the raw materials. For example, curled into a corkscrew is called "wire": they are characteristic only of very high-quality tea. By the way, bona fide manufacturers always leave an open “window” on the package through which you can evaluate the appearance of the product.

The degree of dryness of raw materials. Humidity quality tea can not exceed 3-6%. It is believed that a higher percentage of moisture degrades the quality of tea (at a rate of 20%, the tea becomes poisonous).

Smell. Regardless of the sort of tea, a good product should smell nice. Green - to be herbal or bitter, black - resinous with sweetish or floral notes. But in no case should tea smell like: burning (dried tea, rejects), metal, other foreign smells (improper storage).

Freshness. Tea freshness is one of its most important qualities (this rule does not apply to certain types of tea, for example, such as Pu-erh, when raw materials are specially stored before fermentation for several years). The elite varieties of tea are those where the tea leaves are the youngest (no more than 2 months). Tea, the “age” of which is 3-5 months, falls in price several times (at the same time, it is practically not inferior in its properties to the first).Tea, which has been stored packed longer than six months, loses almost all of its flavor, and by the end of the storage period it becomes completely bitter in taste.

Marking. The quality of tea largely depends on how and what leaves for it were collected. A first-class tea consists of the tips of the tea shoots, coarser leaves are designed for an inexpensive low-quality product. When buying tea, we advise you to always pay attention to the labeling with which manufacturers mark packaging:

1. Leaf tea - PR is a quality mark - when collecting tea, mainly buds were used with the addition of no more than 3 upper leaves; FP - the quality is slightly lower than in the previous case; PS - The raw material consists of coarse lower leaves.
2. Medium leaf tea - BOP - marking indicates that the tea was broken in the process of collecting and screened out - the highest quality option possible; BP - the size of the tea leaves is slightly smaller than in the previous case, but the quality is approximately the same; BPS / PD - poorly distinguishable from small-leaf.
3. Small leaf tea - F - seeding (often used for tea bags); D is dust. Small-leaf tea more than others is suitable for use with sugar and milk (black).

Rating of the best varieties of brewed tea

Nomination	a place	Name of product	price
Best black tea	1	Althaus Golden Assam Sankar FTGFOP, 250 g	2 129 ₽
	2	Eternity Samawi Golden Needle, 50 g	3 025 ₽
	3	Newby Aquarius Darjeeling, 25 g	1 589 ₽
	4	Azerchay Bouquet black tea, 200 g	213 ₽
	5	Ahmad Tea Professional Earl Gray, 500 g	659 ₽
Best green tea	1	Eternity Zao Chun Lu Elite green, 120 g	9 401 ₽
	2	Althaus Royal Jasmine Chung Hao, 250 g	2 309 ₽
	3	Niktea Dragon Pearls, 250 g	2 049 ₽
	4	Newby Green Sencha, 125 g	919 ₽
	5	Heladiv Pekoe Green Soursop, 250 g	485 ₽

Best black tea

Althaus Golden Assam Sankar FTGFOP, 250 g

Rating: 4.9

Classic leaf tea of ​​better quality, grown on Indian plantations. The raw material is represented by sheets of the correct form, contains many tips. The drink has a rich golden brown color. Tea has a rich taste and delicate strong aroma with hints of floral sweetness and hops. The average price is 2300 rubles.

Eternity Samawi Golden Needle, 50 g

Rating: 4.9

This is an unusual participant in our ranking, represented by Golden Needle (golden needle) tea. Tea buds look like thin needles, and fleecy tea leaves have an unusual golden hue. The finished drink has a clear yellow hue and honey flavor with a pronounced spicy note. The aroma of tea is thin, unobtrusive. You will like true aesthetes who want to try something new in tea. The average price is 3300 rubles.

Newby Aquarius Darjeeling, 25 g

Rating: 4.8

Another original member of the rating, who could not get into it due to the unusualness of his taste qualities: he is considered "champagne" among the teas. A series from the collection of "Zodiac" Newby company called incredibly elegant. Silver tips with small “blotches” of green leaves give the drink a light amber color and an unusual muscat flavor, complemented by a light floral scent. The average price is 1750 rubles.

Azerchay Bouquet black tea, 200 g

Rating: 4.7

Russian tea leaf tea is not in vain in our ranking of the best. Despite the incredibly affordable price, consumers have noted excellent taste (without unpleasant astringency). The average price is 240 rubles.

Ahmad Tea Professional Earl Gray, 500 g

Rating: 4.6

A worthy representative among the flavored Earl Gray teas with rich brown, reddish color of the drink and rich savory taste. Ideal for afternoon tea. The average price is 650 rubles.

Best green tea

Eternity Zao Chun Lu Elite green, 120 g

Rating: 4.9

The Zao Chun Lu variety is an incredible rarity in the green tea market, which can perhaps explain the “biting” price. The drink has not only an amazing floral flavor range, but also healing properties. The average price is 9000 rubles.

Althaus Royal Jasmine Chung Hao, 250 g

Rating: 4.8

Unusually gentle jasmine green tea from the brand Althaus is a classic of Chinese tea art and is imported from there. A mixture of young green shoots, covered with a soft down, combined with velvety jasmine petals, when properly brewed, turns into an exquisite fragrant drink - the perfect tea for those who appreciate soft jasmine taste. The average price is 2000 rubles.

Niktea Dragon Pearls, 250 g

Rating: 4.7

Carefully selected leaves of green tea Dragon Pearls guarantee a quality drink with original taste and aromatic qualities. The delicate taste of green tea is complemented by delicate floral notes of jasmine. Excellent quality - for reasonable money. The average price is 1980 rubles.

Newby Green Sencha, 125 g

Rating: 4.7

Excellent green tea, collected on Indian plantations, will appeal to lovers of classic rich taste. Stylish packaging and quality raw materials ensures the pleasure of buying. The average price is 1000 rubles.

Heladiv Pekoe Green Soursop, 250 g

Rating: 4.5

Inexpensive green tea with sausepa flavor definitely deserves a place in our rating due to the excellent combination of reasonable price and high quality. It will appeal to connoisseurs of rich green tea with a fruity aroma. The average price is 420 rubles.

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Attention! This rating is subjective, is not advertising and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you should consult with a specialist.