Locking the natural aroma and flavor from the depths of the mountains within its verdant dried leaves, after being washed with hot Water, it reveals a clear and radiant color; it emits an ethereal and romantic fragrance; it imparts a rich and natural tea taste. Once the buds and leaves have fully unfurled and all the tea essence has been released, its mission to be tasted by people comes to an end. Then, it embarks on a new journey to be admired for its leaves. If the leaf base has a normal color, that is the best, but sometimes, there can be a reddish hue in the leaves.
Tea enthusiasts often ask Wanyue (6480348): “Wanyue, I'm drinking an ancient tree spring tea from Yiwu State Forest. Why do I see some red stems in the leaves after brewing? Does this indicate poor quality tea?”…
As we receive many such questions, we feel it necessary to write an article to explain in detail what it means when Green Tea leaves turn reddish and whether such tea is good or bad, or has other implications.
From the perspective of tea evaluation, examining the leaves is an essential process, and it can directly reflect the appropriateness of the processing techniques. Evaluating the tenderness, color, and uniformity of the leaves primarily relies on visual and tactile inspection.
Of course, the above evaluation method works for many types of tea, but for ancient tree raw Pu'er, the situation is relatively special. Judging the quality of the tea based solely on the appearance of the leaves is not comprehensive enough. First, let's understand why raw pu'er tea leaves turn reddish before making any judgments.
Causes of a reddish hue in Pu'er raw tea leaves:
01. Reddish hue caused during the picking process
Starting with the environment where most ancient tea trees grow in Yunnan, these trees are typically found deep in the mountains far away from human settlements. Tea farmers need to travel long distances to pick fresh leaves from ancient trees, so it takes a significant amount of time to transport the leaves back home after picking.
During transportation, the large quantities of tea leaves piled together generate heat, causing the leaves to become warm and undergo oxidation reactions. As a result, the stems or entire leaves may turn reddish.
02. Reddish hue caused by inadequate fixation
Fixation is the most critical step in the production of sun-dried rough tea. Its purpose is to quickly use heat to deactivate the enzymes in the leaves, slowing down the enzymatic oxidation of polyphenols; secondly, it helps to release the grassy smell and form the tea's aroma; finally, it rapidly dehydrates the leaves, making them soft enough for rolling and subsequent processing steps.
What details during the fixation process could cause the tea leaves to turn reddish?
First scenario: When the moisture content of the tea leaves is high, if the tea leaves are fixed slowly without timely and even stirring, the water inside the leaves cannot evaporate promptly. The residual moisture easily causes the leaves to become damp and turn reddish, resulting in a reddish appearance in the leaf base.
Second scenario: If the temperature in the wok is too low during fixation, the enzyme activity is not sufficiently destroyed or inhibited, allowing the fresh leaves to continue fermenting, leading to reddening of the leaves and stems. The following video is from…
03. Reddish hue caused by storage conditions
It is well-known that Pu'er tea improves with age, but this requires proper storage conditions. If the tea is exposed to direct sunlight or has a high moisture content during storage, the leaves may exhibit a reddish hue.
This is because exposure to direct sunlight accelerates the oxidative polymerization in the tea leaves, producing a large amount of Theaflavin. An excessively high concentration of theaflavins will manifest directly on the leaves and stems.
Additionally, if the tea has a high moisture content during storage, contact with air accelerates oxidation, also producing a large amount of theaflavin. This explains why some tea enthusiasts find their tea cakes, which originally had normal colors, showing a reddish hue in the leaves after storage.
Is a reddish hue in the leaves indicative of good tea?
The answer is: Not necessarily.
For some raw Pu'er teas, a reddish hue in the leaves is a common phenomenon, as seen in many Yiwu teas. Even if there is a reddish hue, if the aroma and taste remain unaffected and provide a pleasant experience, the tea can be considered of normal quality and safe to drink.
However, if the leaves show a reddish hue and the tea tastes unpleasant, or if discomfort is experienced in the mouth and throat after drinking, the tea should be discarded immediately.
In summary, the reddish hue in raw Pu'er tea leaves is related to picking, processing, and storage conditions. However, the quality of the tea cannot be judged solely based on whether the leaves are reddish. A comprehensive evaluation of various factors is required to determine the quality of the tea.
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