The difference between raw tea and cooked tea

Tea culture is a distinctive and important part of Chinese culture. In daily life, most people have become very dependent on drinking tea, and tea culture has become more and more popular. To understand the basic knowledge of tea culture, we also need to distinguish between raw tea and cooked tea. Raw tea and cooked tea have different effects and different tastes. Although they are both good types of tea, it is recommended that you drink more cooked tea in daily life, which is good for your health.

The most fundamental difference between cooked tea and raw tea is that cooked tea is made by artificial pile fermentation, while raw tea is made by natural fermentation. Simply put, raw tea is sun-dried green tea that has been steamed at high temperature to soften it and then pressed, while cooked tea must first be fermented and then pressed.

What are the specific differences between the two types of tea?

1. Differentiate by color: Raw tea is usually yellow-green, and old raw tea is dark green; cooked tea is reddish brown or even black, which is mainly affected by the degree of pile fermentation. Newly produced cooked tea may also have a grayish feel. As the fermentation progresses, the leaf edges and tea stems of naturally fermented raw tea turn red and purple, then gradually turn red, and the yellow-green color gradually disappears, and finally turns into chestnut or reddish brown, and feels shiny.

2. Differentiate by the color of the tea soup: the tea soup of raw tea is transparent yellow-green or golden yellow; the tea soup of cooked tea is chestnut or reddish brown, or even almost black. If it is not fully fermented, it will be a little light yellow. As the fermentation of raw tea deepens, the yellow color of the tea soup becomes lighter, the red color deepens, and finally becomes a bright, rich red, and there will be oil and gas on the surface of the tea soup.

3. Differentiate by smell: Raw tea smells like the fresh fragrance of the tea leaves themselves, while cooked tea smells like a special aged fragrance. If the tea is aged in a wet warehouse or the pile fermentation is not done well, it may have a musty smell.

4. Differentiate by taste: The taste of raw tea is very similar to green tea, with a bitter taste; the taste of cooked tea is sweet, smooth, mellow and refreshing, with a distinct aftertaste.

5. Differentiation by nutrition and efficacy: Raw tea is rich in tea polyphenols, which is anti-radiation, anti-cancer, and has a cool nature. It has the effects of clearing away heat, relieving summer heat, detoxifying, quenching thirst, promoting salivation, digesting food, and promoting bowel movements. After fermentation, cooked tea produces a lot of new nutrients under the action of enzymes. Therefore, on the basis of ordinary tea, it has more effects, such as: lowering blood lipids, losing weight, lowering blood pressure, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-cancer, nourishing the stomach and protecting the stomach, strengthening teeth, anti-inflammatory, sterilizing, and anti-aging.