In previous articles, we have talked about the definition of single-origin tea and blended tea, so today we will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of single-origin tea and blended tea.
1.Advantages of Single-Origin Tea
- Distinct regional flavor: precise presentation of mountain characteristics.
- Pure variety characteristics: Preserve the natural attributes of the specific tea tree variety.
- Simple production:no complex process is need, and that method is suitable for small-scale production.
Single-origin tea has strong regional characteristics, which can accurately express the characteristics of tea products in a specific region, such as mountain tea in Pu’er Tea tea, which highlights the regional characteristics.
Because of its unique geographical environment and specific tea-making technology, each hilltop tea has created unique quality tea products, such as the hegemony of Banzhang tea and the softness of Yiwu tea. Single-origin tea can show its regional characteristics at a glance.
Taking black tea as an example, the sun-dried red tea made from small-leaf tea is quite different from the sun-dried red tea made from large-leaf tea in Yunnan. In the aroma of tea soup, the aroma of small-leaf black tea is high and full, while that of large-leaf black tea is restrained and steady.
Therefore, even the same kind of tea, different varieties of tea trees, the production of tea products are also very different. Single-origin tea can also best reflect the characteristics of tea varieties.
2.Disadvantages of Single-Origin Tea
- The quality is unstable: it is greatly affected by climate and year, and the batch difference is obvious.
- The yield is scarce: the resources such as single ancient tree are limited and the price is high.
- Single taste: lack of layering, and the late transformation potential may be weak.
Single-origin tea also has its own defects, its aroma and taste are relatively single, the level of change is not very rich, lack of relative richness.
In addition, due to the limited number of existing ancient tea trees and their non-renewable nature, the production of tea is small and the price is relatively expensive.
3.Advantages of Blended Tea
- Leverage strengths & Offset weaknesses: enhance the taste through complementary raw materials.
- Rich layers: aroma and taste are more three-dimensional.
- Stable quality: feasible for mass production, suitable for long-term drinking or collection.
The advantages of blending tea stem from the purpose of blending. As for the purpose of blending, Mr. Zou Bingliang has put forward earlier that blending is to “foster strengths and circumvent weaknesses, highlight the advantages and conceal the disadvantages, and balance the high and low”. For example, according to grade blending, taking Pu’er tea as an example, the raw materials of Pu’er tea are divided into 11 grades.
The production of high-grade tea is limited, and the blending of different grades of tea can not only improve the taste of low-grade tea, but also make up for the shortage of high-grade tea.
In addition, the best blended tea has relatively rich taste, strong sense of hierarchy and diverse changes.
4.Disadvantages of Blended Tea
- High technical requirements: rely on experienced blending division and sufficient raw material reserves.
- Risk of adulteration: it may be mixed with inferior tea materials to reduce the cost.
- Covering up features: over-blending weakens the recognition of production areas.
Blended teas also have their drawbacks. In the production process, it is necessary to mix enough kinds of tea raw materials, so as to select the raw materials that can be fused with each other and make tea products.
It has very high technical requirements for the assembler. Because in the process of blending, it is possible that dozens of tea samples can not be blended out of a good tea, regardless of the selection of tea types or the calculation of blending ratio, it is a difficult process, but also a process that requires constant testing. When mixing in batches, a slight mistake will cause a whole batch of tea materials to be damaged. Therefore, the risk of making blended tea is very high.
In addition, because of the rich variety of raw materials and long-term storage of blended tea, the direction of tea taste transformation is also uncertain because of the wide variety of substances contained in blended tea.
5.How to choose
When asked, “How do you view single-origin tea vs. blended tea?” most tea enthusiasts gave the following responses:
- Some prioritize whether the tea is single-origin, as they prefer its pure taste. They also find it easier to predict its flavor transformation during storage, which gives them a sense of certainty.
- Others favor blended tea. High-quality blended tea offers good value for money, with richer aroma, texture, and taste. They enjoy the “mystery” of its flavor changes during storage.
- A third group cares little about whether the tea is single-origin or blended. For them, the key factors are the taste and flavor of the brewed tea.
Single-origin tea and blended tea together constitute the diversity of tea culture, just as the “one mountain, one taste” of Pu’er single-origin tea and the “various tastes” of blended tea are the pleasure of tea people to explore.