Tea Masters’ Tips: The Real versus the Unreal

a) CTC: Take a teaspoon (tsp) of tea and put it in a glass. Pour hot water. Good tea will take three minutes to give colour; the bad takes 30 seconds. b) Leaf tea: Take a tsp of tea and put it in a glass. Pour hot water and let it steep for three minutes. The inferior tea will reveal leaves, stalks and dust, while the other will show a uniform hue. c) Take an airtight container and put in the tea. Shut the lid tightly. Open after 24 hours. A musty odour will emerge if the tea is inferior. Good tea will give off fragrance.