Learning how to identify gu shu & make maocha - The Tea Urchin

„When examining maocha, the colour of gu shu leaves tend to be more highly contrasted with a bright white hairy bud/tip surrounded by a grey, open leaf wrapper, with dark black stem & leaves. By comparison, tai di cha is almost all black, due to the use of fertilizer, the leaves grow quickly and the buds have less white hairs.“

„Good quality old tea has a 'matured' fragrance (chen wei). This comes from tea that has been stored well and matured without any adverse effects. (xing wei - a 'fishy' smell that can be detected in old tea that has been stored poorly - should be clearly distinguished from chen wei which is quite different). “