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WELLNESSWEEK
Tasting Review Standard
How we review pu-erh: one method, one shared vocabulary
Every tasting review on our product pages follows the method in the Pu'er Tea Association's 2026 standard, T/PCX 008—2026 Pu'er Tea Quality Evaluation Method. Five factors, a weighted score out of 100, and 95 defined tasting words, so that "floral" or "mellow and thick" means the same thing to everyone who reads it.
Why a standard for customer reviews?
Ask three people to describe the same cup and you may hear "smooth", "aged" and "really good". Star ratings tell you whether someone liked a tea, not what it tastes like. A shared method fixes that: everyone looks at the same five things, in the same order, and uses words with a defined meaning.
The standard judges a pu-erh in two separate ways. Is it safe? That is tested by an accredited laboratory against China's national limits. How good is it? That is scored by tasters on five factors. Our customer reviews use the second part: the tasting method and its vocabulary.
The five factors, in tasting order
Go through the cup in the order the standard uses. The review form follows the same order.
Dry leaf外形
The cake or loose leaf before brewing: how tightly it is made, its sheen, how even it is.
Liquor color汤色
The color of the tea in a white cup, how bright it is and how clear.
Aroma香气
The type of aroma, its strength, its purity and how long it lasts.
Taste滋味
Concentration, basic tastes, then mouthfeel: how the tea feels in the mouth and throat.
Brewed leaf叶底
The spent leaves after the session: how soft, plump and even they are.
How the score out of 100 works
You rate each factor from 1 to 10. We then weight your ratings the way the standard does. The weights are different for young raw pu-erh and for aged raw or ripe pu-erh:
| Factor | Young raw (sheng) | Aged raw / ripe (shou) |
|---|---|---|
| Dry leaf | 10 | 10 |
| Liquor color | 20 | 25 |
| Aroma | 30 | 25 |
| Taste | 35 | 35 |
| Brewed leaf | 5 | 5 |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
Taste always counts most. In a young raw pu-erh, aroma carries more weight. Once a tea has aged, or in ripe pu-erh, liquor color counts for more, because the color of the cup is one of the most honest signs of age and storage.
Example: a young raw pu-erh. Dry leaf 8, liquor color 9, aroma 9, taste 8, brewed leaf 7.
0.8 × 10 + 0.9 × 20 + 0.9 × 30 + 0.8 × 35 + 0.7 × 5 = 84.5 out of 100.
Black teas on our store are scored the same way, with the weights of China's general tea evaluation method (GB/T 23776) for black tea: taste 30, dry leaf 25, aroma 25, liquor color 10, brewed leaf 10.
What each score means
Not sure whether a tea deserves a 6 or a 9? Use these reference points. They are written from the standard's quality descriptions, so every reviewer measures against the same marks. A sound, well-made tea usually lands at 7 or 8. Keep 9 and 10 for the best cups you have had.
Dry leaf
| 1–4Flawed | Loose or crumbling, lots of broken leaf, stems or dust; dull and uneven. |
|---|---|
| 5–6Ordinary | Holds together, but with some broken leaf or stems; color a little dull or patchy. |
| 7–8Good | Neatly made, mostly whole leaf, some sheen, fairly even throughout. |
| 9–10Exceptional | Tightly and evenly made, plump whole leaves, glossy, with visible downy tips. |
Liquor color
| 1–4Flawed | Cloudy or murky, dull, with visible sediment. |
|---|---|
| 5–6Ordinary | Slightly hazy or a bit dull; the color is fine but not lively. |
| 7–8Good | Clear and bright. Young raw: yellow to golden. Aged raw or ripe: orange-red to deep red. |
| 9–10Exceptional | Crystal clear and glowing. Young raw: bright yellow to golden. Aged raw or ripe: deep red to wine red, with light passing through it. |
Aroma
| 1–4Flawed | Off-odors: sour, musty, burnt or stewed, or a heavy storage or pile smell. |
|---|---|
| 5–6Ordinary | Weak, flat or fleeting; not quite clean. |
| 7–8Good | Clean and pleasant, with a clear character (floral, fruity, woody, aged). |
| 9–10Exceptional | Pure, strong and layered; lingers in the cup and on the lid, steep after steep. |
Taste
| 1–4Flawed | Off-flavors; harsh bitterness or astringency that stays; watery or stale. |
|---|---|
| 5–6Ordinary | Thin or flat, a little rough; not much aftertaste. |
| 7–8Good | Smooth and balanced, some sweetness; bitterness fades quickly. |
| 9–10Exceptional | Full, thick and smooth; quick huigan and lasting sweetness; holds up over many steeps. |
Brewed leaf
| 1–4Flawed | Hard, charred or mushy leaves; mostly broken bits. |
|---|---|
| 5–6Ordinary | Uneven color, quite a few broken pieces. |
| 7–8Good | Mostly whole, soft, fairly even color. |
| 9–10Exceptional | Soft, plump, whole leaves of even color; springy to the touch. |
The tasting words
The standard's flavor wheel defines 95 terms: 39 for aroma, 24 for liquor color and 32 for taste. Dry leaf and brewed leaf use China's general tea-evaluation terms. Terms shaded red count against a tea. For the meaning of every term, read our full guide to the 95-term flavor wheel.
Aroma香气
39 standard terms
Basic character
- Clean, fresh aroma清香
- Aged aroma陈香
From the leaf
- Coarse粗气
- Coarse and short粗短气
From processing
- Chestnut板栗香
- Burnt焦气
- Stewed闷气
- Sun-struck日晒气
- Green青气
- Smoky烟味
From storage
- Camphor樟香
- Ginseng参香
- Mushroom菌香
- Sticky rice糯香
- Herbal medicine药香
- Red date枣香
- Stale陈气
- Pile-fermentation smell堆味
- Storage taint仓味
Leaf and processing
- Floral花香
- Floral-honey花蜜香
- Fruity果香
- Green and murky青浊气
- Coarse and green粗青气
Leaf and storage
- Woody木香
Processing and storage
- Sweet甜香
- Sour or spoiled酸、馊气
- Off-odor劣异气
Strength
- Strong浓
- Light淡
- High高
- Low低
- Flat平
- Fleeting飘
- Hollow虚
Purity
- Pure纯
- Murky浊
Persistence
- Long长
- Short短
Liquor color汤色
24 standard terms
Hue
- Yellow-green黄绿
- Pale yellow浅黄
- Green-yellow绿黄
- Yellow黄
- Dull yellow黄暗
- Deep yellow深黄
- Orange-yellow橙黄
- Orange-red橙红
- Light red浅红
- Red红
- Dull red红暗
- Deep red深红
- Wine red酒红
- Rich red红浓
- Brownish red褐红
Depth
- Deep深
- Light浅
Brightness
- Bright明亮
- Fresh and bright鲜亮
- Vivid鲜艳
- Dull暗
Clarity
- Clear清澈
- Cloudy浑浊
- Sediment沉淀物
Dry leaf外形
General tea-evaluation terms
Appearance
- Tightly made紧结
- Plump and sturdy肥壮
- Visibly downy显毫
- Glossy油润
- Even匀整
Brewed leaf叶底
General tea-evaluation terms
Brewed leaf
- Soft and tender柔嫩
- Plump肥厚
- Even匀整
Taste滋味
32 standard terms
Concentration
- Strong浓
- Strong and mellow浓醇
- Strong and thick浓厚
- Mellow and thick醇厚
- Clean and mellow醇正
- Mellow and gentle醇和
- Mild平和
- Thin淡薄
- Coarse and thin粗淡
Basic tastes
- Sour酸
- Sweet and mellow甜醇
- Sweet甘甜
- Bitter苦
Mouthfeel
- Thick厚
- Smooth滑
- Astringent涩
- Huigan (returning sweetness)回甘
- Drying干
- Viscosity黏感
- Rough糙感
- Coarse粗味
- Green青味
- Stewed熟闷味
- Stewed-yellow闷黄味
- Watery淡水味
- High-fired高火味
- Burnt焦味
- Pungent辛味
- Stale陈味
- Muddled杂味
- Moldy霉味
- Off-flavor劣异味
Common words outside the standard
- Shengjin (salivation)生津
- Hou yun (throat feel)喉韵
- Cha qi (tea energy)茶气
- Chen yun (aged character)陈韵
Neutral or positiveCounts against the tea
How strong? The 0–5 degree scale
The standard also defines degree words, so a review can say how much of something is there. In Expert mode, every word you pick gets a degree.
0none
1a hint
2slight
3present
4plenty
5pronounced
So "floral aroma pronounced (5), huigan present (3), astringency a hint (1)" says a lot in very few words.
Two ways to review
Simple
About three minutes. For each factor, a 1–10 score and the most common words.
- A short list of words per factor
- Color swatches for the liquor
- Flaws listed separately
Expert
For experienced drinkers and tea creators. Every one of the 95 standard terms, each with a degree from 1 to 5.
- All aroma, liquor and taste terms
- Degree scale on every word
- Switch at any step
Leave a tasting review in five steps
- Open the tea's page and scroll to "Tasted by the standard". Tap Write a tasting review.
- Choose Simple or Expert, and tell us how you brewed it. Use water just off the boil for raw and ripe pu-erh alike.
- Score the five factors from 1 to 10, in order, and pick the words that fit.
- Add a headline and your notes. How did the tea change over the steeps?
- Submit. We check every review for spam, then publish it on the product page. Add your order number for a Verified buyer badge.
Questions
Do I need to be a tea expert to leave a tasting review?
No. Simple mode shows the most common words for each factor and takes about three minutes. If you know the vocabulary well, switch to Expert mode for all 95 standard terms and a 0–5 degree for each.
Why is my score out of 100 and not five stars?
Because the standard scores tea that way. You rate each of the five factors from 1 to 10, and we convert your ratings with the standard's weights. Taste always carries the most weight. Aroma counts for more in young raw pu-erh, and liquor color counts for more in aged raw and ripe pu-erh.
Can I leave a critical review?
Yes, please do. Honest reviews help other tea drinkers most. We check every review before it appears, but only to remove spam, offensive content or reviews of a different tea. We don't edit your words or your scores.
Do I get anything for leaving a review?
Yes. As a thank-you for your first tasting review, you get a code for $10 off your next order. It appears as soon as you submit, before we check the review, and you get it whatever score you give, high or low. It can be used once per customer and can't be combined with other discounts. The code is a thank-you for your time, not a payment for a positive review, and it never affects which reviews we publish.
What does the Verified buyer badge mean?
It means the order number and email you gave match an order in our store. The order number is optional, and it is never shown on the page.
Is this an official certification of the tea?
No. The standard's formal evaluation is carried out by qualified, certified tea tasters, and safety is tested separately by an accredited laboratory. Our customer reviews borrow the standard's method and vocabulary so that everyone describes tea in the same words. They are personal tasting notes, not a certification.
How should I brew the tea for a review?
Brew it the way you normally do, and tell us how in the form: leaf weight, water volume and number of steeps. For every pu-erh, raw or ripe, use water just off the boil. Our brewing guide has a good starting point.
Source: Pu'er Tea Association group standard T/PCX 008—2026, Pu'er Tea Quality Evaluation Method (《普洱茶品质评价方法》), published June 25, 2026, in effect since July 25, 2026, including its flavor wheel terms. English renderings are by Chen Sheng Hao. Customer reviews on cspuerh.com are personal tasting notes that use this method; they are not a certification.
Ready to taste?
Pick a tea, brew it, and tell us what you find.