For people who like to drink black tea, is the redder the better?

I usually like to drink black tea, and sometimes I doubt it. The color of this black tea soup should be related to the quality of tea, and the degree of redness is different.

The freshness of green tea is related to its phenol-ammonia ratio, and the soup color of this black tea is related to the ratio of theaflavin, thearubigins and theabrownin.

First of all, let's talk about why this black tea is red: black tea belongs to fully fermented tea, which is generally made through four processes: withering, rolling, fermentation and drying. In the production process, chemical reactions centered on the promotion of oxidation by tea polyphenols will occur, and the chemical components in new tea will change greatly with the production process. Tea polyphenols will be reduced by more than 90%, and new components such as theaflavins and thearubigins will appear. It is these new ingredients that make tea fresh.

During the processing of black tea, a chemical reaction centered on the enzymatic oxidation of tea polyphenols took place, and the chemical components in fresh leaves changed greatly. Tea polyphenols decreased by more than 90%, resulting in new components such as theaflavins and thearubigins.

In addition, the aroma components of black tea are obviously higher than those of fresh leaves. Therefore, black tea has the characteristics of soup red, leaf red and sweet taste.

Because of the existence of thearubigins, the soup color of black tea will show the red color we see. But isn't the higher the content of thearubigins, the redder the soup and the better the black tea? The answer is no.

We must first understand a concept. The ratio of thearubigins, theaflavin and theabrownin affects the color of black tea soup.

First, let's talk about thearubigins. The content of thearubigins affects not only the soup color of black tea, but also the taste of black tea.

The higher the content of thearubigins, the redder the tea soup, but it will make the tea taste of black tea fade. Therefore, the higher the thearubigins content, the better.

Secondly, theabrownin is mainly formed by oxidative polymerization of theaflavin and thearubigins.

The higher the content of theabrownin, the deeper the tea soup and the darker the tea bottom. The lower the content of theabrownin, the lower the degree of fermentation.

Third, and finally, theaflavins, which are orange yellow or orange red. It is the main component that can make the color of black tea soup "bright", the important component of the taste intensity and freshness of black tea, and the main substance that forms the golden circle of tea soup.

Therefore, to sum up, thearubigins is the main component of the "red" color of black tea soup, and theaflavins are the main component of the "bright" color of black tea soup. Therefore, the color of black tea soup is not the redder the better, but the best ratio among thearubigins, theaflavins and theabrownins.