Stems in Tea: Good or Bad? It Depends

When noticing an abundance of stems in your tea for the first time, you feel cheated. It’s a sentiment nearly every tea enthusiast has experienced at some point. After all, tea drinkers often view stems in tea with a certain degree of negativity.

Stems are generally regarded as inferior to tea leaves. Tea leaves are rich in essential oils and compounds responsible for the complex, nuanced flavors that tea enthusiasts cherish. Stems, on the other hand, can dilute the taste, making the brew less aromatic and vibrant. At least, that's the perception.

The presence of excess stems may also signal lower-grade processing, which can detract from the overall tea-drinking experience. So it's totally understandable when you’ve purchased a premium artisan tea, spotting visible stems in your brew can feel so disappointing.

The good news is that stems are a natural part of the tea plant, and their presence in some types of tea is intended due to grading classification, picking standards, and processing methods. In this article, we'll take a deep dive into the topic of stems in tea.

Stem in white tea: Grading standards

Perhaps it's best to start discussing stem in white tea, as different grades of white tea in China are clearly defined. Indeed, there are four main grades: Bai Hao Yin Zhen (silver needle), Bai Mu Dan, Gong Mei, and Shou Mei. 

Take, for example, Silver Needle white tea: According to the GB Chinese National Standard, this renowned white tea, also known as Bai Hao Yin Zhen (白毫银针), must be made solely from the buds of the Da Bai or Shui Xian cultivar tea plants. Therefore, neither stems nor leaves should be present, but only tender silver buds.

The second highest grade is Bai Mu Dan, which follows a picking standard of 1 bud and 1-2 leaves. Bai Mu Dan shouldn't contain any large stems, though due to picking standards, it naturally will contain stems to connect the bud and leaves.

The lower two grades of white tea, Gong Mei (made only with the Qunti cultivar) and Shou Mei, typically feature fewer buds, more leaves, and (larger) stems. Although they may not be as aesthetically pleasing as the Silver Needle tea, this does not imply that they are “bad” teas. While Silver Needle white tea features a light aroma profile with vegetal and floral notes, a Shou Mei white tea may have a more robust aroma with fruity and herbal notes. 

At this point, it's fair to say that if you come across stems in a Silver Needle white tea, it’s a clear red flag, while stems in the other white tea grades can be considered ok.

Picking standards are also highly related to how teas are processed, which we will discuss in the next section.

Stems in oolong & pu erh tea: Processing methods

Most of the time, when your tea contains stems, this does not necessarily mean the farmer left them in to cut costs. In fact, several high-quality teas contain stems, which can be attributed to factors related to processing methods.

Take, for example, rolled oolong teas, particularly Taiwanese mountain oolongs. These teas are typically harvested with a careful standard of one bud and two to three leaves. The shaping process requires precision, as improper handling can damage the leaves. The stems are intentionally not removed to protect the leaves from breaking during the rolling process. Once steeped, these teas reveal their charm as the leaves gracefully unfurl, still connected by their stems.

Stems may also be present in several dark and pu erh teas. Many of these teas also adhere to the one-bud and two-to-three-leaf picking standards, making stems a regular part of their composition. Moreover, they aren’t removed because they don’t negatively affect the tea taste and prevent leaves from breaking when pressed into cakes and bricks.

Overall, stems are sometimes not removed to support specific processing methods and, therefore, do not necessarily indicate poor quality.

Stems & tea taste

Another reason why stems are sometimes part of tea is actually to enhance the aroma. This may sound surprising, but stem in oolong tea, for example, can enhance the tea's umami taste and floral aroma, as supported by this study [1].

Also, in Shou Mei and Gong Mei white tea, the stems can improve the tea's sweetness and aroma and give it a better aging potential.

At last, Japanese tea enthusiasts surely know that some tea is mainly made of stems. For example, Kukicha is a highly appreciated and consumed Japanese stem and twig tea. This tea is a by-product made from stems removed from tea leaves to produce higher-grade Sencha and Gyokuro green tea. Kukicha is, of course, more affordable but features a distinctly sweet and strong umami taste and pleasant green aroma. 

Conclusions

It is important to understand that the presence of stems in tea does not automatically make it inferior. Instead, one should focus on the overall taste and quality of the tea itself, regardless of the amount of stem present. In fact, some teas may benefit from having a higher percentage of stems, adding unique notes and complexity to the brew. There are teas where stems shouldn’t be present at all, while in some, they are highly appreciated for flavor-enhancing effects or processing reasons.

[1] Lin, J., Wang, Y., Chen, L., Yang, Y., Tu, Z., Ye, Y. (2022). Effect of the Presence of Stem on Quality of Oolong Tea. Foods, 11(21), 3439.