Abstract:

In order to control the quality of insect tea，we use morphological analysis to compare the similarities and differences of worm tea from particle size, color, shape, texture and other features of tea in 5 provinces, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hunan, Guangxi. The result showed that the size of insect tea become longer and wider with the increase of the age of insect in each province. The basic shape of insect tea from Guangxi Province was short cylindrical, while the others from the rest provinces were long cylindrical. The particle of insect tea from Guangxi provinces had smooth surface without significant main lines, but the others had rough with significant main lines by which the insect tea was divided into 2 to 3 range. The particle of insect tea in different provinces ranked by color depth was: Guangxi> Hunan> Sichuan> Guizhou> Yunnan. Research also showed that the tea color and taste of the insect tea were the different in five provinces. This study provided scientific basis to identify the types of insect tea from apparent shape, promoted the standardized development of insect tea industry, and played a leading role to identify the quality of the insect tea in China.