Tea tasting, like wine tasting, pays attention to
similar factors: sight, smell, taste and touch.
Usually, a tea tester works for a large tea factory or is
involved in buying. They test several teas of the
same type, such as Ceylon teas from the same
estate. The tester looks at three things: the dry leaf
(appearance and feel), the liquor (color, flavor and
aroma), and the wet, freshly brewed tea leaf. At
home, you can simplify tea tasting by comparing two
Darjeelings. Or for fun, invite a friend or two and
hold your own tasting.
1) Dry Leaf
You can tell a lot about a tea by first
examining the dry leaves. Gently press some dry
leaves in your hand. Most new teas are a little
springier and less likely to crumble than an older
teas. Look for fibers, dust or stalks and note the leaf
size. With some experience, you will notice whether
the leaf appears shiny and fresh, or dull and stale.
Buy a good quality tea and pay attention to its dry
appearance as well as its smell. Remember your
impression.
2) Infuse & Examine Leaf
Measure a level
teaspoon of each sample into infuser. Use white or
clear cups to view the truest color. Begin your
analysis of the infused leaves as the cups are filled.
Smaller flat leaves will show more body than larger
twisted leaves, which take longer to steep. Steep the
teas for a fixed time, generally three to five minutes.
3) Color of Liquor
After steeping, take in the aroma of the tea and
examine the infused leaves for color and evenness.
Color does not necessarily indicate the strength or
body of the liquor, but every tea has a unique look,
taste, and feel peculiar to that tea.
4) Tasting
Now you’re ready to taste the tea. Take a
spoonful of the liquid to your lower lip and slurp with
force to ensure that the tea is sprayed over the
entire tongue. Move the tea around in your mouth,
sucking in more short bursts of air in order to release
more delicate characteristics. This step is important
since we taste bitterness at the back of the tongue,
saltiness in the middle, sweetness in the front and
sourness on the sides of the tongue. If you were
working in a tea factory testing room, you would spit
the tea into a waist-high spittoon and move on to the
next tea.
It may be difficult to describe your findings at first,
but after sampling many teas you will begin to notice
similarities and differences in color, taste and smell.
Many teas have a typical “character” or flavor
profile. You may want to start a notebook to record your
impressions.
Tea Vocabulary
Select a few words from the list below to
expand your descriptive vocabulary of tea.
Dry Leaf (un-steeped tea)
Desirable characteristics: Curly, wiry, neat,
blackish, bloom, clean, leafy, nose, tip, well
twisted.
Undesirable characteristics: Mushy, ragged,
grey, dull, light, uneven.
Infused Leaf
Desirable: bright, coppery, smooth, self
drinking, full, rich, soothing, smokey.
Undesirable: dull, dark, tarry.
Liquor/Brew
Desirable: body (light, medium, or full), bright,
brisk, character, point, pungent, quality,
strength, flavor, full, mature, self-drinking (does
not need to be blended with other teas)
Undesirable: baggy, bakey, bitter, brassy,
burned, coarse, common, dry, dull, musty,
plain, raw, soft, stewed, tainted, weedy, thin,
earthy, empty, hard, harsh, heavy, lacking,
green (referring to black tea).
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