Glossary of Tea Tasting Terms

Definitions

If you ever hear someone referring to a tea's flavor as muscatel or metallic, pungent or gritty, and have no idea what they are talking about, this glossary should come in handy. Our thanks to Atanoo Baroowa in Kolkata for sharing the official definitions used by professional tea tasters at his company.

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aroma

A fragrant smell usually derived from the dry leaf or infused leaf of tea grown at high elevations. For example, Darjeeling or Nilgiris.

autumnal

A seasonal term applied to teas grown during that period.

baggy

An undesirable taint sometimes found in both dry leaf and liquors of tea withered on inferior hessian or sacking. May also be apparent on teas stored in bags.

black

The term is used when describing the color of dry leaf. Leaf which is black in color as opposed to brown, red or grey, is generally desirable.

bloom

A live (as opposed to dull) looking tea leaf caused by the fine hairs together with the varnish-like film on the outside of the leaf.

body

A liquor possessing fullness and strength, as opposed to thin liquoring teas.

bold

Where sizes of dry leaf are larger than the standard size of the grade.

bouquet

A term applied to teas which have superlative flavor. Bouquet is normally noticed on the infused leaf.

brassy

An unpleasant metallic taste.

bright

A live as opposed to a dull looking infused leaf or tea liquor.It is brought out very plainly in a tea liquor after the addition of milk.

brisk

A live taste in the liquor as opposed to flat or soft.

broken

Leaf that has been broken by rolling or passing through a cutting machine.

brown

Describes color of dry leaf.

burn

Applicable generally to Darjeeling teas denoting a fully fired and often desirable cup character.

burnt

Tea liquor description meaning that the teas have been subjected to extremely high temperatures during firing, which is generally undesirable.

case-hardening

Applies mainly to orthodox teas and larger CTC brokens as the result of high exhaust temperatures, when the outside casing of the stem or midrib of the tea leaf becomes fully fired and prevents the core from losing moisture.

character

Undoubtedly a most desirable quality in the liquor of a tea which also permits the recognition of its country of origin and of a particular district within that country.

cheesy chesty

An unmistakable and undesirable resinous smell on the dry leaf and taste in cup caused by immature or inferior chest panels or battens.

choppy

This term is applied to leaf chopped in a breaker, mill or cutter rather than in the roller. It is also used to describe the leaf appearance of a Broken Pekoe which has been made by cutting a Pekoe or Orange Pekoe, and may also apply to grades containing a large amount of chopped-up pieces of stem or mid-rib.

chunky

A desirable feature when applied to tippy Assams and denotes large tips.

clean

Denotes an evenly sorted grade of tea which is free from quantities of other grades, etc. Also denotes a tea free from stalk. May also be applied to the liquor of a tea which has no unpleasant taint or taste and remains neutral to the palate.

coarse

Used to describe a harsh liquor; an undesirable feature sometimes associated with very coarse plucking.

cold-weather

A term applied to teas produced after the monsoon period and before the end of the season. These teas are particularly bright and brisk with attractive character.

color

Used to denote color of the liquor. Liquor colors vary considerable from district to district and country to country. Different grades from the same estate will have different colors.

colory

A tea liquor possessing depth of color apparently possessing substance, but not necessarily so. In other words, a tea may be colory to the eye, but weak to the palate.

contamination

A taste, foreign to tea, caused by contact with, or proximity to an odorous substance, e.g.soap, cheese, spices, fruit, oil, mold, mint, etc.

coppery

Describes the infused leaf color. Coppery infused leaf usually denotes a good quality tea which has been carefully manufactured generally during the second flush or autumnal periods.

cream

The precipitate obtained when the liquor of good, strong tea cools. A bright cream indicates a good tea, whereas a dull or muddy cream is indicative of an inferior tea.

croppy

Bright and creamy tea liquor with an attractive fresh character, found only in some second flush Assam teas.

cut

Synonymous to choppy, but often applied only to broken grades.

discolored leaf

Self-explanatory term used to describe tea leaf after manufacture.

dry

An effect on the palate after tasting wherein a slight dryness of the palate is noticeable.

dull

Dull, as applied to infused leaf, denotes that the leaf is dark in color and may be associated with poor tea. A liquor described as being dull is a liquor which is neither clear nor bright to the eye nor lively or brisk to the palate. The term is also used to describe the appearance of the dry leaf when it lacks bloom and has a dull appearance.

dusty

A term applied to leaf which contains a percentage of much smaller particles.

earthy

Denotes flavor characteristics of grass or soil.

even

Term applies to dry leaf implying that the grade consists of equal sizes.

fibrous

Denotes the presence of fiber usually in the fannings and dust grades, and sometimes in broken grades.

flaky

When coupled with the word "open", it describes a flat, poorly made tea as opposed to a well twisted or well cut leaf.

flat

Uninteresting lifeless tea liquor which is completely lacking in briskness.

flavor

A desirable and most apparent aroma in certain liquors perceived through the mouth, as distinct from via the nose. Pronounced flavor is more generally found in high grown teas, e.g. Darjeeling and in some Assam teas.

flavory

Possessing flavor.

full

A liquor possessing color, strength and substance as opposed to empty, thin, etc.

fully-fired

Describes the liquor of a tea which has been slightly over-fired.

golden tip

The presence of golden tips is a highly desirable feature for most tea.

gone off

Implying that a tea is past its prime, probably the direct result of age.

graining or grainy

Describes hard leaf brokens, fannings and dust grades.

grape-nutty

Description of CTC leaf which has been balled in the process of manufacture though not having a completely smooth appearance. Can be of all sizes except dust and small fannings.

green

Describes color of the infused leaf. This characteristic at certain times of the year is unavoidable. Green as applied to liquor is an astringency caused by under-fermentation.

grey

A most undesirable color of the dry leaf. Greyness is caused by the abrasion and rubbing off of the gummy or varnished surfaces of the leaf which play an important part in the liquoring properties.

gritty

Description of CTC leaf normally used to describe fannings grade when the leaf feels hard to the touch.

harshness

Describes a raw and unpleasant strength in a tea liquor.

high-fired

Describes the liquors of a tea which has had too much fire except in the case of certain Darjeelings where this character can be desirable.

irregular

Applicable to the appearance of whole leaf grades. Uneven pieces resulting from inadequate sorting.

knobbly

A term applied to Pekoe, Souchong and BPS grades.

large

Describes the size of a grade, implying at the same time that the grade may be too large for market requirements.

leafy

A tea containing larger leaves than would be normal for its grade. When this term is coupled with "useful", it denotes the size of a leaf in good demand.

leggy

A tea consisting of long, thin leaves.

light

A liquor which is lacking depthof color, but may still be flavory and/or pungent.

malty

A desirable character suggesting a tea which has been slightly high-fired but not over-fired. Malty tea cannot be produced by the drier unless the character is inherently present in the leaf. Appliesto many Assam teas.

mature

A tea becomes mature approximately four months after date of manufacture. Atea more than a year old is usually past its prime.

mellow

Describes the liquor of a tea which has matured well; as opposed to raw, rasping, etc.

metallic

Character of a tea liquor suggesting a bitter taste of metal.

milled

Tea leaf which has been put through a grinder. The term is also commonly used when describing artificially made Dust and Fannings grades.

mixed

Describes an infused leaf which contains a mixture of more than one color. The term is also used to describe the leaf appearance of a particular grade which has been poorly sorted and contains quantities of other grades.

muscatel

Describes an exceptional characteristic found in the liquors and infusions of certain second flush Darjeeling teas. Refers to a flavor reminiscent of the Muscat grape, used to make wine.

neat

Describes a good leaf of even appearance.

nose

The aroma of dry leaf, infused leaf or liquor.

pale tip

Denotes the color of leaf tip, in contrast to golden tip.

papery

A distinctive taste not officially recognized by the tea trade, but found in samples wrapped in paper.

plain

A term used to describe poorer quality teas lacking character.

pungent

A tea liquor having extreme briskness and an astringent effect on the palate, a most desirable cup character.

quality

The essential characteristics of a good tea.

ragged

A rough, shaggy and uneven leaf.

raw

A tea liquor which is raw may be immature or under-fermented.

raspberry

A pleasant raspberry flavor found in a few teas produced in the Assam district and is desirable to some buyers.

rough

A leaf having a very irregular appearance.

sandy

Describes sand content in a dust or small fannings grade tea.

shelly

Dry leaf with a shell-like appearance, similar to open, flaky or flat, but with a slight curve.

shotty

The term is used to describe a well made, but very lightly rolled leaf.

silver tip

Describes the color of the tip in the manufactured leaf of a black tea, as opposed to the golden tip, which is considered by many to be ideal.

smoky

A self explanatory taste in a tea which is typically caused by a fault in the drier in which the tea was fired.

soft

A liquor character being the reverse of brisk, lacking life, flat. Teas with this character are often only one step above dullness. Although quality and other limited desired features may be present, but never brightness.

sour

A taste slightly reminiscent of sour milk.

stale

Self-explanatory term used when describing leaf or liquors. It is generally caused by age, storing under damp conditions, or packing with too high a moisture content.

stalky

A grade of tea containing stalk. This immediately denotes coarse plucking and the tea is automatically penalizedby buyers.

stewed

An undesirable liquor character caused by a continuation of fermentation due to too low an exhaust temperature or by heaping the hot drier mouth leaf after it comes out of the drier. Stewing is the opposite of case-hardening.

strength

Denotes substance in liquor and is usually combined with a qualifying adjective such as "some", "a little", or "good". A desirable character in most teas.

stylish

Leaf of superior appearance containing "tips".

thick

Denotes that a tea has body and viscosity. Opposite to thin.

thin

Tea liquor lacking body, as opposed to thick.

tippy

Teas containing generous quantities of tip.

twist

A twist in the leaf created during the process of rolling the green leaf.

uneven

This term is used to describe a grade consisting of uneven pieces.

wild

A taste found in autumnal teas which have passed their prime. The word is sometimes accompanied by the term "woody".

wiry

Term applied to a well twisted, thin-leaf Orange Pekoe.

woody

Describes a taste found in teas manufactured late in the Autumnal period.