TEA TASTING EXPERIENCES AND
MASTER CLASSES

Tea tasting is a precise skill performed by trained Tea tasters who have sensitive taste buds and a keen sense of smell to assess the quality of tea in a short period of time. The ability to value a tea is the result of long experience and knowledge in tea tasting. A tea taster considers topography, climate conditions and manufacturing process and evaluates the various clones of ‘Camellia Sinesis’, which is known as the tea plant. The taster ascertains the quality of tea prior to the auction or prior to considering blending it with other Tea.

The Tea tasting process begins with analyzing the infused leaves as the cups are filled. Smaller flat leaves take shorter to steep and show more body than larger twisted leaves. The Tea tasters take in the aroma of the Tea and examine the color and evenness of the infused leaves. The sampling or tasting process is by measuring a level teaspoon of each sample into the cup, which is generally a white or clear cup so as to view the accurate color after brewing.

The Tea tasting terminology is vast and varied. It involves words such as black, brown, bold, clean, curly, leafy, light, flaky, musty, well twisted etc to describe the dry tea leaf. Adjectives such as aroma, bright, coppery, dull, dark, mixed and green are used to describe the infused leaf. The “infused” leaf refers to the wet leaf left over after the liquor is drained out, and the “infusion” refers to the liquor. Terms such as bright, brisk, burnt, coarse, cream, coloury, dull, dry, earthy, flat, fruity, green, harsh, metallic, malty, raw, thick and thin are often used to describe the liquors. The flavor characteristics are the leaf color, shape and size which are graded by the industry, using a specific terminology to explain the overall quality.