Tea 101
Tea Tasting Vocabulary
Learn tea tasting vocabulary: body, astringency, briskness, umami, and more. How to describe flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel like a professional tea taster.
Introduction
Developing a tasting vocabulary transforms the tea experience from vague pleasure into articulate appreciation. Professional tea tasters use specific terms to describe what they perceive in the cup, and learning this language helps you identify preferences, communicate with tea vendors, and deepen your enjoyment.
Flavor Categories
Vegetal: grassy, spinachy, seaweed, marine — common in Japanese green teas. Floral: orchid, jasmine, osmanthus, rose — typical of high-mountain oolongs and Darjeeling first flush. Fruity: stone fruit (peach, apricot), citrus, grape, tropical — found in oxidized oolongs and muscatel Darjeeling. Nutty: almond, chestnut, walnut — characteristic of roasted oolongs and some Chinese green teas. Malty: grain, bread, honey — the signature of Assam and other fully oxidized black teas. Earthy: forest floor, mushroom, wet stone, leather — hallmarks of aged pu-erh. Smoky: pine, campfire, tobacco — intentional in Lapsang Souchong, a defect in most other teas.
Mouthfeel Terms
Body describes the weight and viscosity of the {{glossary:liquor}} — light, medium, or full. Astringency is the dry, puckering sensation caused by polyphenols binding to saliva proteins. Some astringency is desirable in black tea; excessive astringency indicates over-brewing. Briskness is a lively, mouth-tingling quality prized in well-made black tea, attributed to {{glossary:theaflavins}}. Umami is the savory, brothy quality prominent in shade-grown Japanese teas, driven by high {{glossary:l-theanine}} content.
Aroma Evaluation
Professional tasters evaluate aroma at three points: the dry leaf (pre-brew), the wet leaf immediately after steeping, and the cooled cup. The wet leaf aroma is often the most revealing, as heat volatilizes compounds that are locked in the dry leaf. The cooled cup reveals less volatile, heavier aromatic molecules.
Common Defects
Flat: lacking brightness or character, often from stale tea. Musty: improper storage or excessive moisture. Baked: over-fired during drying, destroying aromatics. Thin: insufficient leaf or too-short steeping. Learning to identify defects is as valuable as recognizing positive attributes.