TEA TASTING: LEARNING THE BASICS BY DANIELA TITIUN TEA TASTING Tea tasting is a wonderful experience that connects you with your senses. It takes practice to develop your palate and be able to distinguish some not-so-obvious flavor notes, finishes and textures in tea. Tea tasting can also be very subjective because we all have different preferences and sensitivities, and although our brains can recognize the same five tastes—bitter, sweet, salty, sour and umami (savory)—the chemicals that can trigger those signals vary from one person to anoth- er. There’s not just one right way of tasting tea but here is a guide to help you discov- er. Flavor has been defined by experts as the combination of smell and taste. Touch is also a sense that we’ll be focusing on, but it refers to how tea feels inside our mouth. Sometimes with some teas, you’ll find that you are able to separate aroma from taste and perceive different things, but with others you might feel that they’re both giving you one big flavor message. I encourage you to practice, practice, practice to master tea tasting and develop a skilled palate. The more different teas you taste, the easier it gets to identify flavors. What to look for when tasting: - DRY LEAF APPEARANCE: Color, shape, size. - INFUSED LIQUOR: Color. - TEXTURE: Mouthfeel (astringency/smoothness). - AROMA & TASTE = FLAVOR: See tasting wheel. Always take notes of your tasting process and observations. For this purpose, you’ll find a blank tasting worksheet at the end of this guide to print out for you to practice. TEA TASTING When making or tasting tea, there are certain variables that can be manipulat- ed to affect the final result. Small changes will generate different results in flavor. STEEPING TEMPERATURES A general rule about temperature is that when you brew certain teas that are meant to be steeped at lower temperatures at higher ones, they become bitter or too astringent. With lower brewing temperatures, you can avoid the bitterness but beware that if you go too low, you might not be able to get the full complexity of the tea and as a result will get a weak and insipid tea. You can find many steeping temperature guides out there, but they differ. It is hard to generalize what temperature works best for each tea type because there are always exceptions. For example Green teas are usually brewed at temperatures of 160-185F (70-85 C) although Gyokuro works better at 122- 140F (50-60C) and Hoji- cha is brewed at 195F (90C). With practice, you’ll find what works best for you although there are a few things to consider: White and Green teas are usually brewed with temperatures of around 160-185F (70-85 C). Black teas and Pu-erh are brewed with temperatures of 195-212F (90-100C) and Oolong with anything ranging from 160-212F (70-99C). There are always exceptions to this general guide, and preferences play a very important role too, so start by following the manufacturer’s instructions and play around from there. TEA TASTING WATER Water plays a huge role in tea since it makes up for 99% of it, but many times we don’t even think about it. Variations in temperature result in different flavor intensities and astringency but different sources of water affect the tea’s flavor and complexity, too. Many prefer using spring water or filtered water but there are many variations within them. Water’s flavor is affected by the amount of minerals dissolved in it. Softer water has less TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) which makes it taste cleaner and fresher. Harder water has more TDS and tastes more mineral. For example, a deli- cate white tea brewed with very hard water can result in a mineral-rich flavor, not a characteristic of the tea itself, but fully attributed to the water used for brewing it. Distilled water is flat and can make your tea flatter, too. There’s no perfect source of water, but it’s important to know the variables that affect the result of tea so we can control and experiment with them. STEEPING TIME AND TEA TO WATER RATIO Longer steeping times will result in bitter teas due to the high extraction of tan- nins. Shorter steeping times might not be enough to extract the full complexity of a tea, and the result can be a weak tea. Steeping-time guides offer time recommenda- tions but, again, it is mostly about personal preferences. The amount of loose tea leaves to use also vary according to the brewing vessel and brewing style (Western versus gaiwan for example). For Western, it is usually recommended “a teaspoon per cup” or 2 grams per 6 fluid ounces. Again, this is a general rule because there are teas that weigh more than others. For example 2 grams of Gunpowder Green tea for 6 ounces can result in a bitter cup. Too many leaves can make the tea go bitter. I often brew stronger teas when I need to make a concentrate to cook or when making a tea latte. TEA TASTING TASTING PROCESS 1- Use a white vessel in order to clearly appreciate the color, transparency and brightness of the steeped tea. 2- Observe the dry leaves: their shape, size and color. Inhale their scent. 3- Brew your tea according to recommended temperatures and time. This is a good starting point although it can be different from your personal preferences. You can start by following suggested brewing instructions by the manufacturer and end up liking a different brewing temperature or steeping time. 4- Observe the brewed liquor: its color, brightness and transparency. 5- Smell the tea and discover aromas and notes. A good practice is to close your eyes and shut down as many senses as you can in order to fully focus on smelling. 6- Taste the tea. You can use a spoon to slurp or drink directly from your vessel. Once you have the tea inside your mouth, hold it and swirl it around. Identify its flavor, texture and mouthfeel. * Take notes. TEA TASTING The basics of tea tasting will cover examining the dry leaves, observing the liquor and sensing the texture and flavor (aroma and taste) of the infusion. Make sure you record your findings and take notes of the process. Focus in: DRY LEAF APPEARANCE The processing for different teas result in a different dry leaf shape for each. It’s important to notice the dry leaves because visual appearance of a tea can reveal a lot about its quality. Tea leaves come in many different tones (of green and brown) and shapes. Note that some teas can be pressed into “cakes”, some might include stems, some might be blended with herbs, spices or flowers, etc. Some terms to describe them are: choppy, curly, wiry, rolled, grainy, twisted, powdery, hairy... If a tea you’re tasting is blended, write about the inclusions in your notes, too. INFUSED LIQUOR Using a white or transparent vessel makes it is easier to appreciate the tea liquor. We want to describe the color so we need to see it very clearly. The color of brewed tea can range from a light pale yellow to a deep dark brown. Be as descriptive as possible when describing the color and use references like “honey amber”, etc. TEA TASTING TEXTURE Different teas have different textures according to the presence of polyphenols (tannins). These substances create the impression of astringency or roundness depending on their molecular structure. The texture of tea is often referred to as mouthfeel. Some examples of texture are creamy, silky, astringent, linen-like, min- eral, brisk, light, tingly, juicy... For example, a black tea can be astringent and brisk, while an Oolong can be silky and creamy. Another thing to look for is body. It refers to the strength and fullness of the tea’s flavor or the sensation of viscosity in the palate. To simplify, a tea with full body will have a strong flavor, and a tea with little body will have a weaker flavor. AROMA & TASTE = FLAVOR Aroma is the scent released from the leaf as a result of the brewing process. Aromas are volatile and we don’t perceive them all the same way. Even after you exhale, aromas linger in the nasal passage preparing your senses to taste. Taste is the second constituent to flavor. It is closely tied with smell. Volatile aromatic oils in tea evaporate and enter our nasal cavities as we sip, creating flavors that can only be detected by the combination of both. As these sensations occur simultaneously, it is not always easy to separate them. Once you start perceiving flavor from the tea, try to identify and describe what you’re sensing. The tasting wheel will help you find words to describe these flavors and notes of the tea. Start from the center of the wheel in order to identify broader aromas/flavors and move towards the outside to find specific terms. As an example, a Japanese Green can feel vegetal like a vegetable yet marine and seaweedy. Take a look at the example below to get an idea of what to record when doing a tea tasting. See how in this example, 2 teas from China are completely different. You can also add notes about steeping time & temperature and use this tem- plate to compare teas from the same origin, same tea but different brands, etc. EXAMPLE: TEA TASTING NOTES Alishan Ripe Pu-Erh Type Oolong Pu-Erh Origin Nantou, Taiwan Yunnan, China Dry Leaf Bright green Mini cake, pressed Appearance rolled leaves pu-erh leaves Infused Pastel pale yellow Dark mahogany Liquor color Light and fresh.