"Tea Talk" Glossary

Agony of the leaves:	The unfolding of the leaves when boiling water is poured over them.
Aroma:	The tea's odor, either of the infused leaf or the steeped result. Typically, a tea's aroma is likened to a flower or fruit.
Astringency:	The quality of the tea's liquor that gives a bite or piquancy to the taste.
Bakey:	An unpleasant taste caused by firing tea leaves at a temperature that is too high, resulting in the leaves losing too much moisture. Not as bad as "burnt."
Biscuity:	A pleasant quality usually associated with Assam teas.
Bite:	The astringency that imparts a sought-after quality to black teas.
Bitter:	An unpleasantly biting taste that usually results from oversteeping teas.
Black:	A dark, brown-black leaf, characteristic of a fully fermented leaf.
Blackish:	A quality associated with carefully sorted CTC tea leaves.
Bloom:	The sheen on black leaf tea, the result of minimal handling during sorting and processing. Unlike with chocolate, tea bloom is desirable.
Body:	The viscosity or strength of the liquor, which can be full, light, moderate, and so on.
Brassy:	An undesirable tangy or metallic taste, indicating leaves that have not been properly withered during processing.
Bright:	A sparkling characteristic of all fine teas' liquors.
Brisk:	A lively, pleasant trait associated with all fine black teas.
Brown:	The result of the harsh treatment of CTC teas leaves, resulting in flat, brown looking leaves.
Burnt:	The undesirable taste of leaves that have been overfired during processing.
Character:	A positive quality of well harvested leaves, usually grown at altitudes between 4,000 and 7,000 feet.
Chesty:	The resinous odor or taste of tea that has been packed in chests made from uncured wood or another inferior material.
Chunky:	An extra-large, broken tea leaf.
Clean:	A leaf that is free of extraneous fiber, dust, twigs and other debris.
Coarse:	A harsh, unpleasant taste.
Colory:	The depth of color and strength of tea.
Common:	An indistinctly flavored liquor, usually thin, light and without body and made from poor quality tea leaves.
Complex:	The perfect melange of various flavors and aromas coming together to make an appealing tea.
Crepey:	The crimped, crepe-like appearance characteristic of OP (orange pekoe) teas.
CTC:	A process of cutting, tearing and curling tea leaves, which results in full-bodied teas made from leaves that may not be of the highest quality (but not of low quality, either).
Curly:	The curling appearance of some whole-leaf teas.
Dry:	Tea leaves that are overfired and dry, but are neither burnt or bakey.
Dull:	A tea leaf lacking in gloss or sheen.
Earthy:	A term used to describe a certain, earthy flavor of some teas. This is usually the result of the soil and other growing conditions in a particular tea-growing region, which is not necessarily undesirable, or the result of improper storage in a damp place.
Even:	A tea whose leaves are uniform in size and appearance.
Flaky:	Can refer to leaves that break and crumble easily, which is undesirable.
Flat:	Soft tea lacking in bite and briskness.
Flavor:	A highly desirable trait and usually the result of teas grown at altitudes between 4,000 and 7,000 feet.
Fruity:	A piquant characteristic of oolongs and other teas.
Full:	A good combination of color and strength. May not indicate briskness but does denote a round, smooth mouthfeel.
Gone off:	A term to describe tea that has spoiled because of poor storage, bad packing or because it has turned stale.
Grainy:	The primary grades of the best CTC teas.
Gray:	The color of the leaves caused by too much abrasion during sorting.
Green:	Refers to black and oolong teas that are under-fermented or to leaves plucked from immature bushes. This has nothing to do with green teas, which are a type of tea.
Hard:	An especially pungent brew.
Harsh:	Unpleasantly rough tasting tea that has not been properly withered.
Heavy:	A thick, strong liquor without the accompanying briskness.
Lacking:	A liquor without body or other strong characteristics.
Leafy:	Teas with large, long leaves.
Light:	A leaf of light weight.
Make:	Tea that perfectly matches its stated grade.
Malty:	An underlying flavor usually associated with Assam tea.
Mature:	A tea that is neither flat nor bitter.
Metallic:	Tea with a sharp, almost coppery taste.
Muddy:	A dull liquor lacking in lightness or brightness.
Muscatel:	This is a flavor most often associated with Darjeelings and refers to the flavor of the muscat grapes, which are the grapes used to make muscatel wine.
Neat:	A grade of tea with good "make" and well-sized leaves.
Nose:	The smell of the dry tea leaf.
Ordinaire:	A term for a good, standard quality of tea.
Pekoe:	The larger of the two leaves on the shoot of a fine plucking. Pekoe or Orange Pekoe is the name for the standard blend of tea sold in the United States.
Peak:	The apex of black tea tasting--green and oolong teas do not peak. Peak occurs a few moments after the liquor enters the mouth and the tea's qualities are experienced.
Plain:	A tea that is clean tasting but lacks enlivening traits.
Pointy:	A liquor with one or more positive characteristics.
Powdery:	Fine tea dust and not desirable.
Pungent:	A good combination of strength, briskness and brightness.
Quality:	The characteristics of a cup of tea.
Ragged:	Tea that tastes uneven and looks dull because of poor processing.
Self-drinking:	A tea with enough good characteristics such as aroma, body, flavor and color that it can be enjoyed without blending it with other teas.
Smoky:	A desirable characteristic of some Chinese teas, especially Lapsang Souchong. When found in other teas, it is undesirable.
Soft:	Unremarkable flavor caused by poor firing during fermentation.
Stale:	Faded aroma and "dead" flavor caused by excessive age and the subsequent lack of quality.
Stalk and fiber:	Residues of the tea plant that are usually part of low-grade teas, reflecting poor sorting practices.
Stewed:	Tea that tastes bitter because it has been steeped too long or because it is made from poorly fired leaves.
Taint:	A flavor that invades the tea leaves, usually caused by storing the tea too near food or something else with a strong odor.
Tarry:	A desirable smoky flavor caused by smoking tea with wood or charcoal. This is most commonly associated with Lapsang Souchong.
Thick:	A richly colored brew.
Thin:	A weak colored brew lacking in any strong or desirable characteristics.
Tip:	The youngest leaf on the plant growing directly below the bud.
Tippy:	A term describing dry leaf tea and indicating high-quality tea in terms of manufacturing.
Toasty:	A desirable characteristic fine Keemuns and other highly fired teas.
Uneven:	Leaves with gradations of color.
Weedy:	Thin black teas; also refers to green teas with a vegetable-like aroma.
Well-twisted:	A fully withered leaf that is rolled tightly lengthwise.
Winey:	A desirable quality in some teas, particularly Keemum and Darjeeling.
Woody:	A synonym for weedy.