Tea Glossary
"Tea Talk" — A comprehensive guide to tea terminology and tasting vocabulary.
A
- 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. Example, sometimes 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.
B
- 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 oxidized leaf.
- 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 fine teas' liquors.
- Brisk
- A lively, pleasant trait associated with fine black teas.
- Burnt
- The undesirable taste of leaves that have been over-fired during processing.
C
- 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.
- Curly
- The curling appearance of some whole-leaf teas.
D
- Dry
- Tea leaves that are over-fired and dry, but are neither burnt nor bakey.
- Dull
- A tea leaf lacking in gloss or sheen.
E
- 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, or the result of improper storage in a damp place.
- Even
- A tea with leaves that are uniform in size and appearance.
F
- 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 mouth-feel.
G
- 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-oxidized or to leaves plucked from immature bushes. This has nothing to do with green teas, a specific category of tea.
H
- 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.
L
- Lacking
- A liquor without body or other strong characteristics.
- Leafy
- Teas with large, long leaves.
- Light
- A leaf of light weight.
M
- 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.
N
- Neat
- A grade of tea with good "make" and well-sized leaves.
- Nose
- The smell of the dry tea leaf.
O
- Ordinaire
- A term for a good, standard quality of tea.
P
- 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.
Q
- Quality
- The characteristics of a cup of tea.
R
- Ragged
- Tea that tastes uneven and looks dull because of poor processing.
S
- 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.
- 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.
T
- 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 of fine Keemuns and other highly fired teas.
U
- Uneven
- Leaves with gradations of color.
W
- 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.