Tea Tasting

Karen Lennox Author: Karen Lennox Time for reading: ~4 minutes Last Updated: October 11, 2022
Tea Tasting

Most often we hear about professional wine tasters. Unfortunately, much less is known about tea tasters. A tea taster works in the tea industry at the tea selection stage. This is quite a difficult task, which is suitable for people who are endowed with a sensitive tongue and good intuition. The tea taster carefully tastes variety after variety, selecting only the best ones

Most often we hear about professional wine tasters . Unfortunately, much less is known about tea tasters .

 

A tea taster works in the tea industry at the stage of tea selection . This is quite a difficult task, which is suitable for people who are endowed with a sensitive tongue and good intuition. The tea taster carefully tastes variety after variety, selecting only the best according to such parameters as taste, aroma, appearance and production technology.

The main parameters that tasters pay attention to are dry tea leaves, freshly brewed tea leaves and brewed tea .

 

Qualities needed by a tea taster

First, the taste buds of the tea taster must be very active and undamaged. In addition, the sense of smell must also be at the highest level. These are the two main senses that will allow you to feel the subtle differences between different varieties and samples of tea .

Second, the tea taster must have knowledge of the tea plantation he samples, including the stages of tea production . This knowledge helps to determine the characteristic features of a particular tea in advance and to understand the dependence of taste characteristics on production technology.

Thirdly, he must love the land and plant cultivation. To truly appreciate the uniqueness and beauty of tea , the taster must understand nature and take an active interest in harvesting and storing it. A good tea taster often has an education in the field of biology, natural sciences, agriculture and food technology.

Fourthly, the tea taster should be fine with defining his taste sensations and aromas. To describe tea , special schemes of tastes and aromas, generally accepted in the world, are usually used.

PREMIUM CHAPTERS ▼

How tea tasting is done (PREMIUM)

This is a very interesting and technically quite difficult process. It repeats the coffee tasting process , the so-called cupping.

First, the taster evaluates the aromatic properties of dry tea . He evaluates the appearance and smell of each tea in turn , assigning the appropriate characteristics to each. You can tell a lot about the quality of tea by looking at the dry leaves. If they crumble a lot, then this is evidence that the tea is quite old. The younger the tea , the more elastic its leaves are. The taster also pays attention to the size of the leaves, the presence of veins, dust or small sticks.

Next, it proceeds to the brewing of each variety. Since the temperature of the water for brewing each tea varies from 65 to 100 degrees, and each tea is brewed for a certain time, this tasting process is prolonged. Each tea is brewed according to the rules. At this time, the aromatic properties of brewed tea and their changes in relation to dry leaves are evaluated. Usually, tea is brewed in white cups, and the amount of tea is equal to 1 spoon per cup. You need to look closely at the tea leaves as soon as the boiling water is poured: small leaves will open faster than large ones.

 

After the tea is brewed , the taster evaluates the color and aroma of the drink, as well as the shade of the brewed leaves and its uniformity. Different varieties of tea differ in appearance, taste and astringency.

Using a special spoon, the tea taster collects tea from it and sips it while inhaling air. And the subtlest notes of the aroma of tea can be felt by rolling the drink in the mouth, while the drink must cover the entire surface of the tongue.

This method allows you to form a light "fog" in the mouth, which helps to engage both the sense of smell and taste, to absorb every aspect of taste and aroma. After the taster has carefully evaluated all the parameters, the tea is spit out. Then the taster moves on to the next cup. It is impossible to try a large number of varieties and types of tea in one tasting. Usually it is worth limiting yourself to no more than 5 types of tea for one approach.

The final stage of tea tasting is the evaluation of the aromatic qualities of the brewed leaf.

It is also important to mention the fact that there are varieties of tea that reveal new aromas and tastes with each subsequent brewing. 

Today, tea tasting combines age-tested and expert-tested methods, scientific approaches and understanding adapted to the standards of the modern world. Tea tasting , like the requirements for a taster , is standardized, just like wine or coffee tasting .

 

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