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HOW TO UNDERSTAND TEA SPEAK

There are many terms that will be used to describe tea. No one is really sure which ones are right and which ones are not! But here is a list that can be utilized to describe your favorite tea. Want to submit other descriptors that you think work better? Click here to tell us!

TERMS USED ABOUT THE TEA
•	Body - A liquor possessing fullness/richness and strength.
•	Brisk - A "live" taste in the liquor vs. flat or soft.
•	Burnt - An undesirable note in teas that have been exposed to excessive heat during processing due to overdrying during the firing process.
•	Character - An intangible quality in a tea that identifies its origin of growth.
•	Color - A measure of the depth of the tea's physical color. Based on season/growth/grade factors.
•	Cream - The "cloudiness" one notices upon the cooling down of brewed tea. A bright color denotes quality.
•	Dry - Slightly bakey or high fired. Once again, a quality that denotes an over-processed tea.
•	Flat - Usually a symptom of old or improperly stored tea. The briskness of the brew is lacking.
•	Full - A term used to describe a full-bodied tea with color and strength. Treasure these!!

TERMS USED ABOUT THE LEAF ITSELF
•	Attractive - Quality made with uniform color and size leaf.
•	Bold - Pieces of leaf that are too big for the grade it's in.
•	Chunky - A tea that possesses large sized tips
•	Even - A grade of tea that is comprised of equal sized pieces of leaf.
•	Flaky - A flat, open leaf which has been improperly withered and rolled.
•	Golden Tip - A quality to look for in a tea. This denotes proper withering and rolling.
•	Mixed - Teas that have other grades of teas added to them.
•	Ragged - Rough and un-even leaf.
•	Small - A grade of tea that has a smaller size leaf than it normally has.
•	Stalky - A by-product of sloppy plucking-excessive amount of tea plant stalk is visible.
•	Twist - When referring to whole leaf teas, the leaf has a "rolled" appearance denoting careful processing.
•	Well-Made - Beautiful color of the leaf, even texture and size.

TERMS USED ABOUT THE INFUSION OR BREWED TEA
•	Moldy - This denotes an old improperly stored tea or one that has been exposed to moisture/water.
•	Musty - Also pertaining to mold
•	Old - Flavor/palette lost to age.
•	Pungent - Very brisk
•	Strength - A "presence" of body in the mouth.
•	Thin - Teas lacking in body that have been over withered and/or inadequate fermentation.
•	Wild - An undesirable quality usually found in end-of- season teas. A harshness/thinness is apparent.
•	Bright - A cup displaying a "liveliness"- as opposed to dull and lifeless.
•	Coppery - This term describes the color of the infused leaf- denotes quality.
•	Green - Typical of first flush- lacks depth. Generally an undesirable quality.
•	Dull - Lacking in sheen/lifeless.

GENERAL TEA TERMS
•	Camellia Sinensis – the tea plant. The top few leaves and bud of this plant are what "tea" is comprised of. The tea plant is a member of the evergreen family and can reach heights of 60 feet. Most tea bushes, however, are kept pruned to heights of no more than 3 to 5 feet.
•	Withering – The first step in the process after the leaves are in the factory. The process removes moisture from the freshly plucked leaf. The leaves are spread on trays in a room - left to wither in the naturally warm air. Sometimes, there are warm air fans built in the withering area to aid the process. The resulting leaf is soft and pliable and has lost about 50% of its weight. It is now ready for the next step.
•	Rolling - Twisting the leaf bruises it while releasing enzymes that react to the air. This chemical process is called oxidation .Twisted leaves make a better cup of tea by allowing the leaf to give up its essences slower, making the tea smoother and milder.
•	Fermentation - This process applies mostly to black teas. The withered and rolled leaves are again spread out on a table and allowed to ferment for up to 5 hrs. The longer the leaf ferments, the darker it becomes. This part of the processing alters the flavor of the tea, allowing the constituents of the tea to emerge.
•	Firing - This step involves heating the now fermented leaves to a constant temperature of 120F, thereby stopping the fermentation process. This is where black tea turns black and is just about 100% dry, maintaining only 2-3% of its original moisture content.

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