The tea taster is a specialized function demanding talent cultivated during the years of training and experience. The senses of taste are only one of the main faculties a taster must cultivate. Of the five human senses, he has to use, simultaneously, four. The senses of sight, smell and touch are as essential in tasting tea as is the sense of taste. The term “tea tasting is therefore a part-nomer for what is a comprehensive examination of tea.”

Before a taster begins his work, samples of tea are infused or brewed. A quarter tola (2.9 gm) of each sample is infused in four ounces of boiling water for six minutes. The liquor or liquid is then separated from the infused leaf. White porcelain cups and pots are used for the purpose to ensure an authentic view of the liquor colour.

When ready for tasting, the taster first examines two or three ounces of dry leaf tea. Good black tea should have a uniform black colour with a bloom or sheen. It should contain golden tips (the more the better) which come from the “buds” and not from the two leaves. Brown stalk and fibre are unwelcome as they represent the hard stem between leaves. The taster checks the size and evenness of the leaves. The style of the tea is just as important; a well twisted heavy leaf is desirable while a flaky style is not. His sense of touch helps him verify whether the tea is crisp and well dried. A spongy feel indicates that the tea contains a high percentage of moisture and therefore will not “keep” well but deteriorate early.

DECISIVE FACTOR

The taster’s eyes turn to the infused leaf to see its colour, its uniformity and brightness. The infused leaf gives a cross section view of the tea and therefore a look and sniff are helpful.

Until now the taster has not used his palate which is, of course, the most decisive factor in the examination of tea. But before his taste, he carefully looks at the colour of the liquor to see how bright and golden it is. Often milk is added to the liquor to judge this colour more accurately. He then proceeds to taste by sipping about a spoon full of liquor and rolling it in his mouth for a few seconds before spitting it out. He cannot generally spend more than a few seconds on one tea as, at the height of the season, a taster has to deal with upto 1,000 cups a day. In the course of a few seconds that the liquor is in his mouth, the taster registers how strong and brisk it is. Strength is thickness while briskness (life or pungency which spring water has but water from a lake does not) is a property of a good tea which will “keep” well. Assam teas are especially known for their thick, brisk liquors that “keep” well.

In these same few seconds, the taster also judges the finer aspects of the liquor. Character is the distinctive taste which depends upon the area in which the tea is grown. Quality is aroma which is found in abundance only during certain seasons of the year when leaf growth is slow. Flavour or bouquet is the ultimate in tea liquor and being rare is keenly sought after. A Darjeeling tea with an outstanding flavour can be worth Rs.1000/- per kg or more, while a similar tea without this exceptional bouquet may not sell for more than Rs. 40.

Trained, sensitive taste buds and keen sense of smell are essential to detect so much in such a short time. But they are not all. An encyclopedic palate memory is a must for a successful tea taster. No tea can be tasted and valued in abstract. The taster must be able to compare it with a number of teas over the years and which are no longer available. Without experience and long associations with a wide range of teas, a taster cannot do justice to his work.

In order to value tea, the taster must know the preferences ans the biases of markets the world over. Golden tips which can be worth Rs. 400 or more per kg to a buyer in Iran may be difficult to sell in the world’s largest tea markets – the U.K. or India.

The taster is often called upon to assist the producer in improving quality. He must be intimately familiar with the various processes of tea manufacture. Otherwise, he cannot relate a short coming in the tea with a particular fault in manufacture.

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