Autumnal – Tea manufactured during autumn is known as autumnal tea. The leaf obtained after final firing in that period is reddish in colour, but with varying degrees of flavour and aroma, for which customer prefers it.
Bakey – This is an undesirable characteristic developed due to high temperatures during drying.
It is the taster who describes and values tea. His description of the liquor is based on taste. In its widest sense, which includes aroma, taste is a very complex property that has so far not been assessed chemically. A taster may deal with several hundred-tea samples in a day. In making his evaluation, he brings his knowledge and experience of the outturn of a particular estate to bear upon his conclusions.
These are some of the nomenclature used in tea tasting rooms. Trust me, there is a huge complexity involved in the process but these jargons are most important amongst other variants in differentiating the good teas from the rest.
Before a taster can begin his/her work, a sample of the tea is brewed. Each sample is put into boiling water for six minutes. The liquor or liquid is then separated from the infused leaf. White porcelain cups and pots are use to ensure an authentic view of 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. these tips should come from the ‘buds’ and not from two leafs. 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 deteriorate early.
