A professional tea taster needs to taste hundreds or even thousands of cups of tea to accumulate enough experience to accurately experience and describe the characteristics of each tea.
For beginners, embarking on the journey of tea tasting is novel and interesting. Here are some methods to help beginners better enjoy the deliciousness of tea and appreciate the art of tea tasting.
1. Trying Various Types of Tea
You might already be familiar with a certain type of tea, like black tea. Sometimes, it's beneficial to step out of your comfort zone and try as many different tea varieties as possible.
You can explore teas with different processing techniques, tea tree varieties, origins, and even teas from different altitudes and years.
Loose leaf tea, like wine, is influenced by multiple factors that affect its flavor. In fact, these factors have a more pronounced impact on tea compared to wine.
2. Tasting, Smelling, and Observing
The taste of a tea is a primary factor influencing its character, but it's not the only aspect.
The aroma, liquor color, and texture of tea leaves, combined with the taste, create a three-dimensional experience of tea tasting. This multidimensional experience offered by high-quality Chinese tea is exceptionally unique and rich. We recommend using a loose leaf tea sampler to explore the diverse varieties of Chinese tea.
Tasting, smelling, and observing—these experiences from different senses compose a unique symphony about this tea.
3. Let the Tea Soup Linger in Your Mouth
Allow the tea soup to linger in your mouth, ensuring that every part of your oral cavity comes into full contact with the tea.
When swallowing the tea, take your time, allowing the tea to slowly glide down your throat.
The purpose of these methods is to amplify and prolong the experience, enabling you to more clearly perceive the sweet or astringent sensations of the tea. Some widely acknowledged best loose leaf tea, such as high-quality Longjing and Tie Guanyin, especially benefit from this method of tasting.
4. Comparative Tasting
Sometimes, you might think that a tea is already good enough. However, when you compare it to a similar variety of tea, you'll realize that your initial judgment may have been off, missing certain dimensions.
Especially when conducting comparative tastings with teas of similar styles, you can more clearly discern the strengths and weaknesses of these teas.
One of the best oolong tea, Da Hong Pao, is renowned for its unique rock charm. This rock charm is only found in Da Hong Pao from the core region of Wuyi Mountain. By comparing and tasting Da Hong Pao from different regions, you'll better appreciate the uniqueness and value of its rock charm.
5. Brewing Temperature
Different types of tea require specific brewing temperatures to fully unleash their potential.
Here is a guideline for the brewing temperatures of different types of tea. In practice, please try to follow the brewing instructions provided on the respective tea packaging.
Green Tea: 80-90 °C (176-194℉)
Yellow Tea: 80-90 °C (176-194℉)
Oolong Tea: 95-100 °C (203-212℉)
Black Tea: 85-95 °C (185-203℉)
Dark Tea: 95-100 °C (203-212℉)
Young White Tea: 80-90 °C (176-194℉)
Aged White Tea: 95-100 °C (203-212℉)
6. Tea Utensils
Choosing the right utensils for brewing is also very important. Suitable utensils, combined with the right tea, will ensure that the strengths of the tea can be fully expressed.
· Fresh Tea (Green Tea, Yellow Tea, and Young White Tea, etc.)
Fresh tea is best brewed in large glass cups, which not only tastes good but also looks appealing.
· Fragrant Tea (Oolong Tea, etc.)
Teas with a prominent aroma, such as Oolong Tea, are best brewed in white porcelain lidded bowls, as this helps to bring out the tea's aromatic qualities more effectively.
· Rich, Mellow, and Sweet Tea (Dark Tea, Black Tea, and Aged Tea, etc.)
Teas with these characteristics are best brewed in various types of clay teapots, preferably purple clay teapots, as this helps to fully extract the depth of flavor from the tea.
A thorough understanding of tea's characteristics is essential for selecting the right teaware.
7. Pay attention to your subtlest sensations
When you first start tasting tea, you might notice some sensations, but they are so delicate that they slip away in the next moment.
When you communicate with some professional tea tasters, you will realize that the subtle sensations you experience might be one of the unique qualities of that tea.
Beginners may not grasp these subtle sensations accurately when they first taste tea. However, paying attention to these sensations, experiencing them, and trying to describe them is a good starting point.
In addition to the key points mentioned above that beginners need to know, there are many aspects worth exploring in the art of tea tasting. This requires tea lovers to try and experience as much as possible, especially by choosing high-quality teas to train their palate.
Chinese teas not only have high quality but also offer a wide variety for everyone to choose from. You can not only taste the deliciousness of Chinese tea yourself but also send Chinese tea as tea gift sets to your family and friends. You can also choose Chinese organic loose leaf tea as a healthy and delicious gift. When purchasing Chinese organic loose leaf tea, please pay attention to whether it has been certified by professional organizations for organic testing.
We hope these tasting experiences are helpful to you. Let's enjoy the deliciousness of tea together!
