Agony of the leaves:
Tea taster's expression, it describes how the leaves unfold when immersed in boiling water.
Assam:
Assam Tea is probably the best tea available. It is grown in the shadow of the Himalayas in the Assam Province, in northeast India.
Aroma:
This term describes the smell when both the tea and the liquid unfold. The aroma is highly valued. Such aroma is connected with flavor and fragrance.
Baggy:
An undesirable taint found in both the dry leaf and the liquor of teas withered on inferior hessian (cloth used for bags).
Biscuity:
A sweet pleasant aroma found in the leaf or liquor of well fired Assam tea.
Bite:
Its the astringency that gives black tea its refreshing quality.
Black Tea:
tea that has been fermented before being fired (also see Green or Oolong tea - below).
Blend:
A mixture of two or more different teas.
Body:
Denotes the weight of the liquor in the mouth. A good body has fullness and strength. As opposed to a thin Liquor which lacks neither.
Brassy:
An unpleasant overtone created by not fully allowing the leaf to wither.
Bright:
The desired sparkling liquor of all fine teas.
Brisk:
A "live," not flat liquor. Usually pungent .
Ceylons:
Both black and green teas are made in Sri Lanka, but the blacks are more common.
Chá:
Chinese word for "tea."
Chest:
Original tea package; usually made of wood and aluminum lined. India and Ceylon teas are packed in "chests" and sometimes in "half chests".
Color:
This is the color of the brewed liquor which changes from country to country, and district to district. Liquor color will also vary according to the type of tea
Congou:
A general term used to describe all China Black teas, irrespective of district.
Course:
Tea liquor with certain undesirable characteristics usually resulting from coarse leaf or irregular firing.
Darjeeling:
The finest and most delicately flavored of the India teas. Grown chiefly in the Himalaya Mountains at elevations ranging from 2,500 - 6,500 feet.
Dull:
Liquor of the infused leaf is not clear and bright but dull in appearance due to faulty processing
Dust:
The smallest residue after the sieving process Whole leaf being first grade and dust being the last. Practically reduced to a fine powder. It is used mostly in tea bags.
Earthy:
A flavor found in tea which has been stored under damp conditions.
English Breakfast:
Generally a blend of Assam and Ceylon, It can also include blends of black teas in which the China character predominates.
Estate:
A property , which is comprised of a garden or plantation under one management or ownership.
Flaky:
Poorly processed leaf that is flat and easily broken
Fruity:
A quality characteristic of good Oolongs, etc.
Green Tea:
Tea that is fired and dried immediately after the leaves are plucked from the plant. This is uniquely different than both oolong and black teas, which are both fermented to different degrees before firing.
Keemun:
A fine grade of black tea from Central China; also imitated with considerable success in recent years in Formosa. Keemun is a fine quality China Black, hand rolled and basket fired, in contrast to the common Black China types which are machine rolled and machine fired.
Oolong Tea:
Tea that is partially fermented before firing and drying. It is processed in a manner which gives it characteristics of both green and black teas (see also Black or Green teas - above).
Pan-Firing:
The steaming and heat-drying of the tea leaves after they are fermented (black and oolong teas), or immediately after they are plucked from the plant (green teas). This process kills the enzymes which cause fermenting, and remove all but about 2% of the moisture from the leaves
Pungent:
Astringent; it's what gives tea its bite.
Tannin:
Gives tea its strength and much of its aroma and flavor. Not the same as tannic acid.
Tarry:
Smokey flavor associated with Lapsang Souchong, because it is withered and dried over pine fires.
