Best International Suppliers of Quality Teas
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Printer-friendly versionTea Terms Glossary
FLAVOR
| Berry Like - | fruity and tart tasting |
| Biscuity - | sweet, malted flavor with a velvety body, reminiscent of baked bread; often a character in black teas |
| Bitter - | intense and boldly appalling flavor; sometimes offensive |
| Citrusy - | tangy, tart; citrus fruit flavor such as orange, lemon, grapefruit, or tangerine |
| Creamy - | milky, vanilla-tasting |
| Earthy - | woodsy, soil-tasting, nature-inspired taste and aroma |
| Grassy - | vegetal, fresh cut lawn taste |
| Malty - | biscuity with a velvety body, wheat and barley-tasting; often used to describe Assam black teas |
| Meaty - | hearty, heavy-tasting, full, thick texture, often desribes high quality Indian black teas |
| Metallic - | low, unpleasant quality and taste; often found in poor quality green and black teas |
| Nutty - | toasted, malty flavors reminiscent of a nut such as an almond, hazelnut or walnut |
| Plain - | having very minimal flavor; mellow, dull, bland, simple |
| Salty - | mineral-like, sour, peppery |
| Smoky - | burnt-tasting, reminiscent of ash and fire |
| Vanilla - | creamy, sweet, milky |
| Vegetal - | often a great tea characteristic; grassy, vegetable-tasting; reminiscent of a freshly cut lawn |
| Winey - | vinegary, grape-tasting, sour, astringent |
| Sour - | tart, acidic, citrusy |
| Tart - | sour, tangy, astringent |
| Spicy - | flavorful with a bite; fiery, peppery, tangy |
| Sweet- | often fruity, sometimes creamy; having candy-like characteristics |
| Savory - | pleasant, aromatic; bold yet balanced flavors |
BODY/FINISH
| Acidic - | sour, tart, vinegary |
| Astringent - | bold, pungent sensation that lingers on the tongue and sides of the mouth caused by tannins |
| Balanced - | well-rounded, tasting equal proportions of flavors |
| Body - | texture of the tea on the palate during tasting, which is largely determined by tannins and amino acids within the tea |
| Character - | smell, taste and presentation of the tea |
| Clean - | crisp, fresh, pure flavor notes |
| Cloudy - | result when the tea is prepared iced, also known as condensation. When the ice hits the hot tea, the ice or solid slowly turns into liquid and forms cloudiness in the tea |
| Complex - | having multi-dimensional flavors that unfold layer by layer; complicated |
| Crisp - | clean, fresh, sharp |
| Delicate - | soft, subtle, lightly flavored |
| Dull - | uninspiring, mellow, lack of character |
| Finish - | lasting impression on your tongue after swallowing |
| Flat - | plain, dull, mellow, without higher or lower notes in tastes |
| Hard - | aggressive, bold, sharp, higher in mineral content |
| Intense - | strong, bold concentration of flavor and aroma |
Facts courtesy of:
