A-C D-F G-I J-L M-O P-R S-V W-Z Terms Tea Grades Back
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- A Glossary of Tea Terminology - |
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Name |
Is a ... |
Explanation |
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- |
light meal served around 4pm with tea |
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Assam |
Location |
Bengal NE India; a strong tea |
|
Assamica |
Variety |
of Camellia |
|
Astringency |
Taste |
sharp dry taste caused by unoxidized polyphenols |
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Autumnal |
Leaf type |
harvested in autumn |
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Baggy |
Taste |
poor taste due to inferior hessian sacks |
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Bancha |
Variety |
Japanese green tea |
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Basket-Fired |
Process |
for Japanese green teas |
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Bergamot |
- |
small tree with pear-shaped fruit, whose rind produces essence used in some teas; also a type of mint with similar essence |
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Billy |
Accessory |
Australian term; tin container suspended over fire to boil water for tea |
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Billycan |
Accessory |
Australian term; tin container suspended over fire to boil water for tea |
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Biscuity |
Taste |
a particular aroma of infused leaf; good |
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Black |
Process |
fully fermented |
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Black |
Leaf colour |
desirable leaf appearance |
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Black Dragon |
Process |
another name for Oolong |
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Blend |
Process |
mixture of teas, usually to produce a consistent taste over the seasons |
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Bloom |
Quality |
leaf appearance; bloom or sheen; a good sign |
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Bloomfield |
Location |
Darjeeling tea garden |
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Body |
Taste |
good taste; full and strong |
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Bohea |
Leaf type |
stalks |
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Bold |
Quality |
some leaves too big for the grade |
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BOP |
- |
see Broken, Orange & Pekoe |
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Brassy |
Taste |
poor taste; metallic |
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Brew (verb) |
Process |
of making tea into a drink by adding boiling water |
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Brew (noun) |
- |
British slang for tea drink |
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Brick |
Process |
old leaves, stems & twigs made into blocks |
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Bright |
Quality |
a particular appearance of liquor; usually good |
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Bright |
Taste |
fresh and lively taste; slightly astringent; good |
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Brisk |
Taste |
fresh and lively taste; slightly astringent; good |
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Broken |
Leaf type |
smaller or broken leaves |
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Brown |
Leaf colour |
a bad sign |
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Burned |
Taste |
poor taste from over-firing |
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Cachar |
Location |
N India; medium strength; most common variety |
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Caffeine |
Constituent |
chemical responsible for stimulant effect of tea |
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Cardamon |
Blend |
contains cardamon |
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Castleton |
Location |
Darjeeling tea garden |
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Camellia |
Species |
botanical name of tea bush |
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Caravan |
Blend |
Keemun & Oolong |
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Celebration |
Blend |
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Ceremony |
Process |
location, process & preparation of Japanese ceremonial tea |
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Ceylon |
Location |
old name of Sri Lanka |
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Chai |
- |
(or any spelling with similar sound) word for tea in India; always with milk and very sweet |
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Char |
- |
British slang for tea drink |
|
Character |
Taste |
good taste; characteristic of its origin |
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Chest |
Accessory |
Clasic container used to ship bulk tea; made of thin plywood with tin edges |
|
Chesty |
Taste |
taint from poor packaging |
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China |
Location |
May be green or any other kind of tea |
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Ching Wo |
Location |
China; strong black teas |
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Choice |
Quality |
Oolong only: the best. Japanese green only: very good |
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Choicest |
Quality |
Japanese green only: almost the best |
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Chunky |
Leaf type |
very large broken leaves |
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Chunmee |
Location |
China; sweet green tea, rolled leaves |
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Classic |
Blend |
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Clean |
Quality |
leaf free from all dust, stalks and other bits |
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Congou |
Location |
any of several China teas; N China Congou very high quality |
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Coarse |
Taste |
strong but unpleasant taste |
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Common |
Taste |
light and non-distinctive taste |
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Coppery |
Quality |
brght appearance of infused leaf; good |
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Cream |
- |
precipitate of cooled tea |
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Cream tea |
- |
afternoon tea with the emphasis on dairy cream, often clotted cream on scones with jam |
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Crepy |
Leaf type |
leaf with crimped appearance |
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Crown |
Blend |
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CTC |
Process |
machine used after drying; Cut, Tear & Curl; affects taste |
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Curling |
Process |
another name for rolling |
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Curly |
Leaf type |
whole, or almost whole, curled leaves |
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Location |
Himalayan NE India; a delicate tea, considered the best |
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Dark |
Quality |
infused leaf is not bright; poor |
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Decaffeinate |
Process |
removal of caffeine via solvents |
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Dickoya |
Location |
Sri Lanka; medium strength tea |
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Dimbula |
Location |
in Sri Lanka; a high grown tea |
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Dong Yang Dong Bai |
Variety |
a high quality China tea |
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Dooars |
Location |
N India; medium strength tea |
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Dragonmoon |
Blend |
Darjeeling and Assam |
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Dry |
Taste |
slightly over-fired; bad |
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Drying |
Process |
drying of fermented leaves |
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Dull |
Quality |
liquor is not bright; poor |
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Dust |
Leaf size |
smallest leaf pieces used |
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Earl Grey |
Blend |
contains bergamot essence with China & Darjeeling |
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Earthy |
Taste |
taste resulting from damp storage; bad |
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Earthy |
Taste |
characteristic taste of tea from certain regions |
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Empty |
Taste |
weak and tasteless; bad |
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English Breakfast |
Blend |
strong; usually Indian & Ceylon teas |
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English Afternoon |
Blend |
delicate; mostly Ceylon teas |
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Estate |
Location |
property containing a number of gardens; except in Ceylon where it means 'garden' |
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Even |
Quality |
leaves are all correct size for the grade |
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Extra Choicest |
Quality |
Japanese green only: the best |
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Fannings |
Leaf size |
small leaf pieces; usually in teabags |
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Fermentation |
Process |
oxidation of rolled leaves (not fermentation at all) |
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Fine |
Quality |
Oolong only: very good. |
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Fine |
Quality |
Japanese green only: almost as good as Finest |
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Finest |
Quality |
Oolong only: almost the best. Japanese green only: very good |
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Fine Young Hyson |
Leaf type |
young long green leaves rolled or twisted |
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Firing |
Process |
heating in manufacture of tea |
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Five O'clock |
Blend |
of Ceylon teas |
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Flaky |
Leaf type |
flat uncurled leaf pieces |
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Flat |
Taste |
taste of tea made from stale leaves |
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Flowery |
Leaf colour |
yellow tip or bud (ie young) leaves (China/Sumatra) |
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Flush |
Leaf type |
(1st, 2nd or 3rd) harvest from a bush during the growing season. 1st is late February to mid-April; 2nd is May & June |
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Formosa |
Location |
Taiwan |
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French |
Blend |
Chinese and Indian or Ceylon teas |
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Fruity |
Taste |
taste resulting from overfermentation; bad |
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Full |
Taste |
good strength and colour |
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Location |
specific tea plantation |
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Georgian |
Location |
Russia (now Georgia) |
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Gielle |
Location |
Darjeeling tea garden |
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Golden |
Leaf type |
leaf-tips |
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Good |
Quality |
Oolong only: average |
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Grade |
Leaf size |
word means 'leaf size', not quality or taste |
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Grainy |
Leaf type |
applied to LTP or CTC -processed teas: good leaf appearance |
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Green |
Process |
unfermented |
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Green |
Quality |
of a fermented (black) tea - underfermented; poor |
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Grey |
Leaf colour |
poor leaves abraded during processing |
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Gunpowder |
Leaf type |
young green leaves each rolled into a tiny ball |
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Gunpowder |
Leaf type |
best grade of China green tea |
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Gyokuru |
Variety |
'Precious Dew'; Japanese green tea made by unusual process |
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Heavy |
Taste |
strong but not very good |
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Her Majesty's |
Blend |
created for Q. Victoria; India, Ceylon, Taiwan & China teas |
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High-fired |
Quality |
over-fired but not as bad as 'bakey' |
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High Grown |
Location |
above about 4000 ft above sea level |
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HMB |
Blend |
see Her Majesty's Blend |
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Hyson |
Leaf type |
older hyson (see Young Hyson) |
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Hyson Skin |
Leaf type |
very old unrolled green leaves; inferior |
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Iced Tea |
- |
stewed tea gone cold and served with ice |
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I-Chang |
Location |
China |
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Imperial |
Leaf type |
old leftover gunpowder |
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Imperial |
Leaf type |
large round rolled leaf, green, good quality |
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Imperial |
Blend |
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Imperial Plucking |
Process |
Method used for the Emperor of China's tea. Cutting the bud & youngest leaf only, using gold scissors and by gloved young virgins. |
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Imperial Russian |
Blend |
of India & China teas; contains Bergamot & other citrus essences; not Russian |
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In-Between |
Leaf type |
Darjeeling between 1st and 2nd flush |
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Indonesia |
Location |
teas are similar to Sri Lanka |
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Infusion |
Process |
release of flavours after boiling water is poured on leaves |
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Instant |
Process |
tea extract reconstituted with hot water |
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Irish Breakfast |
Blend |
strong; usually Indian & Ceylon teas |
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Blend |
green or black & green China teas with jasmine flowers |
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Java Taloon |
Variety |
Indonesian |
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Kandy |
Location |
in Sri Lanka; a strong tea |
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Keemun |
Location |
NE China (also Keemun Congou) |
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Kenya |
Location |
similar to Assam teas |
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Lacking |
Taste |
neutral; no strength or character |
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Lady Londonderry |
Blend |
|
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Lapsang Souchong |
Location |
strong-flavoured black tea from China or any of several locations |
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Leaf |
Leaf type |
whole leaves |
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Leafy |
Leaf type |
large leaf pieces |
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Light |
Leaf type |
lightweight due to low density; a bad sign |
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Light |
Taste |
no strength or colour |
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Low Grown |
Location |
below about 2000 ft above sea level |
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LTP |
Process |
machine used after drying; Lawrie Tea Processor; affects taste |
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Luaka |
Location |
in Sri Lanka; a delicate tea |
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Lung Ching |
Variety |
'Dragon Well'; strong green China tea |
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Location |
China |
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Make |
Quality |
well-made tea true to its grade (poorly-made not true to grade) |
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Malty |
Taste |
tastes of malt; good characteristic in Assam teas |
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Margaret's Hope |
Location |
Darjeeling tea garden |
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Malaysia |
Location |
|
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Matcha |
Variety |
Japanese green tea; always powdered |
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Medium Grown |
Location |
between low and high grown teas |
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Metallic |
Taste |
poor taste; metallic |
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Monkey Picked |
Location |
Tea generally in inacessible locations allegedly picked by trained monkeys |
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Muddy |
Quality |
opaque liquor; bad |
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Muscatel |
Taste |
tastes of grapes; good characteristic in Darjeeling teas |
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Mushy |
Quality |
not dried sufficiently during manufacture |
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Musty |
Quality |
mildewed |
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Namring |
Location |
Darjeeling tea garden |
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Napuk |
Location |
Assam tea garden |
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Neat |
Quality |
well-made |
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New York |
Blend |
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Nibs |
Quality |
below average |
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Nilgiri |
Location |
Nilgiri Hills, SW India; delicate taste |
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Ning Chow |
Location |
N China |
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Numalighur |
Location |
Assam tea garden |
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Nuwara Eliya |
Location |
in Sri Lanka; a delicate tea |
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Oolong |
Process |
semi-fermented; originally and usually from China |
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Orange |
Leaf colour |
yellow tip or bud leaves |
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Orange Pekoe |
Leaf size |
small leaves. Alternatively means thin rolled leaf pieces |
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Orange Pekoe |
Location |
China; similar to Souchong |
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Orthodox |
Process |
machine used after drying; affects taste |
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Ouvah |
Location |
see Uva |
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Variety |
white China tea |
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Paklum |
Location |
China |
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Pan-Fired |
Process |
for Japanese green teas |
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Panyong |
Location |
China |
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Pearl |
Process |
Small ball of large-leaf tea |
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Peking |
Location |
Beijing |
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Pekoe |
Leaf size |
medium-sized leaves; pronounced "pek-oh". Alternatively means 'leaf' and not a leaf size |
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Pi Lo Chun |
Variety |
'Spiral of Spring Jade'; mild green China tea |
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Plain |
Taste |
neutral |
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Polyphenols |
Constituent |
chemicals responsible for basic taste of tea |
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Poonakandy |
Blend |
- |
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Pouchong |
Process |
semi-fermented |
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Pouchong |
Blend |
Oolong with gardenia or jasmine |
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Pungent |
Taste |
strong and bright |
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Pushkin |
Blend |
includes bergamot |
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Puttabong |
Location |
Darjeeling area; high quality |
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Queen Anne |
Blend |
- |
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Queen Mary |
Blend |
Darjeelings |
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Queen's Tea |
Blend |
created for Q. Victoria; Darjeeling with China, Ceylon & Assam |
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Ragged |
Quality |
badly made and unevenly graded tea |
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Rolling |
Process |
crushing of withered leaves |
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Rooibos |
Variety |
Not a tea; leaves of ???? bush processed as tea; popular in South Africa |
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Rose |
Blend |
any of several teas with rose petals |
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Rose Congou |
Blend |
Congou with rose petals |
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Rotorvane |
Process |
machine used after drying; affects taste |
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Russian |
Location |
Azerbaidjan or Georgia |
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Russian |
Blend |
China tea; lightly smoked; popular in and popularised by Russians |
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Russian Blend |
Blend |
various China teas |
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Russian Caravan |
Blend |
black tea, constituents vary. In the 18th and 19th Centuries all tea was imported into Russia overland by camel caravans from China; this may be the origin of the name |
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Russian Imperial |
Blend |
of India, Ceylon and China teas |
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Accessory |
Russian term; a heated container providing permanent supply of hot water for making tea. |
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Sencha |
Variety |
Japanese green tea, whole unrolled leaves |
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Seychelles |
Location |
- |
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Siaou Chu |
Leaf type |
same as Gunpowder |
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Silver Dragon |
Variety |
sweet green China tea |
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Sinensis |
Variety |
of Camellia |
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Soft |
Taste |
insipid; not bright; bad |
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Smoked |
Process |
fermented and smoke-dried |
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Souchong |
Leaf size |
large inferior leaves making poor tea |
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Sowmee |
Leaf type |
worse than Twankay |
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Sri Lanka |
Location |
new name of Ceylon; a wide range of teas |
|
Standard |
Quality |
Oolong only: below average |
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Steaming |
Process |
in manufacture of green tea |
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Stewed |
Taste |
unpleasant taste caused by incorrect firing |
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Stewed |
Taste |
unpleasant taste caused by overlong infusion of leaves after brewing |
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Superior |
Quality |
Oolong only: good |
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Sweaty |
Taste |
unpleasant taste |
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Sylhet |
Location |
Bangladesh |
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Tannin |
Constituent |
erroneous name for Poyphenols |
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Tarry |
Process |
fermented and smoke-dried |
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Tarry |
Quality |
smoky aroma of infused leaf |
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Tea |
- |
the subject of this glossary |
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Tea |
- |
evening meal served around 5pm to 6pm; often in the North of England and/or eaten by the working and middle classes |
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Teacake |
- |
flattish bread bun with raisins; usually toasted, heavily buttered, and served with a cup of tea |
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Tea cozy |
Accessory |
insulated cover for teapot, usually made of wool or wool-like material; currently unfashionable |
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Teacup |
Accessory |
drinking vessel for tea |
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Teapot |
Accessory |
container for brewed tea |
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Teatowel |
Accessory |
non-fluffy cotton towel used for drying crockery and utensils; not restricted to teacups |
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Tea trolley |
Accessory |
trolley with tea urn, biscuits and so on; once common in large factories |
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Tea urn |
Accessory |
large (perhaps 5 gallon) container for brewing and dispensing tea in bulk. As it can take some time to dispense the contents the tea is often stewed |
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Teetotal |
- |
abstaining from alchohol; but the "tee" is unconnected with tea the drink, it is probably an emphasis of the initial t in total |
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Temi |
Variety |
Sikkim; similar to Darjeeling |
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Terai |
Location |
N India |
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Theaceae |
Family |
to which Camellia sinensis belongs |
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Theobromine |
Constituent |
chemical; similar effect to caffeine |
|
Theophylline |
Constituent |
chemical; similar effect to caffeine |
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Thin |
Taste |
insipid |
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Thowra |
Location |
Assam tea garden |
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Ti Kuan Yin |
Variety |
'Iron Goddess of Mercy'; China/Formosa Oolong |
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Tips |
Leaf type |
bud & top two leaves on stalk; highest concentration of flavours |
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Tippy |
Leaf type |
leaf-tips |
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Tisane |
- |
a 'tea' made from something other than Camellia Sinensis |
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Travancore |
Location |
S India; strong |
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Tscheinik |
Blend |
very strong tea popular in Russia |