Tea Glossary

Agony of the leaves: Expression describing the unfurling of rolled or twisted leaves during steeping

Assam: Tea grown in the state of Assam, in India. These (generally black) teas are known for their strong, deep red infusions.

Astringency: The drying sensation in the mouth caused by teas high in unoxidized polyphenols.

Autumnal: Tea produced late in the growing season

Bakey: Tea taster expression for over fired teas with too much moisture removed

Bergamot: Essential oil of the bergamot orange used to flavor a black tea base to make Earl Grey tea

Billy: Australian term referring to tin pot with wire handle to suspend over an open fire in which tea is boiled

Biscuity: Tea taster's expression, often used with Assam teas that have been fired well but not overly so

Bite: A term referring to the astringent quality of black tea

Black: Tea that has been oxidized

Bloom: Tea taster's term to describe sheen or luster present to finished leaf

Body: Tea taster's term to denote a full strength brew

Bold: Large leaf cut tea

Brassy: Unpleasant acidic bite from improperly withered tea

Break: Auction term referring to a lot for sale, usually 18 chests or more.

Brick tea: Tealeaves that have been steamed and compressed into bricks. Tea is typically shaved and boiled with butter and salt to make a soup

Bright: Denotes a bright red brew or light leaf, as opposed to a dull brown or black color.

Brisk: A tea high in astringency. Also a trademarked characteristic of Lipton tea.

Broken: Smaller leaf style usually created during manufacture by passing the leaf through a cutter

Caddy: Tea storage container. The word caddy derives from the Malay "kati" a measure of weight about 3/5 of a kilo. The 17th century tea containers were bottle shaped tea jars in china, glass, silver, enamel and straw-work covered metal.

Caffeine: stimulating compound present in tea

Cambric tea: a very weak tea infusion in an excess of milk and sugar

Camellia sinensis: The name for the tea bush, which can grow up to 30 feet if left untrimmed

Camellia sinensis var. assamica: A large leaf variety found wild in the Assam region of India

Catechins: Class of polyphenols present in high concentrations in green tea, but found in varying levels in other teas derived from the tea plant

Ceylon: Teas made in Sri Lanka

Cha: “Tea” in Chinese

Chai: Tea. Often refers to masala Chai, or spiced tea, a strong black tea infused with milk, sugar, and spices.

Chamomile: A white, calming herb with an apply aroma, which is usually consumed in the evening

Chest: Classical tea package, usually made of wood and aluminum-lines, used to ship tea from plantation

Chesty: Tea taster's term signifying off odor in tea from the wood in the tea chest

Chunmee: A grade of Chinese tea with a curled shape.

Clippers: The sailing ships that raced tea cargos between china and London. Last one took place in 1871

Congou: A general name for Chinese black tea, derived from gongfu.

Coppery: Bright infusion of good quality black tea

Creaming up: A term used to describe the bubbly residue that occasionally comes to the surface of black teas, especially Assam. This is not a bad characteristic.

Crumpets: Pale, round, hot and made from pouring a thin batter into rings on a hot griddle. The honeycombed surface is ideal for absorbing butter

Ctc: Stands for Crush, Tear, and Curl, a machine-based process that macerates the leaves by pressing through counter-rotating rollers to create a stronger, more colorful tea.

Darjeeling: Tea grown in the Darjeeling region, a mountainous area around the Himalayas, of India. These (generally black) teas are well known for their crisp astringency.

Dhool: Refers to the tealeaf during fermentation, noted for its coppery color.

Desiccation: The final stage in tea manufacturing, consisting in stopping oxidation by drying the black tea leaves

Dust: The smallest grade of tea, this is typically associated with lower quality, but is prized for its quick extraction and is commonly used in teabags.

Earl Grey: Black tea that is scented with the essential oil of bergamot, a citrus.

English muffins: Made with a stiffer batter than crumpets and are baked without rings

Fannings: Small, grainy particles of leaf sifted out of better grade teas

Fermentation: Used in the process of preparing black and oolong tea, this step involves allowing the natural browning enzymes present in tealeaf to oxidize fresh green tea leaves and to impart the darker brown-red color and characteristic aroma.

Fibrous: Teas which contain a large percentage of fannings

Firing: The process of rapidly heating the leaf, either with hot air or in a wok, to quickly halt fermentation and dry the leaf to its final product.

Flat: Teas lacking astringency or briskness

Flowery: Used in grading the size of tea, it typically indicates a leaf style with more of the lighter colored tips.

Flush: The freshly picked tea leaves, typically comprising the bud and first two leaves of the growing tea shoot.

Formosa: Tea produced in Taiwan, typically oolong teas

Full: Strong tea without bitterness and possessing good color

Genmaicha: Green tea with toasted and popped rice

Golden: Denoting the orange colored tip present in high quality black tea

Gone off: When a tea goes bad by improver storage or packing.

Gongfu: Meaning performed with care, this typically refers to a style of brewing with many repeated short infusions of leaf in a miniature pot.

Grainy: Term used to describe high quality CTC teas

Green: Unfermented, dried tea, more commonly found in China and Japan.

Gunpowder: A green tea, which is rolled into pellets, which unfurl in hot water.

Gyrokuro: Japanese green tea produced from shaded plants. "Pearl Dew"

Hard: Pungent tea, desired in some Assam teas

Harsh: Bitter teas

Heavy: A thick, colorful infusion with little briskness or astringency

High tea: A hearty tea served at the end of day not to be confused with afternoon tea, which is a delicate and dainty affair

Hyson: Chinese green teas. Brand of tea in common usage during 18th century. "Flourishing spring".

Infusers: Any tea equipage that will hold tea leaves for steeping purposes

Jasmine: Black tea scented with jasmine flowers, typically made with green Pouchong tea as the base

Keemun: Black tea from central China, typically hand rolled and fired.

Lapsang Souchong: A Chinese black tea, which is fired (dried) over a smoky (pine wood) fire to impart its characteristic smoky flavor.

Licorice root: Has been used to aid digestion

Light: Liquor lacking body or thickness

Malty: Slightly over-fired tea, sometimes desirable

Metallic: Tea taster's term to denote coppery taste of some teas

Muddy: Tea taster's term to denote a dull, blackish color of the infusion

Nose: The aroma of the tea

Oolong: A form of tea characterized by lighter brews and larger leaf styles. This tea is typically understood as a lightly fermented tea, between green and black tea on a continuum.

Orange pekoe: Referring to size of leaf, not quality or flavor, this term indicates a larger-size grade of whole leaf teas.

Orthodox: Prepared using a technique, which leads to larger leaf styles mirroring hand-produced teas.

Osthmanthus: A princely, elegant flower that blooms in the autumn and used at fall festivals. The creamy white flowers resemble jasmine. Used in medicine and tea

Pan fired: Tea that is steamed and then agitated in an iron wok over a fire

Pekoe: A word of Cantonese origins, Pak-ho, referring to the “white-down or hair” that coats the bud.

Plain: Tea taster's term to denote dull liquor with sour taste

Plucking: The process of harvesting the tea by cutting the flush from the growing tea shrub.

Polyphenols: Astringent compounds present in tea

Pu erh: A type of tea most notably from the Yunnan province of China. Damp green tea that has been fermented microbiologically to a black leaf. Can be loose-leaf or compressed

Pungent: Tea taster's term to denote a very astringent tea

Rawness: Bitter taste

Rolling: The process of crushing the leaves to initiate fermentation and impart twist.

Rose hips: An acidic, astringent, tonic herb, rich in vitamins. Has been used internally for colds, influenza, minor infectious diseases, scurvy, diarrhea, and gastritis.

Self drinking: Rounded, well bodied tea that can be served unblended

Schisandra berry: Tart berry used in Chinese medicine. Noted for helping the liver

Smoky: Tea taster's term for teas that have been fired over smoky flames, imparting a smoky flavor

Soft: Tea taster's term for under fermented teas

Souchong: Term for large leaf teas derived from the third and fourth leaf of the tea shoot

Stalk: Describes teas with presence of red stalk pieces from a hard plucking

Tannin: Erroneous term referring to the astringent polyphenols of tea, unrelated to tannic acid polyphenols of other plants

Tarry: Tea taster's term for teas that have been fired over smoky flames, imparting a smoky flavor

Tat: Shelf made of wire mesh or burlap used to spread the leaves out for withering and fermentation

Tea: See Camellia sinensis

Tea cozy: Insulated cover to keep tea hot in the pot

Theaflavins: Orange red polyphenols unique to fermented teas such as black tea, and formed from the condensation of two catechins

Theanine: Unique amino acid in tea.

Theine: Synonym for caffeine

Ti kuan yin: "Iron Goddess of Mercy"- a distinctive type of oolong tea typically longer-fermented and possessing a darker-colored but fragrant brew

Tippy: Teas with white or golden tips, indicating high quality

Tip: Fine bud ends indicating a high quality tea

Tisane: Teas produced from the leaves of plants other than the tea plant, herbal tea.

Tuocha: Bowl tea. A form of brick tea comprised of pu-erh tea pressed into a bowl shaped cake. Looks like a bird’s nest

Twist: Before fermentation, the leaves need to be crushed to initiate oxidation. This imparts the curled appearance of the finished leaf.

Two and a bud: The ideal plucked tea for production, consisting of the new tea shoot and the first two leaves

White tea: A special type of green tea. Distinguished by the presence of the white hairs of the tea flush (baihao) and a lighter green, almost clear, infusion.

Winey: Mellow quality, characteristic of some Keemun teas which have been given time to age

Withering: The first step in production of most teas. Involves letting the fresh leaves wither for some period of time after plucking to reduce moisture content.

Woody: Tea taster's term indicating an undesirable grass or hay flavor in black tea

Yixing: Pronounced ee-ching, this region in China is noted for its purple clay, used to produce distinctive unglazed teapots.

Yunnan: Tea grown in the Yunnan province, in the southwest of China. These black teas are known for their spicy character. This region also produces Pu-Erh tea.