Learning Tea Terminology

Every field of study or business has its on vocabulary. There are many terms that are common to the growing and processing of tea that are truly unique. Some are very colorful, some are practical, but all are interesting. Some terms indicate when the tea is picked, some indicate from where on the bush the tea leaf is picked and some terms are only used in the grading of tea. No boring term such as USDA grade 1 is used in reference to tea.

First in our very brief list of tea terminology is "pluck." Tea is not picked, but it is plucked. There is a fine pluck which is consists of only buds of new growth. An example of a fine pluck is Darjeeling tea, which is described as subtle and delicate in flavor. There is a coarse pluck which is the older more coarse leaves and then there is a normal pluck which traditionally is two leaves and a bud.You might be asking yourself what difference does it make what is plucked? The answer is the type of pluck directly affects the flavor, the color and the aroma of the tea. And to think that before now I thought pluck only referred to removing feathers from a bird!

In India a flush of tea is the first growth of the season which is small in quantities and yields a more expensive tea. The first flush will only keep for eight to twelve month then the flavor is lost. (In our house flush can apply to at least two different things, but tea is not one of them.) The teas from the second flush carry more body. In this case second doesn't mean lesser in quality. Teas from the second flush are often outstanding in their flavor and body. India is know for it high quality black teas.

Did you know tea can be choppy? (No, that word is not only used to describe lake water on windy day.) This term refers to the various sizes of the leaves that are blended together. Tea that is called Finest Tippy is the best of the best from a tea estate. It is mostly comprised of golden flowers, leaf buds and the youngest tea leaves and is highly prized among avid tea drinkers. If your tea is FOP it includes leaf buds from the tea bush and if your tea is fanning it isn't hot, but it does consist of tea leaves that are very small and broken.

Tea can be green, white or black. These terms apply to the way the leaves are processed and not the color of the leaves. White tea and green tea are rich in antioxidants which help your body to fight disease. Also white tea and green tea are usually light bodied and have light color and a fresh aroma and taste. Formosa Oolong and Japanese Sencha are excellent choices of green tea. Black teas have been processed in a way to cause them to loose some of the antioxidants that naturally occur in tea. Black tea is known for a full body and deeper color when brewed. It is the most popular tea in America. Some delicious black teas are China Black Tea and Assam Broken Orange Pekoe.

Not to worry if you don't know all the correct terminology that applies to tea. I could write for another hour and I still wouldn't have covered all the language of the world of tea. All I know is that on a hot, humid day in the summer the only terminology I need is "sweet tea" and here in the south that means with plenty of ice .

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