Mainly from camellia sinensis bush

• 3 variants of camellia sinensis bushes

6 Classes of Tea

Criteria for tea evaluation

1. Overall appearance of the leaf
2. Aroma of the dry leaf
3. Aroma of the liquor
4. Color of the liquor
5. Aroma and appearance of the wet leaf
6. Flavour of the liquor

*Tea liquor refers to the professional tea taster's term for 'liquid' sippable tea

Identify and evaluate tea

• Take notes of your purchased tea

OVERALL APPEARANCE

• beautiful & artistic appearance
• no stems, foreign matter, broken leaves, tea dust
• have consistent size, shape & colour
• recognizable appearance (except for tea blends)
• not streaky & no blisters on tea leaf after brewing

AROMA OF THE DRY LEAF

• subtle fragrance doesn't mean faded aroma/old tea & strong aroma doesn't mean better tea
• doesn't smell of cardboard, plastic, etc
• smells of plant's origins (natural)
• some tea uses additional flavourings to enhance the aroma

AROMA OF THE LIQUOR

• natural taste (plants, grass, wood, flowers, spices, nuts, etc)
• a drink that makes you want to finish immediately

COLOR OF LIQUOR

• clear with clarity, not murky
• black teas - red/brown/orange
• Chinese white teas - yellow/green

AROMA AND APPEARANCE OF THE WET LEAF

• looks like it's original fresh state
• smells of leafy plant or wet greens (veggies)
• not unpleasant

FLAVOUR OF THE LIQUOR

• same tea will have a slight difference due to the tea leaf
• hits the right note of complexity & depth, oxidation & roasting level, hints of spices, fruits, floraly, etc
• trial & error