CURRENT:HOME > Tea News > Content

Professional Tea Tasting Terminology Listed by Senior Tea Tasters - Worth Learning

Tea News · Jul 30, 2025

Dry Tea Shape Terminology

 


 

Floral Tips: Abundant trichomes. Synonym: Trichomes Visible

Pekoe Tips: Tender leaves tightly rolled with pointed tips.

Body: Weight of tea leaves.

Heavy: Substantial body, feels weighty in hand.

Light: Thin body, feels insubstantial in hand.

Uniform: Consistent thickness, length and size across upper/middle/lower segments with proper proportion and no separation. Synonym: Even; Well-proportioned

Separated: Excessive upper/lower segments with insufficient middle segment, imbalanced proportion.

Clean: Uniform without stems or impurities.

Straight: Smooth and even, neither bent nor curved. Synonym: Flat-straight

Curved: Hook-shaped or bow-shaped. Synonym: Hook-curved

Flat-laying: Leaves adhere closely in tray without lifting or bridging.

Tightly Rolled: Compact and firm.

 


 

Tight-straight: Compact and round-straight.

Firm: Moderate compactness with substantial body.

Plump: Fat tender leaves with heavy body.

Sturdy: Quite tender with relatively heavy body.

Coarse-firm: Less tender, large but still firm.

Coarse-loose: Low tenderness, large and loose.

Loose-strip: Poor rolling tightness. Synonym: Loose-puffy

Loose-flat: Not tight and appearing flat.

Flat-clump: Flat round or irregular flat clumps.

Round-solid: Strips round and tightly rolled.

Round-straight: Strips round and straight.

Flat-strip: Flat shape lacking roundness.

Blunt: Broken strips without tips. Synonym: Truncated

Short-broken: Short surface strips with excessive lower segments, uneven.

Loose-broken: Loose and fragmented.

Heavy fines: Excessive smallest sieve fraction.

Blister: Protruding spots on dry leaves.

Broken edge: Visible breakage marks.

Dry Tea Color Terminology

 


 

Glossy: Vibrant color with good luster.

Dull: Dry color without luster.

Even: Uniform leaf color.

Mixed: Uneven leaf color and shape. Also applies to infused leaves.

Liquor Color Terminology

Crystal-clear: Clean, transparent, bright without sediment.

Vibrant: Brightly colorful and clear.

Bright: Fresh and luminous. Also applies to infused leaves.

Deep: Dark liquor color.

 


 

Light: Pale watery color.

Luminous: Clear and transparent.

Dark: Not translucent. Also applies to infused leaves.

Turbid: Cloudy with suspended particles.

Sediment: Particles settled at cup bottom.

Aroma Terminology

Highly aromatic: Intense and lasting fragrance.

Pure: Balanced aroma without odd notes.

Neutral: Relatively low but clean.

Weak: Faint but not coarse.

Stuffy: Stagnant and unpleasant.

Stale: Dull and oppressive.

Coarse: Odor of old leaves.

Grassy: Green grass/leaf smell.

Baked: Slight roasted rice/caramel note.

Over-fired: Stronger baked note than above.

Aged: Storage odor.

Off-odor: Undesirable smells like smoke, burnt, sour, musty or moldy. Specify type when using.

Taste Terminology

 


 

Sweet aftertaste: Pleasant lingering sweetness.

Strong: Thick and stimulating.

Mellow: Rich, sweet and stimulating.

Full-bodied: Robust yet smooth with sweet finish. More stimulating than mellow but less than strong.

Clean: Refreshingly normal with slight sweetness.

Mild: Gentle sweetness. More stimulating than clean but less than neutral.

Neutral: Normal taste with weak stimulation.

Thin: Slight initial taste fading quickly. Synonym: Weak; Light; Flat

Astringent: Puckery mouthfeel.

 


 

Rough: Harsh and blunt.

Green-astringent: Astringency with raw greenness.

Bitter: Immediate bitter taste intensifying.

Steamed: Unpleasant cooked flavor.

Baked taste: Baked odor detectable in flavor.

Over-fired taste: Nearly burnt flavor.

Aged taste: Storage flavor.

Off-flavor: Undesirable tastes like smoke, burnt, sour, musty or moldy. Specify type when using.

Infused Leaves Terminology

 


 

Tender: Abundant buds, small soft leaves.

Soft-tender: Tender and pliable.

Pliable: Yielding like cotton, lying flat after pressing.

Even: Uniform in tenderness, size, thickness, completeness or color.

Mixed: Inconsistent in above aspects.

Tender-even: Uniformly tender and soft.

Thick: Plump buds, fleshy leaves without visible veins.

Open: Unfurled soft leaves. Synonym: Expanded

Spread-out: Mature leaves unfolded.

 


 

Coarse: Thick stems with visible veins.

Shriveled: Mature leaves wrinkled.

Thin: Small buds with sparse leaf flesh.

Thin-hard: Old, thin and relatively hard.

Broken: Excessive fragments.

Bright: Vividly colorful.

Dark-mixed: Dull color with uneven tenderness.

Hard-mixed: Old, stiff, stemmy with variegated color.

Scorched: Localized black/yellow burn marks on edges or surfaces.

If you are interested in tea, please visit Tea Drop Bus