Dry Tea Shape Terminology
显毫: tippy Abundant fine hairs. Synonym: 茸毛显露
锋苗: tip Tender buds and leaves, tightly rolled with sharp points.
身骨: body The weight and substance of the tea leaves.
重实: heavy body Substantial body, feels heavy in the hand.
轻飘: light Light body, feels very light in the hand.
匀整: evenly Consistent thickness, length, and size across top, middle, and bottom sections, well-proportioned, no lack of middle grades. Synonym: 匀齐;匀衬
脱档: unsymmetry Excessive top and bottom sections, lacking middle section, improper proportion of the three sections.
匀净: neat Even and tidy, free from stems, flakes, and other foreign matter.
挺直: straight Smooth, even, and straight, not curved. Synonym: 平直
弯曲: bend Not straight, hook-shaped or bow-shaped. Synonym: 钩曲;(耳环)
平伏: flat and even Tea leaves lie flat and close together in the tray, without lifting or架空.
紧结: tightly Tightly rolled and firm.
紧直: tight and straight Tightly rolled, round, and straight.
紧实: tight and heavy Moderately tight, with substantial body.
肥壮: fat and bold Plump, tender buds and leaves with substantial body. Synonym: 雄壮
壮实: sturdy Quite plump and tender, with relatively substantial body.
粗实: coarse and bold Lower tenderness, rough and large but still somewhat substantial.
粗松: coarse and loose Poor tenderness, rough, large, and loose.
松条: loose Poor tightness of roll. Synonym: 松泡
松扁: loose and flat Not tight and appearing flat.
扁块: flat and round Compressed into flat-round or irregular roundish flat lumps.
圆浑: roundy Strips round and tightly rolled.
圆直: roundy and straight Strips round, full, and straight. Synonym: 浑直
扁条: flaty Strip shape is flat, lacking round fullness.
短钝: short and blunt Tea strips broken, lacking sharp tips. Synonym: 短秃
短碎: short and broken Surface strips short, excessive lower broken pieces, lacking evenness.
松碎: loose and broken Strips loose and broken.
下脚重: heavy lower parts Excessive smallest sieve grade tea in the lower portion.
爆点: blister Raised blistered spots on dry leaves.
破口: chop Obvious marks from breaking or cutting.
Dry Tea Color Terminology
油润: bloom Fresh, lively color with good luster.
枯暗: dry dull Dull, dry color, lacking luster.
调匀: even colour Uniform leaf color.
花杂: mixed Inconsistent leaf color and shape. This term also applies to the infused leaves.
Liquor Color Terminology
清澈: clear Clean, transparent, bright, without sediment.
鲜艳: fresh brilliant Vivid, bright, and lustrous, clear and bright.
鲜明: fresh bright Fresh and bright. This term also applies to the infused leaves.
深: deep Dark liquor color.
浅: light colour Pale liquor color, like water.
明亮: bright Clear and transparent liquor.
暗: dull Not bright or clear. This term also applies to the infused leaves.
混浊: suspension Liquor has many suspended particles, poor transparency.
沉淀物: precipitate Material settled at the bottom of the bowl.
Aroma Terminology
高香: high aroma High and lasting aroma.
纯正: pure and normal Aroma is neither high nor low, pure and normal.
平正: normal Relatively low, but without off-odors.
低: low Low and faint, but not harsh.
钝浊: stunt Dull and not refreshing.
闷气: sulks odour Stuffy, stifling, not refreshing.
粗气: harsh odour Odor of coarse, old leaves.
青臭气: green odour Grassy or green leaf odor.
高火: high-fired Slightly baked aroma, like toasted rice crust or caramel.
老火: over-fired Fire-damaged character more severe than 'high-fired'.
陈气: stale odour Odor of stale, aged tea.
劣异气: gone-off and tainted odour Odors from tea deterioration (smoky, burnt, sour, rancid, moldy) or contamination by foreign substances. Specify the type of off-odor when using.
Taste Terminology
回甘: sweet after taste Pleasant sweet aftertaste.
浓厚: heavy and thick Full-bodied, strong, and stimulating.
醇厚: mellow and thick Mellow, full, and thick, refreshing with stimulation.
浓醇: heavy and mellow Strong and mellow, pleasant, with a sweet aftertaste. Less stimulating than 'heavy and thick' but more than 'mellow and thick'.
醇正: mellow and normal Refreshing, normal, slightly sweet.
醇和: mellow Mellow and smooth, sweet. Less stimulating than 'mellow and normal' but more than 'neutral'.
平和: neutral Normal tea taste, weak stimulation.
淡薄: plain and thin Slight tea taste initially, then becomes bland. Synonym: 和淡;清淡;平淡
涩: astringency A puckering, rough feeling in the mouth after tasting.
粗: harsh Rough and dull.
青涩: green and astringency Astringent with a raw green taste.
苦: bitter Bitter upon entry, with a more bitter aftertaste.
熟味: ripe taste Liquor taste is not refreshing, has a steamed or stuffy cooked flavor.
高火味: high-fire taste Taste also carries a fire odor from high-fired tea.
老火味: over-fired taste Taste resembling scorching.
陈味: stale taste Stale, aged flavor.
劣异味: gone-off and tainted taste Tastes from tea deterioration (smoky, burnt, sour, rancid, moldy) or contamination. Specify the type when using.
Infused Leaves (Leaf底) Terminology
细嫩: fine and tender Many buds, leaves are small, fine, and tender-soft.
柔嫩: soft and tender Tender and soft.
柔软: soft Soft like cotton, lies flat against the tray when pressed.
匀: even Uniform in tenderness, size, thickness, integrity, or color.
杂: uneven Inconsistent in tenderness, size, thickness, integrity, or color.
嫩匀: tender and even Buds and leaves even, tender, and soft.
肥厚: fat and thick Buds are fat and strong, leaf flesh is thick, veins not prominent.
开展: open Leaves are unfolded, leaf texture is soft. Synonym: 舒展
摊张: open leaf Old leaves spread open.
粗老: coarse Leaf texture is coarse and stalky, veins prominent.
皱缩: shrink Old leaf texture, leaf surface shriveled and wrinkled.
瘦薄: thin Buds are small and thin, leaves are thin with little substance.
薄硬: thin and hard Old leaf texture, thin, lean, and relatively hard.
破碎: broken Many broken and fragmented leaves.
鲜亮: fresh bright Fresh, bright, and vivid.
暗杂: dull and mixed Leaf color is dark and dull, uneven tenderness.
硬杂: hard and mixed Leaf texture coarse and hard, many stems, color variegated.
焦斑: scorch batch Local black or yellow burnt marks on leaf edges, surface, or back.