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Glossary
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A - D |
E - H |
I - P |
Q - Z
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Quality
Refers to 'cup quality' and denotes a combination of the most desirable liquoring qualities.
Ragged
An uneven badly manufactured and graded tea.
Rasping
A very coarse and harsh liquor.
Raw
A bitter, unpleasant taste.
Russian tea
The name given to a glass of hot tea liquor which has been poured into the glass over a slice of lemon. Sometimes sugar or honey are added. In some countries this type of tea drink is known as lemon tea. The name comes from the Russian way of taking tea.
Ragged
An uneven badly manufactured and graded tea.
Rwanda
An African tea producer, whose teas are used for blending purposes. Rwanda tea has a bright coppery colour and brisk taste.
Scented tea
Green semi-fermented or black teas that have been flavoured by the additions of flowers, flower petals, fruits spices or natural oils. Examples of these are Jasmine Tea, Rose Puchong, Orange Tea, Cinnamon Tea or Earl Grey.
Semi-fermented tea
Tea that has been partially fermented before being fired or dried. This tea has the qualities and appearance halfway between a green and black tea.
Sencha
The most popular variety of green tea in Japan.
Sibsagar
A tea growing district in Assam, North India.
Single Estate tea
A blend of teas from one particular estate or garden.
Smoky tea
Black tea from China or Formosa that has been smoked over a wood fire such as in the case of Lapsang Souchong.
Soft
The opposite of briskness. Tea lacking any 'live' characteristics and is caused by inefficient fermentation and/or drying.
Souchong
A large leaf black tea. Originated in China, Souchong tea was made from a small bush whose leaves were allowed to develop to a large size.
Speciality tea
A blend of teas that takes its name from the area in which it is grown; a blend of teas blended for a particular person or event, or a blend of teas for a particular time of day.
Sibsagar
A tea growing district in Assam, North India.
Spring teas
Formosa teas picked in the April-May season.
Stalk and Fibber
Bits of tea bush other than the leaf which should be minimal in superior grades but are unavoidable in lower-grade teas.
Stewed
A soft liquor with undesirable taste that lacks point. Caused by faulty firing, or drying, at low temperatures and often with insufficient airflow through the oven during tea manufacture or making.
Strength
Substance in cup
Sumatra
A tea producing island of Indonesia.
Summer teas
Formosa teas picked in the June-September season.
Sweaty
Disagreeable taste. Poor tea.
Szechwan
A non-smoky black tea from China, with narrow leaves and flowery fragrance. Also a tea growing province in China.
Taint
Characteristic or taste that is foreign to tea such as oil, garlic etc. Often due to the tea being stored next to other commodities with strong characteristics of their own.
Tannin
The name the tea trade worldwide gives to polyphenols contained in tea. Polyphenols are responsible for the pungency of tea and give its taste.
Tanzania
African tea producing country.
Tarry
The smoky aroma and taste associated with a smoked black tea such as Lapsang Souchong.
Tea factory
Factory where the plucked leaf is made or manufactured into black or green tea.
Tea taster
An expert judge of leaf and cup quality tea at all stages of production, brokerage blending and final packaging.
Tea tree
A tea bush or plant which has been allowed to return to its wild state and grow back into a tree.
Terai
A North Indian tea growing district just below the Darjeeling district.
Thick
Liquor with good color and strength.
Thin
An insipid light liquor that lacks desirable characteristics.
Tip
A sign of fine plucking apparent in top grades of tea.
Twankay
A low grade China green tea. This word was corrupted Twanky, which was applied to the men manning the ships bringing tea back from China. These ships often foundered on reaching the British coast and the bodies of Twankys would be washed ashore to be found by their widows - hence the name given to the Aladdin character 'Widow Twanky' by a Victorian impresario.
Uneven and Mixed
'Uneven' pieces of leaf particles indicating poor sorting and resulting in a tea not true to a particular grade.
Uva
A tea growing district in Sri Lanka which produces a tea of great subtlety.
Weedy
A grass or hay taste associated with teas that have been under withered during manufacture and sometimes referred to as 'woody'.
Well Twisted
Used to describe whole-leaf Orthodox tea grades, often referred to as well 'made' or 'rolled'.
Wiry
Leaf appearance of a well-twisted, thin, long leaf.
Yunnen
A tea growing province in China producing a black leaf tea. Along with Assam, this region was the original site of wild tea plants.
Zimbabwe
Tea producing country of Africa.
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