Tea tasting can be as extensive and detailed as wine tasting. During tea tasting you are looking for 4 main factors - look, feel, smell, taste.
Today we are going to talk about look and feel starting with the dry leaf.
You can tell a lot about tea by the look and feel of the the dry leaves. Take a few tea leaves into the palm of your hand and gently press the leaves with your fingers. A fresh tea will be spring back and less likely to crumble than older teas. Gently press some dry leaves in your hand. Most new teas are a little springier and less likely to crumble than an older teas.
What you want to look for in a dry leaf is - springy, curly, neat, blackish, clean, and leafy.
What you do not want to find is - mushy, ragged, grey, dull, uneven, easily crumbled
When learning about tea it is best to start with a black tea in my opinion. It is a common tea we are all familiar with and you will notice the differences quicker.
Gather a group of your friends for an afternoon tea and hold your own tea tasting. Choose from a wide variety of teas from Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv.
If you live in the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho area and would like a hosted tea tasting, contact Olivia at teatimewithliv@gmail.com to reserve your date.
Olivia Vidal
© 2009 - 2010
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv
