Tasting: Strength, Sweetness and Bitterness, Thickness
Of the five evaluation factors, taste carries the most weight, about 30% for loose tea and about 35% for compressed tea. In the end, tea is for drinking. But a sip of tea stays in your mouth for only a few seconds, and describing it takes a fixed order.
How to Taste
- Temperature: Let the tea cool to around 50°C (122°F) before drinking; if it's too hot, your tongue goes numb and you can't taste the details.
- Amount: Just a small sip, about a spoonful; gulping a big mouthful actually makes you feel nothing.
- Let the tea travel around: Hold it in your mouth and use your tongue to let it touch the tip, surface, sides, and back of the tongue, for 2–3 seconds.
- Swallow or spit: After swallowing, notice your throat and the huigan; when comparing many teas, you can spit.
- Wait ten-odd seconds: Many important sensations (huigan, shengjin, the throat feel) appear only after swallowing.
How to Describe Taste
You can break it down along four dimensions:
| Dimension | Ask yourself | Common terms |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | How strong is the flavor? | Strong, strong and intense, mellow, light, flat |
| Taste | How much sweet, bitter, astringent, sour? | Sweet, bitter, astringent, huigan |
| Thickness | Does the liquor have weight? | Thick, full, thin, watery |
| Harmony | Do the flavors blend together? | Mellow and smooth, mellow and thick, coarse, muddled |
Describe from big to small: first strength, then sweet, bitter, and astringent, then thickness, and finally harmony and finish. For example, "strong and intense, noticeably bitter but dissolving quickly, thick liquor, long-lasting huigan" is a very complete taste description.
What Does "Thick" Mean?
Thickness is about the weight of the liquor, like the difference in your mouth between a clear broth and a stock simmered for hours. Thick tea feels full and substantial in the mouth, and something lingers after you swallow; the opposite is "thin," tasting like water and gone in an instant.
Thick isn't the same as strong: strong is flavor intensity, thick is texture and weight. A tea can be very strong but thin (heavy bitterness and astringency, yet hollow), or not strong but thick (gentle flavor, but a substantial liquor). Tea lovers generally find the latter more satisfying. Details on mouthfeel are in Mouthfeel: Thick, Smooth, Viscous.
What Does "Mellow" Mean?
Mellow (醇, chun) is the sense of a harmonious, non-aggressive taste: bitter, astringent, and sweet blend together, none standing out, and it feels round. Two related evaluation terms are common:
- Mellow and smooth (醇和): Neither strong nor light, gentle and harmonious; often used for ripe tea or raw tea in mid-transformation.
- Mellow and thick (醇厚): More weight than mellow and smooth, gentle yet full.
Young raw tea usually isn't described as mellow, since its bitterness, astringency, and freshness are still pronounced; "strong and intense" and "fresh and brisk" are more common. With age, raw tea gradually moves toward mellowness. The distinctions between terms are compiled in Mellow, Mellow and Thick, Strong, Fresh, and Sweet and Smooth.
Telling Bitter, Astringent, and Sweet Apart
These three are pu'er's main tastes:
- Bitter: A "taste," felt mainly on the surface and back of the tongue, like black coffee or bitter melon. Bitterness in tea comes mainly from caffeine and similar compounds.
- Astringent: A "sensation," a puckering, tightening, drying of the mouth's surfaces, like biting an unripe persimmon or drinking a heavy red wine. Astringency in tea comes mainly from tea polyphenols binding with proteins.
- Sweet: Sweetness present on entry, or sweetness that rises after swallowing (huigan).
A tip for telling them apart: bitterness lingers on the tongue; astringency makes your tongue and cheeks dry and your mouth feel pulled tight. If after a sip your mouth feels dry and your tongue rough, that's astringency; if there's a bitter taste at the back of your tongue, that's bitterness. Details on both are in Bitterness and Astringency: Two Different Things.
What Does Good Taste Look Like?
Different teas have different ideals, but there are some things in common:
- Bitterness and astringency aren't zero, but they dissolve within seconds and turn sweet.
- The liquor has weight and doesn't vanish in an instant.
- The flavors are harmonious, with no off-flavors.
- After swallowing, there's huigan and shengjin, and the mouth feels comfortable.
For example, the ideal young raw tea is strong, fresh, and brisk, with bitterness and astringency that dissolve quickly; ripe tea is mellow, thick, sweet, and smooth; aged raw tea is mellow, thick, and carries aged notes.
It's Not Only the Tea That Affects Taste
The same tea can taste very different depending on how it's brewed: high water temperature and long steeping bring heavier bitterness and astringency; too little tea makes a thin liquor. So when comparing teas, always fix the conditions; the evaluation method is in The Standard Evaluation Procedure. If your everyday brew comes out too bitter, read Too Bitter or Astringent?
FAQ
How do I describe taste? In order: strength, the balance of sweet, bitter, and astringent, the thickness of the liquor, and finally harmony and huigan. For example, "strong and intense, bitterness dissolves quickly, thick liquor, long-lasting huigan."
What does thick mean? The weight of the liquor: full in the mouth and lingering after swallowing. It's different from "strong," which is flavor intensity.
What does mellow mean? Bitter, astringent, and sweet blended together, non-aggressive, round and harmonious; "mellow and smooth" leans gentle, while "mellow and thick" is fuller.
How do I tell bitter, astringent, and sweet apart? Bitter is a taste on the surface and back of the tongue; astringent is a drying, tightening sensation in the mouth; sweet is sweetness on entry or rising after you swallow.