Why Does the Same Tea Taste Different Every Time?
Many tea lovers have had this experience: you loved a tea at the shop, but it's not quite the same when you brew it at home; the same bag of tea was delicious yesterday and ordinary today. The tea hasn't changed its mind; most likely some condition has changed.
Why Was It Good Last Time but Not This Time?
Brewing has many variables, and if any one of them differs, the flavor will too:
| Variable | Possible differences |
|---|---|
| Leaf amount | A difference of 1–2 g makes a clear difference in strength |
| Water temperature | Whether it reached a boil and whether the vessel was warmed: a 5–10°C difference |
| Time | A few seconds more or less per infusion |
| Water | The shop's water and your home water differ in hardness |
| Teaware | Gaiwans, zisha pots, and mugs differ in heat retention and odor absorption |
| Part of the tea | The surface and inner tea of a cake, its edge and center, use different raw material |
The most effective approach is to record the settings each time you brew: leaf amount, vessel, water temperature, time, and which water. Next time you get a great cup, you'll know how you brewed it.
The Effects of Water, Teaware, and Mood
Water
Water hardness affects liquor color and aroma: softer water gives clearer aroma and a smoother mouthfeel, while harder water makes the liquor dull and the aroma muted. When a tea tastes great at the shop but different at home, water is often the main cause. See Water for Tea.
Teaware
Zisha pots retain heat for a rounder liquor; white porcelain gaiwans lose heat quickly for clearer aroma; mugs easily turn strong and bitter if the tea steeps too long. Change the teaware, and the same tea changes style.
Palate and Mood
Your sense of taste changes too: right after strongly flavored food, brushing your teeth, or drinking coffee, your tongue perceives bitterness and sweetness differently; when you're tired, your sense of aroma is duller as well. Sitting down quietly and relaxed versus drinking while you work also changes what you remember. When you want to really taste a tea, rinse your mouth with a sip of warm water first.
Does Tea Change as It Sits?
Yes. Pu'er is a tea that transforms:
- Raw tea: In storage, bitterness and astringency gradually soften, and the aroma shifts from floral and honeyed toward honey and aged notes. Drink it again after six months or a year, and it may be different.
- Ripe tea: The pile-fermentation aroma of a newly released tea gradually fades, and the taste becomes smoother.
- Pried-open tea: More exposure to air, so the aroma changes faster than in a whole cake; freshly pried tea and tea that's been awakened for a week also taste different.
- Improper storage: If it absorbs odors or moisture, the flavor goes off.
Blending and Batch Differences
Much pu'er is blended: tea factories mix raw material from different regions, grades, and seasons according to a recipe, with the aim of keeping the flavor consistent. Even with the same recipe, raw material from different years and batches still varies, so the same recipe number from different years won't taste exactly alike. The same is true of single-origin tea: spring tea and autumn tea, this year's weather and last year's, all make a difference.
Blending is explained in Blending: The Art of the Recipe, and batch numbers in Batch Numbers.
Different Parts of One Cake
The "surface tea" of a cake often uses finer, more attractive raw material, while the "inner tea" uses sturdier material; tea pried from the edge, center, or surface of a cake brews with different strength and aroma. When prying, take one brewing's worth from the same area, including a bit of surface and a bit of inner tea, for a more even result. See How to Open a Pu'er Tea Cake.
How to Get Consistent Flavor
- Fix the leaf amount: use a 0.1 g scale;
- Fix the teaware: the same gaiwan;
- Fix the water: the same water, brought to a full boil;
- Fix the rhythm: use a timer for each infusion;
- Write down your impressions: aroma, sweetness, bitterness and astringency, huigan.
Keep records three times, and you'll be able to tell whether the tea changed or your brewing did. How to keep tasting notes is in Comparative Tasting, Blind Tasting, and Tasting Notes.
FAQ
Why was it good last time but not this time? Differences in leaf amount, water temperature, time, water, teaware, or the part of the cake you pried all change the flavor; recording your settings each time is the easiest way to find the cause.
Do water, teaware, and mood really make a difference? Yes. Water hardness affects color and aroma, teaware affects heat retention and odor absorption, and the state of your palate and your focus affect perception.
Does tea change as it sits? Yes. Raw tea gradually softens, ripe tea's pile aroma fades, and pried-open tea's aroma changes faster.
Will different batches of the same tea differ? Yes. Even with the same recipe, differences in raw-material year, season, and weather still affect the flavor.