Terms: Glutinous and Silky, Smooth, Full, Thin, Coarse
Mouthfeel terms describe not flavor but the tactile sensation of tea in the mouth: how heavy, how smooth, how fine. This set of terms is especially common in descriptions of ripe and aged tea, because by then bitterness and astringency have left the stage and texture becomes the star.
Glutinous and Silky (Nuohua, 糯滑)
What it is: A liquor with the texture of glutinous rice broth or thin congee: a little viscous, soft, and yielding, yet very smooth. "Glutinous" is about softness and stickiness; "silky" is about flow.
Common in: Good ripe tea most often, and some aged raw tea.
Example: A ripe tea stored a few years, deep red, that feels like warm rice broth on entry, soft and silky, leaving a gentle, smooth film in the mouth after swallowing: that's glutinous and silky.
How it differs from glutinous rice aroma: Glutinous rice aroma is a smell, like the scent of glutinous rice; glutinous and silky is a mouthfeel, like the texture of glutinous rice broth. The two can appear together or separately.
Smooth (Shunhua, 順滑)
What it is: The tea flows easily through the mouth and throat, without resistance or any scraping.
Common in: Good teas of every kind, especially those low in bitterness and astringency with a fine water path.
How it differs from glutinous and silky:
| Glutinous and silky | Smooth | |
|---|---|---|
| Viscosity | Yes, soft and yielding | Not necessarily; can be very clear |
| Focus | A texture like rice broth | Unobstructed flow |
| Typical teas | Ripe tea, aged tea | All kinds |
Example: A raw tea from around Yiwu whose liquor is clear rather than sticky, yet has no scraping at all on entry and slides all the way down the throat: that's smooth.
Full (Baoman, 飽滿)
What it is: The tea fills the mouth, with weight felt in every corner, neither hollow nor diffuse.
Is full the same as thick?: Very close, and often used interchangeably, but there's a subtle difference:
- Thick: About weight, like a mouthful of substantial broth.
- Full: About distribution, whether that weight fills the mouth evenly, present from entry to swallowing.
A tea can be very thick yet concentrated only on the surface of the tongue, then feel empty after swallowing; in that case you'd say it's "thick but not full enough." The best state is both thick and full.
Example: A spring ancient-tree raw tea with a bright liquor that fills the whole mouth on entry and still leaves a sense of weight in the cheeks after swallowing: that's full.
Thin (Bao, 薄)
What it is: A liquor without weight, like water, gone in an instant.
Common causes:
- Brewed too weak, too little tea;
- Raw material low in substance, such as some rainy-season tea and material with a high proportion of coarse, mature leaves;
- Over-fermented, carbonized ripe tea, in which too much of the substance has broken down;
- Later infusions, when the tea is spent.
Example: A tea that still has flavor in the first two infusions, but by the fourth the liquor is like faintly colored water with no presence when you drink it: that's a thin liquor. If it's thin from the very first infusion, it's mostly a raw material or processing issue.
Coarse (Cu, 粗)
What it is: A rough texture, as if fine sand were scraping across your tongue, or a taste that's rough and unrefined.
Common causes: Coarse, mature raw material with old, tough leaves; over-rolling that creates many fine bits; overly hard water.
How it relates to a coarse, mature taste: "Coarse" is about texture; "coarse, mature taste" (粗老味) is about smell, like dry straw or old leaves. The two often appear together because both stem from raw material on the mature side. Coarse, mature taste is explained in Negative Terms.
Example: An inexpensive loose tea with large, old leaves, whose liquor color is fine but which feels rough and scrapes the tongue, lacking refinement: that's coarse.
Other Related Terms
- Viscous (稠): Concentrated, flowing more slowly.
- Sticky (黏): Leaves a clinging feeling in the mouth.
- Fine (細膩): A delicate texture, the opposite of coarse.
- Fine water path (水路細): Tea lovers' slang for a delicate, smooth liquor.
- Hollow (空): Flavor on entry but nothing in the middle; the opposite of full.
- Diffuse (散): The flavor and liquor don't blend; each goes its own way.
Detailed explanations of these terms are in Mouthfeel: Thick, Smooth, Viscous, and Fine-Textured.
How to Practice
- Take a sip of plain water and remember what "water" feels like.
- Take a sip of ripe tea and compare what it has beyond water: weight, viscosity, smoothness.
- Take a sip of young raw tea and compare it with the ripe tea.
- Try describing each with two terms, for example "thick and silky," "clear and smooth," or "thin and coarse."
FAQ
What is glutinous and silky? A liquor like glutinous rice broth, a little viscous, soft, and yielding yet very smooth; often used for good ripe tea.
Is full the same as thick? Very close; thick is about weight, full is about whether that weight fills the mouth evenly. The best state has both.
What is a thin liquor? A liquor with no weight, like water; it may be brewed too weak, made from raw material low in substance, carbonized ripe tea, or a later infusion.
What does coarse mean? A rough texture that scrapes the tongue, often due to coarse, mature raw material, many fine bits, or overly hard water.