Terms: Mellow, Mellow and Thick, Strong, Fresh, and Sweet and Smooth
Open a pu'er evaluation report or a product description, and you'll often see phrases like "mellow and thick taste," "strong, intense, fresh, and brisk," or "sweet and smooth." They come from the terminology system of tea sensory evaluation; China's national standard GB/T 14487-2017, Tea Sensory Evaluation Terms, includes many terms for taste. Understand these five, and both reading descriptions and putting your own impressions into words will become much clearer.
Mellow (Chunhe, 醇和)
What it is: A taste that's neither strong nor weak, neither bitter nor astringent; gentle, harmonious, comfortable, and easy to drink.
Typical teas: Ripe tea and raw tea transformed over many years. When the national standard describes ripe pu'er grades, taste is also often described with words like "mellow" and "mellow and thick."
What it's like: Like a bowl of clear broth simmered just right: all the flavors are there, but none of them jumps out.
Example: A medium-fermented ripe tea stored a few years, with no bitterness or astringency on entry, a gentle sweetness, and a liquor that isn't especially strong but is well balanced, can be described as "mellow in taste."
Mellow and Thick (Chunhou, 醇厚)
What it is: Fuller and weightier than mellow; gentle and harmonious, yet substantial and strong.
How mellow and thick differs from mellow:
| Mellow | Mellow and thick | |
|---|---|---|
| Harmony | Harmonious | Harmonious |
| Strength | Medium to light | Medium to strong |
| Weight | Ordinary | Substantial and full |
| Typical teas | Ordinary ripe tea, raw tea in transformation | Good ripe tea, aged raw tea |
Simply put, mellow is "gentle," mellow and thick is "gentle and thick." In evaluation, mellow and thick usually ranks a step above mellow.
Example: A raw tea stored 20 years, with almost no bitterness or astringency, a liquor so thick it seems to have weight, sweet and harmonious: that's mellow and thick.
Strong and Intense (Nongqiang, 濃強)
What it is: A strong taste with high stimulation and an obvious impact on entry, with pronounced bitterness, astringency, and power.
Typical teas: Young raw tea, especially teas rich in substance and known for their power.
Good or bad?: For young raw tea, strong and intense is often a positive description, indicating rich substance and potential for transformation; but strong and intense with bitterness and astringency that don't dissolve is a flaw. Ripe and aged teas generally don't aim to be strong and intense.
Example: A current-year Menghai raw tea with noticeable bitterness and astringency and a powerful taste on entry, where the bitterness turns sweet within seconds and huigan comes quickly, can be described as "strong and intense, with fast huigan."
Fresh and Brisk (Xianshuang, 鮮爽)
What it is: A fresh, crisp, lively taste, with a touch of savory freshness like a fresh broth.
Where it comes from: The savory freshness is mainly related to amino acids, the most representative in tea being theanine. Spring tea and tender raw material contain more amino acids, so their freshness is more pronounced.
Typical teas: Young raw tea and spring tea; the term is also common for green tea. After years of storage, freshness gradually turns into mellowness.
Example: An early spring raw tea that's fresh on entry, with a savory sweetness, neither sticky nor cloying, leaving the mouth refreshed: that's fresh and brisk.
Sweet and Smooth (Tianrun, 甜潤)
What it is: Sweet and moistening: a clear sweetness that also leaves the mouth moist, neither dry nor astringent.
Typical teas: Good ripe tea, raw teas known for sweetness such as those from around Bingdao, and aged raw tea.
How it differs from sweet and mellow or sweet and crisp: Sweet and crisp (甘甜) leans toward a clean sweetness; sweet and mellow (甜醇) leans toward sweetness with harmony; sweet and smooth emphasizes moistness and silkiness beyond the sweetness.
Example: A Bingdao raw tea dragon pearl whose third infusion is golden, sweet on entry, very light in bitterness and astringency, and leaves the mouth moist and comfortable can be described as sweet and smooth. Try experiencing it with Bingdao Old Village Dragon Pearls.
Other Common Taste Terms
- Strong and mellow (濃醇): Strong yet harmonious, emphasizing strength more than mellow and thick does.
- Sweet and refreshing (甘爽): Sweet and crisp, with pronounced huigan.
- Pure and mellow (醇正): A pure taste with no off-flavors, often used for ripe tea.
- Flat (平淡): Weak and lacking character.
- Coarse and weak (粗淡): Weak and rough, mostly from coarse, mature raw material.
How These Terms Combine
In actual descriptions, two or three terms are often combined:
- Young raw tea: "strong, intense, fresh, and brisk, with fast huigan"
- Good ripe tea: "mellow, thick, sweet, and smooth, with pronounced aged aroma"
- Aged raw tea: "mellow and thick, silky liquor, long-lasting huigan"
- Ordinary ripe tea: "mellow, with a slight pile aroma"
The national standard GB/T 22111 also describes each grade of loose ripe pu'er with this kind of combination; the higher the grade, the more positive the terms. For example, higher grades mostly use "strong and mellow" and "mellow and thick," while lower grades mostly use "mellow" and "mild."
How to Practice
- Drink a young raw tea and a ripe tea side by side, and first experience the contrast between "strong and intense" and "mellow."
- Then try an aged raw tea to experience "mellow and thick."
- Once you remember the feelings, try applying these terms when you drink a new tea.
The complete tasting method is in Tasting: Strength, Sweetness and Bitterness, Thickness, and mouthfeel terms are in Glutinous and Silky, Smooth, Full, Thin, Coarse.
FAQ
What is mellow? A taste that's neither strong nor weak, neither bitter nor astringent, gentle and harmonious; often used for ripe tea or raw tea transformed over many years.
How does mellow and thick differ from mellow? Both are harmonious and gentle; mellow and thick is stronger and weightier, and usually ranks a step higher in evaluation.
What is strong and intense? A strong, highly stimulating taste with an obvious impact on entry, often used for young raw tea; it's a positive description when the bitterness and astringency dissolve.
What does fresh and brisk feel like? Fresh, crisp, and savory, related to amino acids; most pronounced in spring tea and young raw tea.
What is sweet and smooth? A clear sweetness that also leaves the mouth moist, neither dry nor astringent; often used for good ripe tea and raw teas known for sweetness.