To a novice tea
enthusiast choosing a tea to buy can be a daunting task. The options can seem
endless. Many online tea stores have as many as 300 varieties of teas. How
could there be so many varieties? Easy, a teas name tells you many things about
a tea. You must know the terms to understand what the name is telling you.
Today I am going to focus on the three main types of teas, green, black and
oolong. My goal is to give you the information you need to pick your next tea
with confidence.
I will start with the most popular of the teas, black. Black tea’s name often tells you what region of the world and the estate where the tea was grown and processed. I will walk you through the most common regions, styles and what special terms you may need to know.
Assam is a region in northern India and is the source for some of the finest black and British style tea. Pure Assam is the classic Irish Breakfast tea. Assams are notable for their heartiness, strength and body.
Congous, produced in China, are technically called “red teas” and are quite commonly served in Chinese restaurants. Congous have a smooth, full-bodied flavor that is enhanced by milk and sugar.
Darjeeling is a region in northeast India. Darjeeling is often referred to as the “Champagne of teas.” They are praised for their aroma and delicate flavor. Darjeeling’s have a wide range of flavors from floral to nutty and sometimes with subtle muscatel notes.
Flush refers to the four separate plucking seasons throughout the year, each known for it’s distinctive flavor.
Keemun is grown in many regions of China and Taiwan and is a style of tea instead of region. Keemun is often referred to as the “Burgundy” of teas. Chinese Keemuns are rich and flavorful. Sweet, fruity and pleasantly full-bodied, higher grades of Keemun often have a delicate smoky nuance.
Lapsang Souchong is also a style of tea, which is produced in China and Taiwan. Lapsang Souchongs have an intensely smoky flavor that is produce by drying the leaves over a smoldering pine fire. Lapsang Souchong is made from larger leaves that are lower in caffeine, which make it a popular evening tea.
Yunnan is produced in the Yunnan province in China. Yunnans are accented by a slightly peppery quality with a pleasing full-bodied flavor.
Flavored or scented teas are noted by the name of the flavoring and are most often made from standard grade black teas that are either layered with flowers, flavor crystals or flavored oils. There are extreme differences in the resulting teas depending on the quality of the tea and flavoring technique used. Teas made using natural flavoring methods produce the best tasting teas. Most artificially flavored teas will smell almost too good but when brewed produce a tea that tastes more like perfume.
You also need to know about the different grades of tea. Tea grades are based on the size of the leaf pieces. The grades are denoted by letters that will follow a teas name. Take, for instance, Assam Bukhail TGFOP. Assam notes the region where it was produced and its style. Bukhail notes the estate it was grown and TGFOP is the grading. The initials are an indicator of the teas quality; more initials mean higher quality and usually a higher price. Below is a list of grades and their descriptions. Other terms that are important to know are CTC, which stands for cut, torn, and curled. This refers to a machine that literally cut, tears, and curls the leaves to ready them for oxidization producing black teas. Orthodox refers to a machine that rolls the withered leaves, breaking the veins and releasing the leaf enzymes producing green and oolong teas.
D – Dust or very small particles of tea left over after processing. Dust is the same grade in orthodox and CTC and is normally used in teabags. This is the lowest grade of tea as it has the smallest pieces of tea leaves found.
FNGS or F – Fannings or the next step up from dust. Fannings will make a liquor (expert’s term for brewed tea) that is often just as good as that of a whole leaf. In the orthodox teas, fannings will include broken orange pekoe fannings (BFOP) and golden orange pekoe fannings (GOPF) which describes the amount of tips (tips make higher quality tea) in the grade.
OP – Orange Pekoe (pronounced pek-oh) stands for a black tea comprised of leaves 8 to 15 millimeters long, but with fewer tips than FOP.
BOP – Broken Orange Pekoe is black tea comprised of broken segments of somewhat coarser leaf, without tips. This can be applied to both CTC and Orthodox teas.
FOP – Flowery Orange Pekoe can be either whole leaf or broken leaf Orthodox black tea with many tips which gives it finer quality.
GFOP – Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe indicates FOP with golden tips, which are the delicate yellow tips of the buds’ leaves.
TGFOP – Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe indicates that it is a FOP with a larger proportion of golden tips than GFOP.
FTGFOP – Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe indicates that it is a very high quality TGFOP.
SFTGFOP – Supreme Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe indicates that it is a very high quality FOP with lots of golden tips. For Darjeeling teas the “S” indicates supreme light colored liquor.
P – Pekoe is whole leaf black tea produced by a medium plucking of the second leaf on the tea bush. The word Pekoe comes from the Chinese meaning “white hair” and was originally applied to the early tea pluckings, due to the white down on the backs of the young leaf tea.
FP – Flowery Pekoe is a whole leaf black tea with the leaf rolled lengthwise.
Green teas are gaining popularity due to publicized health benefits, but research has shown that all three types of teas have similar health benefits. Green tea is the oldest known form of tea. The leaves are not allowed to oxidize at all by heating them either by pan-firing or steaming. Green teas have less caffeine than Black teas so they make a more relaxing cup of tea. Green teas are named similarly to Black teas in that their name usually tells you where it was grown and what type of processing it has undergone. The name often reflects what shape the tea has been rolled into.
Bancha is made from the harder leaves left over from harvesting Sencha. It may also be made from the stems and leaf stalks that remain after Sencha production. Bancha is less sweet than Sencha, but has a light and refreshing brew.
Chunmee is also known as “eyebrow tea” because of the unique shape that it is rolled into. Chunmee has a light yellow liquor with a slight greenish hue. This tea is mellow and has a hint of fresh flowers in the background.
Darjeeling Green tea is made from Darjeeling leaves that are not oxidized. Green Darjeeling teas have a fresh, slightly vegetal, refreshing taste.
Genmaicha is made with either Sencha or Bancha and is sometimes known as popcorn tea. Roasted and popped brown rice is added to the tea. This tea is an exception to the rule and should be brewed with boiling water. Genmaicha has a mellow soothing flavor with a hint of popcorn.
Gunpowder is the term used for tealeaves that are rolled into tiny tight balls that resemble gunpowder. This tea has a very typical grassy green tea flavor. Gunpowder tea is light and refreshing in its aftertaste.
Gyokuro is considered one of the best Japanese teas. Gyokuro is developed from special mountain-grown teas, which are shaded for anywhere from ten days to three weeks prior to plucking. It has a deep sweetness and astringency, which are part of its complex flavor, and should be lingered over and contemplated to be truly appreciated.
Ho-ji Cha is Bancha tea that is roasted evenly until it is brown, imparting a unique toasted flavor. Ho-ji Cha liquor is golden brown; the taste is mellow.
Jasmine refers to teas that have been scented with jasmine flowers. This infuses the leaf with the Jasmine scent and flavor. Some teas will also include the actual flowers. These teas will have the word “flowers” in the name.
Kokeicha is sometimes called spaghetti tea. It is a by-product of Matcha that is extruded like tiny pasta. Kokeicha renders a bright deep yellow-green liquor with a full but mellow character with a hint of green tea taste.
Ku-ki Cha is also known as Twig Tea and is popular in Japan as a soothing nearly caffeine free tea. Ku-ki Cha possesses an earthy, woody aroma and taste.
Lung Ching or Long Jing is better known as Dragon’s Well or Dragonwell. This tea is produced by hand in a special 10 part production process. Dragon Well is distinguished by its beautiful shape, emerald color, scented smell and sweet floral character.
Matcha is a special finely ground green tea powder. Matcha is used in the Japanese tea ceremony and is prepared in various ways. When prepared correctly, Matcha tea is frothy and bittersweet, and is best consumed by slowly sipping.
Mao Feng is produced from the top bud and one young leaf that are tightly rolled. It is a rare tea and can be quite expensive. Mao Feng has a very distinctively flavorful tea with an exceptional aroma.
Pearl or Tears are a terms to describe teas that are rolled into balls about the size of a pearl.
Pi Lo Chun (Bi Luo Chun, Bi Lu Chun) in Chinese means “spring green snail”. The rolled leaves resemble tiny green snails. Pi Lo Chun is a rare tea. It has fruity characteristics and aroma from fruit trees that are planted between the tea bushes.
Pouchong is also known as Chinese Green tea. It is slightly oxidized at 10-20%. Pouchong has a milder flavor than Oolong tea yet stronger than Green tea.
Rings or Curls describe teas that are rolled around a special stick and dried in oven to lock in the flavor and preserve the shape.
Sencha is the most popular Green tea and its taste varies according to the growing area. Sencha has a dark green, needle-like leaf which gives a pale green-yellow, bright, smooth cup with a light astringency and almost honey-like aftertaste.
Silver or White denotes a white tea. White teas are very rare and good quality specimens such as this are seldom found outside of China. The little buds that form on the plant are covered with silver hairs that give the young leaves a white appearance.
Wheels, Rosettes and Balls are all hand tied teas that expand when brewed to form decorative shapes. They are wonderful in glass teapots and can be infused many times.
You will also find flavored or scented Green teas. They follow the same guidelines as the black teas. Just remember to ask if it is naturally flavored and what grade of tea was used.
Oolong teas not only vary in the locations they are grown but levels of oxidization or fermentation. A long fermentation of 40-70% creates an oolong that has deep color with nutty or woody flavor while a shorter fermentation of 12-20% results in a light, sometimes green-tasting tea. Because of the large leaf that is used, many of these Chinese oolongs are excellent for the Gong Fu method of tea brewing. Oolongs are named more for the style of processing than the location grown.
Darjeeling Oolongs combine the subtle complexities of Darjeeling black teas with the clean, pungency of a traditional Oolong.
Formosa Oolongs are from the area formerly known as Formosa, now known as Taiwan. Formosa Oolongs are incomparable in flavor and quality with a distinctive and complex flavor reminiscent of peaches and chestnuts.
Jade Oolong is a lightly fermented tea from Yi Lan County in Taiwan. The rich green, loosely rolled leaves offer an exceptional sweet, floral character.
Pouchong is even less oxidized than Tung Ting Oolongs and is considered the ultimate Formosa Tea. This tea is so lightly oxidized that it is also considered a Green tea.
Se Chung has a shorter fermentation time than other Oolongs from Fujian province resulting in more subtle Oolong character. There are delicate notes of Ti Kuan Yin style flavor combined with a slight herbaceous green character. This is why Se Chung Oolong tea is sought after - delicate flavor notes of a top Oolong combined with green tea characteristics.
Tie-Guan-Yin or Iron Goddess of Mercy is generally known as the greatest of all Oolong teas. This tea has a light airy character with delicate orchid-like notes.
Tung Ting Oolong is a green oolong tea, which means it has been baked less than dark Oolong teas. Leaves for this tea are grown on the Tung Ting Mountain in Taiwan. When brewed, it produces a golden-green hue, a mild smooth floral taste, a strong sweet flowery aroma, and a pleasant lasting aftertaste.
You now have all the information you need to understand most tea names. I don’t expect you to remember it all so don’t be afraid to print it out and use is for a cheat sheet the next time you go tea shopping. If you find a name that you still do not understand then ask the vendor. Asking serves two purposes. It gets you your answer and it tells you how knowledgeable your vendor is. A knowledgeable vendor is wonderful thing to have because they can not only answer all your questions and make suggestions based on your taste. Now you are armed with a wealth of knowledge and hopefully the desire to use it.
I will start with the most popular of the teas, black. Black tea’s name often tells you what region of the world and the estate where the tea was grown and processed. I will walk you through the most common regions, styles and what special terms you may need to know.
Assam is a region in northern India and is the source for some of the finest black and British style tea. Pure Assam is the classic Irish Breakfast tea. Assams are notable for their heartiness, strength and body.
Congous, produced in China, are technically called “red teas” and are quite commonly served in Chinese restaurants. Congous have a smooth, full-bodied flavor that is enhanced by milk and sugar.
Darjeeling is a region in northeast India. Darjeeling is often referred to as the “Champagne of teas.” They are praised for their aroma and delicate flavor. Darjeeling’s have a wide range of flavors from floral to nutty and sometimes with subtle muscatel notes.
Flush refers to the four separate plucking seasons throughout the year, each known for it’s distinctive flavor.
Keemun is grown in many regions of China and Taiwan and is a style of tea instead of region. Keemun is often referred to as the “Burgundy” of teas. Chinese Keemuns are rich and flavorful. Sweet, fruity and pleasantly full-bodied, higher grades of Keemun often have a delicate smoky nuance.
Lapsang Souchong is also a style of tea, which is produced in China and Taiwan. Lapsang Souchongs have an intensely smoky flavor that is produce by drying the leaves over a smoldering pine fire. Lapsang Souchong is made from larger leaves that are lower in caffeine, which make it a popular evening tea.
Yunnan is produced in the Yunnan province in China. Yunnans are accented by a slightly peppery quality with a pleasing full-bodied flavor.
Flavored or scented teas are noted by the name of the flavoring and are most often made from standard grade black teas that are either layered with flowers, flavor crystals or flavored oils. There are extreme differences in the resulting teas depending on the quality of the tea and flavoring technique used. Teas made using natural flavoring methods produce the best tasting teas. Most artificially flavored teas will smell almost too good but when brewed produce a tea that tastes more like perfume.
You also need to know about the different grades of tea. Tea grades are based on the size of the leaf pieces. The grades are denoted by letters that will follow a teas name. Take, for instance, Assam Bukhail TGFOP. Assam notes the region where it was produced and its style. Bukhail notes the estate it was grown and TGFOP is the grading. The initials are an indicator of the teas quality; more initials mean higher quality and usually a higher price. Below is a list of grades and their descriptions. Other terms that are important to know are CTC, which stands for cut, torn, and curled. This refers to a machine that literally cut, tears, and curls the leaves to ready them for oxidization producing black teas. Orthodox refers to a machine that rolls the withered leaves, breaking the veins and releasing the leaf enzymes producing green and oolong teas.
D – Dust or very small particles of tea left over after processing. Dust is the same grade in orthodox and CTC and is normally used in teabags. This is the lowest grade of tea as it has the smallest pieces of tea leaves found.
FNGS or F – Fannings or the next step up from dust. Fannings will make a liquor (expert’s term for brewed tea) that is often just as good as that of a whole leaf. In the orthodox teas, fannings will include broken orange pekoe fannings (BFOP) and golden orange pekoe fannings (GOPF) which describes the amount of tips (tips make higher quality tea) in the grade.
OP – Orange Pekoe (pronounced pek-oh) stands for a black tea comprised of leaves 8 to 15 millimeters long, but with fewer tips than FOP.
BOP – Broken Orange Pekoe is black tea comprised of broken segments of somewhat coarser leaf, without tips. This can be applied to both CTC and Orthodox teas.
FOP – Flowery Orange Pekoe can be either whole leaf or broken leaf Orthodox black tea with many tips which gives it finer quality.
GFOP – Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe indicates FOP with golden tips, which are the delicate yellow tips of the buds’ leaves.
TGFOP – Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe indicates that it is a FOP with a larger proportion of golden tips than GFOP.
FTGFOP – Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe indicates that it is a very high quality TGFOP.
SFTGFOP – Supreme Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe indicates that it is a very high quality FOP with lots of golden tips. For Darjeeling teas the “S” indicates supreme light colored liquor.
P – Pekoe is whole leaf black tea produced by a medium plucking of the second leaf on the tea bush. The word Pekoe comes from the Chinese meaning “white hair” and was originally applied to the early tea pluckings, due to the white down on the backs of the young leaf tea.
FP – Flowery Pekoe is a whole leaf black tea with the leaf rolled lengthwise.
Green teas are gaining popularity due to publicized health benefits, but research has shown that all three types of teas have similar health benefits. Green tea is the oldest known form of tea. The leaves are not allowed to oxidize at all by heating them either by pan-firing or steaming. Green teas have less caffeine than Black teas so they make a more relaxing cup of tea. Green teas are named similarly to Black teas in that their name usually tells you where it was grown and what type of processing it has undergone. The name often reflects what shape the tea has been rolled into.
Bancha is made from the harder leaves left over from harvesting Sencha. It may also be made from the stems and leaf stalks that remain after Sencha production. Bancha is less sweet than Sencha, but has a light and refreshing brew.
Chunmee is also known as “eyebrow tea” because of the unique shape that it is rolled into. Chunmee has a light yellow liquor with a slight greenish hue. This tea is mellow and has a hint of fresh flowers in the background.
Darjeeling Green tea is made from Darjeeling leaves that are not oxidized. Green Darjeeling teas have a fresh, slightly vegetal, refreshing taste.
Genmaicha is made with either Sencha or Bancha and is sometimes known as popcorn tea. Roasted and popped brown rice is added to the tea. This tea is an exception to the rule and should be brewed with boiling water. Genmaicha has a mellow soothing flavor with a hint of popcorn.
Gunpowder is the term used for tealeaves that are rolled into tiny tight balls that resemble gunpowder. This tea has a very typical grassy green tea flavor. Gunpowder tea is light and refreshing in its aftertaste.
Gyokuro is considered one of the best Japanese teas. Gyokuro is developed from special mountain-grown teas, which are shaded for anywhere from ten days to three weeks prior to plucking. It has a deep sweetness and astringency, which are part of its complex flavor, and should be lingered over and contemplated to be truly appreciated.
Ho-ji Cha is Bancha tea that is roasted evenly until it is brown, imparting a unique toasted flavor. Ho-ji Cha liquor is golden brown; the taste is mellow.
Jasmine refers to teas that have been scented with jasmine flowers. This infuses the leaf with the Jasmine scent and flavor. Some teas will also include the actual flowers. These teas will have the word “flowers” in the name.
Kokeicha is sometimes called spaghetti tea. It is a by-product of Matcha that is extruded like tiny pasta. Kokeicha renders a bright deep yellow-green liquor with a full but mellow character with a hint of green tea taste.
Ku-ki Cha is also known as Twig Tea and is popular in Japan as a soothing nearly caffeine free tea. Ku-ki Cha possesses an earthy, woody aroma and taste.
Lung Ching or Long Jing is better known as Dragon’s Well or Dragonwell. This tea is produced by hand in a special 10 part production process. Dragon Well is distinguished by its beautiful shape, emerald color, scented smell and sweet floral character.
Matcha is a special finely ground green tea powder. Matcha is used in the Japanese tea ceremony and is prepared in various ways. When prepared correctly, Matcha tea is frothy and bittersweet, and is best consumed by slowly sipping.
Mao Feng is produced from the top bud and one young leaf that are tightly rolled. It is a rare tea and can be quite expensive. Mao Feng has a very distinctively flavorful tea with an exceptional aroma.
Pearl or Tears are a terms to describe teas that are rolled into balls about the size of a pearl.
Pi Lo Chun (Bi Luo Chun, Bi Lu Chun) in Chinese means “spring green snail”. The rolled leaves resemble tiny green snails. Pi Lo Chun is a rare tea. It has fruity characteristics and aroma from fruit trees that are planted between the tea bushes.
Pouchong is also known as Chinese Green tea. It is slightly oxidized at 10-20%. Pouchong has a milder flavor than Oolong tea yet stronger than Green tea.
Rings or Curls describe teas that are rolled around a special stick and dried in oven to lock in the flavor and preserve the shape.
Sencha is the most popular Green tea and its taste varies according to the growing area. Sencha has a dark green, needle-like leaf which gives a pale green-yellow, bright, smooth cup with a light astringency and almost honey-like aftertaste.
Silver or White denotes a white tea. White teas are very rare and good quality specimens such as this are seldom found outside of China. The little buds that form on the plant are covered with silver hairs that give the young leaves a white appearance.
Wheels, Rosettes and Balls are all hand tied teas that expand when brewed to form decorative shapes. They are wonderful in glass teapots and can be infused many times.
You will also find flavored or scented Green teas. They follow the same guidelines as the black teas. Just remember to ask if it is naturally flavored and what grade of tea was used.
Oolong teas not only vary in the locations they are grown but levels of oxidization or fermentation. A long fermentation of 40-70% creates an oolong that has deep color with nutty or woody flavor while a shorter fermentation of 12-20% results in a light, sometimes green-tasting tea. Because of the large leaf that is used, many of these Chinese oolongs are excellent for the Gong Fu method of tea brewing. Oolongs are named more for the style of processing than the location grown.
Darjeeling Oolongs combine the subtle complexities of Darjeeling black teas with the clean, pungency of a traditional Oolong.
Formosa Oolongs are from the area formerly known as Formosa, now known as Taiwan. Formosa Oolongs are incomparable in flavor and quality with a distinctive and complex flavor reminiscent of peaches and chestnuts.
Jade Oolong is a lightly fermented tea from Yi Lan County in Taiwan. The rich green, loosely rolled leaves offer an exceptional sweet, floral character.
Pouchong is even less oxidized than Tung Ting Oolongs and is considered the ultimate Formosa Tea. This tea is so lightly oxidized that it is also considered a Green tea.
Se Chung has a shorter fermentation time than other Oolongs from Fujian province resulting in more subtle Oolong character. There are delicate notes of Ti Kuan Yin style flavor combined with a slight herbaceous green character. This is why Se Chung Oolong tea is sought after - delicate flavor notes of a top Oolong combined with green tea characteristics.
Tie-Guan-Yin or Iron Goddess of Mercy is generally known as the greatest of all Oolong teas. This tea has a light airy character with delicate orchid-like notes.
Tung Ting Oolong is a green oolong tea, which means it has been baked less than dark Oolong teas. Leaves for this tea are grown on the Tung Ting Mountain in Taiwan. When brewed, it produces a golden-green hue, a mild smooth floral taste, a strong sweet flowery aroma, and a pleasant lasting aftertaste.
You now have all the information you need to understand most tea names. I don’t expect you to remember it all so don’t be afraid to print it out and use is for a cheat sheet the next time you go tea shopping. If you find a name that you still do not understand then ask the vendor. Asking serves two purposes. It gets you your answer and it tells you how knowledgeable your vendor is. A knowledgeable vendor is wonderful thing to have because they can not only answer all your questions and make suggestions based on your taste. Now you are armed with a wealth of knowledge and hopefully the desire to use it.
没有评论:
发表评论