tea vocabulary

Original article: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_927c7d0d0100wc7x.html

from the blog ''Pin Ming Wei Qu'' (Sip tea with passion)

Specific vocabulary to describe Pu-erh tea

1.The character of tea (Chaxing 茶性): what kind of stimulation the liquor gives you when it's inside your mouth; the type of aroma that develops, the amount of bitterness and astringency, and more globally, the degree of pungency.

2.The quality of tea (Chazhi 茶质): how the liquor behaves inside the mouth, its texture. The way it flows through the throat, the degree of sweetness in the mouth and in the throat; the endurance of the tea, is the liquor thick or volatile? Soft or strong?

3.The fragrance (Xiangqi 香气): it develops during the manufacture. In the oral cavity, fragrance is noticeable on the upper palate, on the surface of the tongue, under the tongue, on the cheeks and in the throat

4.Bitterness and astringency (Ku Se 苦涩): 'bitter' is a taste, 'astringent' is a feeling. The bitterness is due to tannins which come out of the leaves; astringency appears when the tongue tissues contract.

5.Sweetness in the throat (Huigan 回甘): After the bitterness has vanished, you can feel a sweet sensation in the back of the mouth.

6.Salivation (Shengjin 生津) On the sides of the tongue, down near the cheeks, you can feel tiny bubbles of saliva being formed.

7.Astringency (Shoulianxing 收敛性): After drinking tea, a puckery astringency can appear on the tongue and all parts of the oral cavity.

8.Sweetness ( Ganyun 甘韵 or Tianzhi 甜质): simply designs all kinds of sweet feelings.

9.The character of water (Shuixing 水性): describes all the feelings that the liquor can give you: smooth, changing, alive, sandy, thick, weak, sharp...

10.Structure (Cengci Gan 层次感): the way the liquor is organized, how the flavors appear one after the other in the mouth.

11. Throat charm (Houyun 喉韵): after swallowing the liquor, a feeling is still present in the throat, it can be smooth, sweet, dry...

12.Fullness (Baoman 饱满): sometimes, the liquor is dense and thick, it gives a feeling of 'heaviness'

13.Smokiness (Yanxunwei 烟熏味): if the tea is dried over a fire, it can get a smoky smell. This flavor can transform or vanish over time.

14.Fruity sourness (Guosuanwei 果酸味): Sometimes, the tea can have a 'greenish' sour taste, similar to kumquat or lime.

15.Sourness (Suanwei 酸味): can arise if, after rolling, the tea was not dried properly and pressed while still wet, moisture develops and it becomes sour.

16.Taste of water (Shuiwei 水味): can occur because of a poor storage, the tea has a taste of fetid water.

17.Green taste (Qingwei 青味): If the tea frying (Shaqing) was too short or too weak, the tea can have a 'green fishy smell' (like unprocessed fresh leaves).

18. Locked throat: After drinking tea, the throat can feel dry, with difficulty to swallow and an itchy feeling. People can be a bit annoyed by this.

19.Liquor fog (Tangyun 汤氲): Describes the vapor around the hot liquor, it creates a kind of 'mist'.

20.Feeling (Chaqi 茶气): Some chemical compounds in the liquor react with the body. The Chaqi is more active in old tea, it can give you hiccups, warm up your body, make you sweat, etc...

21.Wisdom (Chenyun 陈韵): It is a general feeling when you taste an old tea, you can often feel the years that have past in the liquor.