ITEM

Description

Leaf - Sorting

Even

Desirable. Implies that the leaf is true to grade and consists of particles of equal size

Uneven

Undesirable. Term used to describe tea leaf composed of uneven, irregular pieces indicating bad sorting.

Mixed

Undesirable. Term use to describe a leaf appearance which has been badly sorted and consists of other grades

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Leaf - Color

Grey

Undesirable. Color of leaf, caused by abrasion by excessive handling which is likely to occur during the sifting process.

Brown

Undesirable. Indicates higher percentage of courser leaf, common during heavy cropping, peak production periods.

Reddish

Undesirable. Usually is an indication of course plucking; mature leaf.

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Leaf – Style, appearance and texture

Golden Tip

Desirable. Describes the ideal golden color of the tip in Black Tea.

Silver Tip

Desirable. Describes the silver color of the tip in Black Tea

Good make

Desirable. “Good Make” indicates a tea that has been carefully manufactured with special emphasis on withering, rolling and sorting resulting in a well made, true to type leaf.

Neat

Desirable. A grade having good make, size and appearance.

Twisted

Desirable. Indicative of a well withered leaf which is tightly rolled or twisted.

Curled

Desirable. Refers to the leaf appearance of broken and fannings grades

Grape Nutty (SA)

Leaf conglomerate of “grape-nut” particles, desirable if of correct size and neatness

Shotty

Round, ball like broken and fannings grades which resemble gunshot

Knobbly (SA)

Desirable. Used to describe a carefully manufactured grade with special attention having been paid to withering and rolling to produce a round and knobbly grade similar in size to that of a small garden pea

Grainy

Desirable. Applied to well made fannings and dust grades

Choppy

Undesirable. Applied to leaf that appears to have been “chopped” in a cutter rather than in a roller. It may apply to a grade containing a large amount of chopped up pieces of stem or mid rib.

Ragged

Undesirable. A derogatory description for an untidy leaf style that appears torn and jagged

Spongy

Undesirable. Indicates the state of the dry leaf due to poor withers and/or rolling. Disliked by blenders because of the difficulty in packing into standard size packs

Open

Undesirable. Poorly twisted or curled leaf, which is not quite “Flaky”. Usually produces a thin, weak liquors

Flaky

Undesirable. Often used with the word “Open”. Describes a flat, poorly made leaf as opposed to a well twisted on. Usually the result of poor withers and insufficient rolling.

Powdery

Undesirable. Describes a Dust grade which contains a fine powder.

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Leaf - Size

Bold

Undesirable. Large leaf which could with advantage been cut smaller.

Large

Undesirable. Describes the size of the grade implying at the same time that the grade is probably to large for market requirement

Ideal

Self explanatory

Small

As opposed to large

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Leaf – Fiber & Stalk content

Clean

Desirable. Denotes an evenly sorted grade of tea which is free from quantities of other grades, e.g. a BOP should not contain fannings or Dust. This term also indicates an absence of fiber or stalk

Fibrous

Undesirable. Denotes the presence of fiber in primary grades. Fiber consists largely of shreds of stalk and mid rib and is caused by a combination of course plucking or heavy pressure during rolling.

Stalky

Undesirable. A primary grade containing stalk  denotes course plucking

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Infusion – Appearance & Consistency

Bright

Desirable. A live, appealing as opposed to “Dull” looking infused leaf.

Dull

Undesirable. A dull or dark infused leaf denotes a poor tea. Over fermented tea or tea with bacteria is likely to produce a poor infused leaf

Coppery

Desirable. A bright, coppery appearance usually denotes a good quality tea which has been meticulously manufactured.

Red

Undesirable. Indicates use of high pressures and heat generation during manufacture

Green

Undesirable. This characteristic is unavoidable at certain times of the year as these are caused by the following

a)       Insufficient withering (Poor withers due to climatic conditions)

b)       Uneven and thick spreading while fermenting causes both “Green” and “Mixed” infusion

c)       Under fermentation

d)       Course leaf

Even

Desirable. Refers to the evenness of the infused leaf color, usually combines with “bright” or “coppery” as qualifying adjectives

Uneven

Undesirable. Multi-colored infused leaf that contains red, black or green particles

Mixed

Undesirable. An infused leaf that contains a mixture of color. Often indicative of course plucking or uneven spreading during fermentation.

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Liquor – General Quality

Flavor

Desirable. An apparent aroma perceived through the month and as distinct via the nose. This pronounced flavor is more often to be found in High Grown teas e.g. Nuwera Eliya, Uva, Dimbula (Sri Lanka), Darjeeling (North India) and  Nilgiris (South India

Aurtemly or Early Season Flavor

Desirable. Seasonal term that applies to teas grown during a cool weather period. Autumnal teas frequently produce a reddish leaf and liquors with varying degrees of flavor and aroma. With flavor, the reddish leaf will not detract from value

Character

Desirable. The presence of this permits recognition and identification of country of origin and district within the country or garden it was produced on.

Tainted

Undesirable. Used to describe a tea with a strange flavor. May result as a result of a micro organism contaminating the tea during manufacture or storage. Usually refers to some flavor entirely foreign such as oil, orange, onion etc.

High Fired

Undesirable. A “Burnt” tea, but one not so "Overfired" that it can be called burnt

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Dry

Undesirable. Slight Bakiness in the cup. Slightly high fired or scorched. The term is also used to indicate a lack of fullness due to under fermentation, but this meaning is by no means general.

Crisp

Used with “Dry” when describing liquors of high fired teas.

Bakey

Undesirable. An unpleasant liquor usually caused by temperatures which are too high during firing or the driving off of too much moisture. Certain types of bacteria have also been known to cause bakiness.

Well Fired

Desirable. A tea that has been fired to perfection, but not quite “Fully Fired”

Fully Fired

Undesirable. Describes the liquor of a tea which has been slightly “Over Fired”.

Over Fired

Undesirable. Such a tea which is not quite burnt is considered to be inferior. Desirable volatiles have been driven off, resulting in an outcome of this nature.

Burnt

Undesirable. This means that the tea has been subject to extremely high temperatures during firing, resulting in a taste of burnt organic matter in the liquor and a similar smell in the infused leaf.

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Liquor - Color

Yellow (SL)

Desirable. General color of teas from the Low Grown regions.

Yellow (SA)

Desirable. Color of High Grown orthodox and semi orthodox or selected clonal teas

Golden (SA)

Desirable. Describes color of “CTC” or “LTP” African teas

Rosey

Desirable. Red color of liquor

Red

Undesirable. Color of liquors of some “Jats”, “Clones” manufactured with “CTC” or “LTP” processors and slightly under fermented

Pink (SA)

Undesirable. Resulting from high temperature cell distortion and cutting

Grey

Undesirable. Denotes a flat, tired or poor liquor

Muddy

Undesirable. Term Used to describe a full heavy liquor

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Liquor – General characteristics

Astringent

Desirable. Liquor that is brisk but inclined acidic. Unpleasant  when applied to a “Green” or “Grassy” cup

Pungent

Desirable. Refers to a liquor having extreme “Briskness”, “Astringency” and a “Rasping” effect on the pallet.

Point

Desirable. Pertains to “Brightness” and acidity of the cup

Colory

Desirable. A bright, attractive liquor but not necessarily possessing substance

Body

Desirable. Liquor with both fullness and “Strength” as opposed to“Thin” liquor. Body results from a high extract of soluble solids

Thick

Desirable at times. As opposed to “Thin”, implying that the liquor has “Body” denotes viscosity,

Strength

Desirable. Denotes substance in a liquor and is usually combined with a qualifying adjective such as ‘some’, or ‘little’. Desirable in most instances although not essential for certain flavoury Ceylon and China types.

Rounded

Desirable. Implies a liqour with many attributes which is full but without point. Usually applied to a ‘self drinker’

Bright

Desirable. Sparkling, lively liquor, denoting a good tea which has  life as opposed to a “Dull” looking one

Brisk

Desirable. Usually of “Pungent” character. A lively taste as opposed to being “Flat” or “Soft”

Clean

The liquor of a poorish tea, which lacks “Character”, but has no unpleasant “Taint” or taste and remains “Neutral” to the palate

Light

A liquor which is lacking in depth of color, but maybe “Flavory” or “Pungent”

Lacking

Undesirable. A poor liquor which lacks “Color”, “Body”, “Strength”, “Brightness” or “Briskness”

Thin

Lacking “Body”, viscosity

Plain

Term used to describe a dull liquor which is “Neutral”. Among the primary factors bringing about plain liquors are poor withers, excessive heating of the leaf during manufacture and withering the wet leaf at high temperatures and humidity

Empty

Undesirable. Refers to a tea liquor that has no substance, lacking fullness. Teas withered in hot weather for an excessive period

Soft

Undesirable. A liquor that is the reverse of “Brisk”; lacking life and “Flat”. Teas with this character are generally one step above dullness, although quality and other positive characters maybe present, but never brightness. The fault usually is caused by bacteria infection or over fermentation. Excessive heat while in the green leaf stage will accelerate either or both of these.

Flat

Undesirable. Refers to a tea which lacks life and is completely lacking in “Briskness”. Caused either by age, by storing under damp conditions or by packing with too high a moisture content – that is above 4%. Over fermentation and bacterial infection will also bring about this liquor character

Tired

Undesirable. Describes the liquor which has become a little “Flat” through age. Denotes a tea that has passed optimum degree of maturity.

Dull

Undesirable. Liqours are not clear or “Bright”. Refers to a common liquor of poor quality

Bitter

Undesirable. An unpleasant acidity

Coarse

Undesirable. Used to describe a harsh liquor; an undesirable feature sometimes associated with very course plucking. This characteristic has also been known to result from irregular firing.

Common

Undesirable. Generally referring to a low class tea which gives the plainest, lifeless dull liquor. Rather worse than “Plain”

Earthy

Undesirable. A liquor taste found in teas stored under damp conditions. Tea left on the sorting room floors for unreasonable lengths of time will acquire this taste. This is especially so where the floor is concrete and is inclined to be continually damp.

Fibrous

Undesirable. Predominant taste of fibre, similar to a metallic taste.

Fruity

Undesirable. A liquor taste acquired by over fermentation and bacteria infection. Bacteria alone will also produce this unpleasant over ripe taste.

Grassy

A self explanatory taste found in liquors of coarsely plucked teas which have neither been physically or chemically withered.

Green

Undesirable. Unpleasant astringency caused by under fermentation which may be the result of an insufficient physical or chemical wither.

Harsh

Undesirable. Describes a raw and unpleasant strength in a liquor. Generally the result of immature tea or tea made of course and inferior leaf

Heavy

Usually a tea that is “Thick”, “Strong” and “Colory” with very little” Briskness”. Over fermentation will cause this.

Metallic

Undesirable. Character of a liquor suggesting a bitter taste of metal. This taste is usually a result of poor wither. Cases have been known where this character has been present in the leaf itself and not acquired during the process of manufacture.

New

Describes a tea which has had no time to mellow

Rasping

A course, not too unpleasant  effect on the palate

Raw

A liquor which is raw and maybe immature and under fermented

Smoky

A self explanatory taste in a tea liquor caused by a fault in the drier in which the tea was fired. Smoke in the atmosphere readily available to the firing machine will also cause this.

Sour

Undesirable. A taste reminiscent of sour milk. Usually the result of bacterial infection

Stewy

A soft liquor, lacking “Point” Usually caused by the continuation of fermentation due to too low an exhaust temperature.

Sweaty

Undesirable. Exact cause is undetermined so far. Possibilities include excessive heaping of teas immediately after firing.

Weathery

Undesirable. A tea which lacks “Character”, “Quality”, good “Briskness” and “Flavor”, though sometimes possessing  color and strength. Usually describes teas produced during rainy periods.

Weedy

A “Thin” Cabbagey liquor sometimes found in teas manufactured during the wet or rapid growth period

Winey

Undesirable. A taste associated with over fermentation under sterile conditions during manufacture. If bacteria were present the tea would then be described as being “Fruity”.