Sept 17, 2024
Professional Tea Tasting / “Cupping”
The way you try newly purchased teas at home is very different from tea tasting in commercial contexts. Firstly, the tea brewed in the context of a professional tea tasting does not have to taste good. In fact it does not taste good per se. Then, the tea tasted is not actually drunk. Instead, it is actually spat out again in a downright unappetizing ritual. And in between there is a series of formalized sensory tests that probably also go far beyond what you usually do with your tea at home.
Instead of preparing a tasty tea, “tea tasting” or “cupping”, as professional tea tasting is also called, serves tea producers and traders for a number of specific purposes. A typical application of professional tea tasting at producer level is, for example, the comparison of different batches of a particular picking. At trader level, however, the tasting of newly arrived samples is probably the most common application. Professional “tea tasters” also use standardized tea tasting to create tea mixtures, so-called “blends”. These in turn make up a large part of the global tea market.
– click picture to enlarge –
History of the Professiona Tea Tasting
The roots of tea tasting go back centuries and, like almost everything related to tea, originally came from China. In Europe, companies relied on trained experts to assess the quality of tea deliveries. This practice developed into the profession of “tea taster” as we know it today.
In London, the European tea trading metropolis of the 18th century, industry-wide standards for the comparative evaluation of tea were finally established. Since then, the standard volume of the infusion cup of a professional tea tasting set has been 0.15 liters, the standard infusion temperature 90 °C and the standard brewing time 5 minutes. At the same time, the amount of tea leaves used for the infusion was set at 2.85 grams. This corresponded to the weight of a British 2 pence coin at that time, when a beam balance was used to weigh the tea leaves. Accordingly, to measure the proper amount of tea leaves, such a coin was placed on one side of the scale. Then, tea leaves were added to the other side, until the scale was in balance. In today’s practice, the value of 2.85 grams is often rounded up to 3 grams.
– click picture to enlarge –
Tasting Tea For A Living – The Profession Of A Tea Taster
Becoming a professional tea taster requires more than just a love of tea. Years of experience are usually required, from the basics of tea production to mastering sensory evaluation. At this, a background in food science, agronomy, or even hospitality can be beneficial. There are also formal courses in tea tasting, often offered by professional associations or tea schools. However, there is no officially recognized tea taster certificate, so the applicant’s qualifications depend on their individual talent and experience.
A good tea taster needs a refined palate and strong sensory skills. They must be able to detect the most subtle flavor notes, whether fruity, floral or earthy, and identify astringency or bitterness. Job opportunities range from working for tea brands and retailers to working as consultants or quality control experts.
– click picture to enlarge –
Tools of Professional Tea Tasting
The standardized Tea Tasting Set
The essential tool of the professional tea taster and the heart of the associated process is the standardized tea tasting set. Its design follows simple functional but nonetheless precise premises. It usually consists of a tea bowl and a handle cup with lid, both with a standard filling capacity of 0.15 liters.
The Tea Tasting Scribbling Pad
The aim is to identify the individual aromas and flavor notes and their respective characteristics, as well as to describe the appearance of the tea leaf and infusion. To this end, tea tasters document the aromatic and flavor properties they have determined, as well as the visual impressions of the tea leaf and infusion color, on a scribbling pad specifically designed for this purpose. In addition to an “Aroma Wheel,” this contains fields for describing and grading the examined examined.
– click picture to enlarge –
Course of the Professional Tea Tasting
Preparation
In professional contexts, several types of tea are brewed and tasted in parallel. The tea taster first puts a generous amount of tea leaves of each tea to be tasted into a container allowing for their visual and olfactory examination. In practice, these are often cardboard containers resembling French fry bowls. The taster then weighs out 2.85g (or 3g) of each tea and puts them into the handle cups. At this, tea leaves, preparation container and tea bowl of each tea are lined up in an arrangement that allows for easy attribution. This is followed by pouring all of the prepared sets with 90°C hot water up to the edge of the brewing vessels. Finally, these are closed with their corresponding lids for the duration of the infusion.
After the 5-minute brewing time has elapsed, grasp the handle of the preparation vessel with your right hand and the “handle button” of the lid with your left and place both in the tea bowl without lifting the lid, with the jagged recess of the cup facing downwards and the hole in the lid facing upwards. The contents of the preparation vessel now pour into the bowl unhindered thanks to the air hole in the cup lid. This process takes place for all sets in the same order and speed as it was previously poured.
After the preparation vessels have been completely emptied and the tea has run into the tea bowls, you grab the preparation vessel again in the manner described above. Now you turn it upside down by 180° and shake the tea leaves into the cup lid. After lifting the cup from the lid, put it back on the table and place the inverted lid with the tea leaves on top.
.
Tasting and Sensory Examination
The tea taster first subjects both the dry and wet tea leaves and the infusion to a comprehensive sensory examination. “Sensory” in this case means visual, olfactory and haptic. Only then does the actual gustatory tasting follow. Usually, a large (soup) spoon serves for this purpose. The tea is slurped from the spoon with loud noises that outsiders will often consider as unappetizing. At this, the liquor is moved back and forth in the mouth for a while. It is important that all sensory areas (taste buds) within the oral cavity come into contact with the tea. After coming to a final judgment, the tea taster spits the tea into a spittoon provided for this purpose. This avoids excessive intake of liquid, caffeine and other ingredients of the tea during daily work.
During the entire sensory examination, the impressions and properties observed for each tea are recorded in the tea tasting notepad.
Here’s the SiamTeas tea taster scribbling pad for you to download:
DO try this at home!
Although tea tasting and the associated instruments were invented for professionals, the method is also suitalbe for private use. For example, similar teas from different suppliers can be compared very well in this way. Who offers the best leaf quality? Where are there differences in the taste and aroma of the teas tasted? What qualitative differences can be deduced from the impressions and observations? Or, for example: how do my favorite black or green teas compare in direct comparison? Of course, we do not have to stick to the standardized parameters of the professional tea tasting set. Especially not when it comes to the brewing time… This is, because after 5 minutes of brewing, even most of our favorite teas will only suit for “professional assessment” at best…
The author of these lines would like to add another option to the private use of the professional tea tasting set mentioned above. This has been revealed to me over the years and has proven itself many times since then: In fact, there is practically no better travel companion for tea preparation than the professional tea tasting set. Because of its compact design, it takes up minimal space in your luggage. At the same time, the functional orientation of the two vessels ensures the best conditions for the appropriate preparation of any leaf tea. Therefore, my explicit recommendation: DO try this at home – the professional tea tasting set is available here in the Siam Tea Shop:
Professional Tea Tasting Set / Cupping Set @ Siam Tea Shop
Additional Comments
For detailed explanations and instructions on preparing tea for enjoyment and other purposes, we also recommend reading
My Little Tea School – The ABC of TEA
Lesson 9 : Tea Preparation
Tea Preparation (1) – Parameters of Tea Preparation
Tea Preparation (2) – Contextx and Purposes of Tea Preparation