TEA—MINOLOGY

People’s taste palates are becoming even more sophisticated beyond basic flavours, and to keep up with their needs even the world of tea is beginning to update its image and offer more varied and unique ways to engage the senses. The tea revolution is beginning!

So how did you find your daily morning Assam, were you organoleptic with it? Did you find the blend full of biscuity and hard characters or perhaps slightly croppy tones? Was the nose full bodied and strong. Exactly what you needed to wake you up this morning, right?

You probably already know your coffee blends and aromas, and you’ll most certainly know the notes used to talk and write about wine, but with people exploring new ways to enjoy and taste their tea we want to help you navigate your way around this new world too, which is turning on its head.

On behalf of Twinings new communications agency Cohn & Wolfe, find here your very own tea glossary. The Twinings Tea–minology created directly from with Twinings MasterBlender Philippa Thacker.

COHN&WOLFEJess Lilly, Leigh-Anne Leonce, Claire Cowling: Twiningsmedia@cohnwolfe.com

TWININGS CONNECTIONS DEVELOPMENT MANAGERLindsey Williams: Lindsey.williams@twinings.com

TEA TERM TEA TERM

LIQUORLiquor sounds alcoholic, but this type of liquor will not get you tipsy (unless you add some alcohol of course). Another word

for the water after brewing with ingredients has occurred.

ESTATETea plantation is so last season. A modern Twinings term to describe the place where tea is grown is on an ‘estate’.

ORGANOLEPTIC

A SENSATIONAL WORDFOR A SENSATIONAL PROCESS

ALL OUR TWININGS MASTERBLENDERS DO THIS.

IT REFERS TO THE WAY THAT MOST TEA TASTERS EVALUATE THE

QUALITY OF A TEA,

I.E. USING ALL THEIR SENSES.

ARE YOU ORGANOLEPTIC WHEN YOU

SMELL, TASTE AND TOUCH YOUR TEA IN THE MORNING?

TEA TERM TEA TERM

CRACKER

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH A

FESTIVE TOY

WHICH BANGS WHEN PULLED!

THIS IS IN FACT, IN WINE TERMS, SIMILAR TO A ‘VINTAGE’ YEAR.

WHEN TWININGS COME ACROSS A CRACKER HARVEST, THE TASTE OF THE TEA IS

THE BEST THEY’VE TASTED

COMPARED TO OTHER HARVESTS.

ARE WAITING FOR THE NEXT CRACKER AND

WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN IT’S HERE!

BLENDTwinings Everyday Tea blends strong African and Indonesian teas, with the rich malty taste of Assam as well

as rare tea from Yunnan to create this special taste. So put simply blends are a mixture of teas usually from different origins to create consistency with all your senses. Creating a blend is an art-form which comes only from years of knowledge and expertise of being a blender!

HIGH TEANo doubt you’ve enjoyed many an afternoon tea, but what about a high tea? Becoming more popular, this is served in late afternoon to

early evening and is a mixture of afternoon tea and dinner.

TEA TERM TEA TERM

FLUSHIF YOU WANT THE DOM PERIGNON

OF THE TEA WORLD, TWININGS MASTERBLENDERS SUGGEST

YOU’LL WANT TO TASTE THE TWININGS FIRST FLUSH DARJEELING!

FLUSH REFERS TO THE TIMING OF THE TEA HARVEST.

THE FIRST FLUSH HAPPENS

IN EARLY SPRING AND INVOLVES THE

PLUCKING OF NEW SHOOTS. THE SECOND FLUSH OCCURS IN

LATE SPRING. SO IF YOU WANT THE

BEST TASTING, MOST FASHIONABLE TEA,

MAKE SURE YOU GET KNOW WHEN THE FLUSH IS COMING.

GRADINGTea needs the same attention to quality and

detail as diamonds. The Twinings grading system ensures tea leaves are sifted and searched through by hand to ensure quality. Looking

at leaf size, shape and colour and more. ‘Special’ refers to the better quality and ‘common’ refers to lower quality, grading 1-7.

BILLY TEABecause it’s fun! Tea made by Australian bushmen in billy cans. Yes it really happens! But not at Twinings HQ…

PRESENTATION PRESENTATION

GUNPOWDERDon’t worry; the only explosion we’re referring to here is the one that will happen on your tiny taste buds. This term simply

refers to the look of green tea leaves that have been rolled into pellets.

The pellets unfurl gently in hot water when brewed, delight your taste-buds by trying Twinings Moroccan Green & Mint tea.

GOLDEN TIPA desirable feature resulting from good harvesting practices. Golden tips are the unopened buds from the tea bush.

COPPERYAssociated with high quality black teas resulting from good manufacturing processes. Refers often to a wet leaf tea infusion that looks like the colour of a new penny.

RICHThis is mellow liquor which is abounding in quality and thickness of flavour. Twining’s Liquorish Infusion is a great example.

BODYDescribes tea liquor possessing fullness and strength.

TASTESMELL

FULL BODIEDFull bodied refers to strong tea with good colour and no bitterness! Twinings MasterBlenders say it’s recognisable due to its good drying

sensation in the mouth. A 'full' tea would possess thickness and body

like Twinings English Breakfast.

BISCUITYThis is not a term for when you’ve dipped your favourite chocolate digestive into your tea.

It is in fact a desirable trait that Twinings MasterBlenders look out for and usually refers to a well-made Assam.

TARRYRefers to the wonderful smoky aroma of some teas such as the Twinings Lapsang Souchong

WOODYExactly what it says on the tin, imagine you’re in the woods of Sherwood Forest, and that’s how your tea will smell. A characteristic reminiscent of freshly-cut timber. This trait is usually associated with teas processed very late in the season for e.g. Twinings Green tea or Twinings Yunnan tea.

NOSEYou use it to smell with and Twinings MasterBlenders and flavour experts have the best noses in town, but put

simply, it’s another term for the aroma of brewed tea. If it has a good nose, then it has great quality.

TASTE TASTE

CROPPYCroppy describes bright, strong and creamy liquor with a distinctive character; it’s basically the Rachel Riley of teas. Croppy liquor is

usually found in some second flush Assams.

SAPPYOur Twinings tea fans might get a little sappy over our best blends, we

know they taste great! But when describing tea liquor it actually means one which has a full juicy flavour.

MUSCATEL

WINE LOVERS

WILL LOVE THIS ONE, AS MUSCATEL IS A

CHARACTERISTIC REMINISCENT OF GRAPES IN THE LIQUOR.

OFTEN FOUND IN LIQUOR OF THE

FINEST SECOND FLUSH

DARJEELING.

TASTE TASTE

HARDANOTHER DESIRABLE QUALITY SUGGESTING

PUNGENCY &STRENGTH,

PARTICULARLY APPLIED TO ASSAM TEAS.

HARD, STRONG TEAS LIKE TWININGS ASSAM

ARE A GREAT COMPANION TO FOODS SUCH AS HEALTHY AND HEARTY

FISH AND CHIPS ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE A FAN OF KETCHUP

AS THIS WILL HELP BRING OUT THE

NATURAL SWEETNESS

OF THE TEA!

BITEOf course you don’t eat tea, you slurp it! This is a term used to describe very brisk and "alive" tea liquor. If it has a good strong bite, it is a desirable tea, just like Twinings

Lemon and Ginger tea.

PUNGENTMost people think of pungent as referring to a bad smell, but in the tea world, if your tea is pungent,

it’s a good quality tea. It’s a term for a tea liquor which although is brisk and astringent it’s something that Twinings MasterBlenders look out for as it’s a very desirable cup characteristic.

Marine

VANILLA, MENTHOL, THYME, CLOVE, WHITE

PEPPER, SAFFRON, CINNAMON, CARDAMON, LIQUORICE,

BLACK PEPPER, PARSLEY, FENNEL, EUCALYPTUS, COCOA, NUTMEG, CORRIANDER SEED

FISH, SEA AIR,

SEAWEED

SALT, WET

ROCKS, METALIC

Melon, Lychee,

PINEAPPLE

Orange, Lemon, CIRTRUS ZEST,

GRAPEFRUIT

Citrus

Grass

Wood

Earth

Mineral

Vegetables

Tropical

Tree Fruit

Berries

RASPBERRY, Strawberry,

Blackcurrent, BLACKBERRY

Banana, GARDEN APPLE, RED APPLE,

Pear, PEACH, Apricot, Dried Fruit

PEAT, WET WOOD, LEATHER, WET

EARTH, MUSTY, MOSS, FORREST FLOOR,

DECAYING WOOD, COMPOST

SAW DUST,

CHERRY WOOD, GREEN WOOD,

PINE, DARK WOOD, RESIN,

CAMPHOR, BARK, CEDAR

ASPARAGUS, GREEN

PEPPER, GARDEN PEAS

GRASS, FRESHLY CUT GRASS,

SEED, BARNYARD, STEMS, STRAW

MAPLE SYRUP,

HONEY MALT,

CARAMEL, NECTAR, MOLASSESS, CANDY,

BURNT SUGAR

CHESTNUT, ALMOND,

PEANUT, HAZELNUT, WALNUT, ROASTED

NUTS

JASMINE, ORANGE BLOSSOM,

HONEYSUCKLE, HOPS, CHERRY BLOSSOM, LILAC, ORCHID,

PERFUME, DANDELION, ROSE,

VIOLET, GERANIUM

Vegetal

Fruity

Floral

Sweet

Spicy

Nutty

Smokey

SMOKE, TAR, ASH

We've only provided you with a small flavour of the tea terms we use to describe tea. But here are some more to get you thinking about those notes you sometimes think of when smelling and tasting your tea which our MasterBlenders love to use.

TEA—MINOLOGY