📚🥰 Steeped in Knowledge: Your Guide to Tea Terminology 🫖

When I first ventured into the world of loose leaf tea, I felt completely lost among the complex terminology used by enthusiasts.

Every new term thrown into the conversation was a source of confusion—it was like trying to decipher a secret language!

That's why I made it my personal goal to learn the lingo, turning confusion into confidence with every term I mastered.

Ready to unlock the secrets of the tea world?

Here are a few essential terms to get you started on your journey.

🌿 The Tea Plant & Harvest

🌱 First Flush: The first set of tender leaves plucked from the tea plant in the spring harvest. These teas are generally known for their superior and delicate flavor.

🖐 Pluck (or Plucking): This term refers to the harvesting or picking of tea leaves from the Camellia sinensis plant. The quality of the tea is highly dependent on the "pluck," which typically involves picking only the tender new growth—usually the top two leaves and the unopened bud (known as the "two leaves and a bud" standard).

🧪 Processing & Quality

🍃 Full-Leaf: This term describes larger, whole, or mostly whole tea leaves that have not been broken or heavily fragmented during processing. Full-leaf teas are highly valued because they tend to retain their essential oils and complex flavors better than broken-leaf grades.

🍎 Oxidation: This is a crucial chemical process in tea making, similar to how a cut apple turns brown when exposed to air. When the tea leaves are damaged or rolled, enzymes react with oxygen, causing the leaves to turn brown or black and develop their distinct color and flavor.

⏱️ Speed matters: Faster oxidation leads to a brisk, bolder tea (like Black Tea). Slower oxidation results in a mellow, smoother flavor (like White or Green Tea).

🌍 Categories & Descriptions

👃 Aroma (or "Nose"): The immediate smell of the tea, whether dry in the package or freshly brewed.

🇮🇳 🇱🇰 BLT (British Legacy Teas): Teas cultivated in the former British colonies, such as India and Sri Lanka (historically Ceylon).

🌸 Herbals: These blends are frequently (though technically incorrectly) called "teas," but are better known as infusions or tisanes. Herbals are naturally caffeine-free and are created from steeping various plant materials such as flowers, bark, seeds, dried fruits, or leaves of plants other than Camellia sinensis.

Now that you've mastered these fundamentals, you can shop for leaves and chat with your tea-loving friends with more confidence!

Do you have questions or need tea recommendations? Reach out to us by replying to this email, calling, or texting, and we’ll gladly help you every step of the way!

Happy sipping, and may your tea talk be brilliant,

~Dani

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition. It is not to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare or medical professional.