Agony of the leaves~An expression describing the relaxation of curled leaves during steeping.
Anhui~A major black tea producing region of China.
Aroma~The characteristic fragrance of brewed tea, imparted by its essential oils.
Assam~A type of tea grown in the state of Assam, India, known for its strong, deep red brewed color.
Astringent~A term describing the dry taste in the mouth left by teas high in unoxidized polyphenols.
Autumnal~A term describing tea harvested late in the growing season.
Bakey~A term describing overfired teas
Bergamot~The essential oil of the bergamot orange, which is mixed with black tea to give Earl Grey tea its characteristic flavor.
Billy~An Australian term describing a tin pot used for boiling tea over an open fire.
Biscuity~A term describing tea that has been well fired, often associated with Assam teas.
Black tea~Green tea leaves that have been oxidized, or fermented, imparting a characteristic reddish brew. The most common type of tea worldwide.
Blend~A combination of different types of teas for flavor consistency from season to season.
Bloom~A term describing the sheen of the tea leaf.
Body~A term describing the sense of fullness that the brewed tea imparts.
Bold~A term describing large leaf cut tea.
Brassy~A term describing an unpleasant acidic taste, associated with improper withering of the tea leaves.
Break~An auction term describing a tea lot for sale, usually at least 18 chests.
Brick tea~Tea leaves that have been steamed and compressed into bricks; the bricks are then shaved and brewed with butter and salt and served as a soup.
Bright~A term describing a light-colored leaf or its resulting bright red brew.
Brisk~A term describing a tea that is very astringent; also a Lipton trademark.
Broken~A term describing tea leaves that have been processed through a cutter, reducing leaf size.
Caffeine~A stimulating compound found in tea.
Cambric tea~A weak tea infusion with large proportions of milk and sugar.
Catechins~A class of polyphenol found in high concentrations in green tea, and lower and varied concentrations in black teas.
Ceylon~Teas from Sri Lanka.
Cha~Romanized spelling of the Chinese and Japanese characters for tea.
Chai~Indian term for tea, often short for masala chai, or spiced tea, which is made from strong black tea combined with milk, sugar, and spices.
Chest~A traditional container for shipping tea from the plantation typically made of wood with an aluminum lining.
Chesty~A term describing tea that has taken on the undesirable smell or taste of the wooden chest in which it was shipped.
Chunmee~A grade of curled Chinese tea.
Congou~A general term for Chinese black tea, derived from gongfu, defined below.
Coppery~A term describing a reddish infusion, associated with black teas of high quality.
CTC~An acronym for Crush, Tear, and Curl, a manufacturing process to create tea leaves that impart a stronger infusion.
Darjeeling~Tea grown in the Darjeeling region of India, near the Himalayas. Darjeeling teas are usually highly astringent.
Dhool~A term describing the coppery, fermenting tea leaf.
Dust~The smallest grade of tea, often used in tea bags because it creates a quick infusion.
Earl Grey~Black tea scented with bergamot, defined above.
Fannings~Leaf particles that have been sifted out of high quality teas.
Fermentation~The process of oxidizing green tea leaves to make black and oolong teas.
Fibrous~A term describing teas that contain a high percentage of fannings.
Firing~The process of rapidly heating the tea leaves, with hot air or in a wok, to stop fermentation and dry the leaves for a finished product.
Flat~A term describing teas that lack astringency.
Flowery~A grading term that indicates leaves with light-colored tips.
Flush~The freshly-picked tea leaves, including the bud and the top two leaves of the tea plant.
Formosa~Tea produced in Taiwan; primarily Oolong teas
Full~A term describing a strong, vibrant tea infusion.
Genmaicha~Green tea with toasted rice.
Golden~A term describing the orange-colored tips on high quality tea leaves.
Gong fu~A Chinese term meaning performed with care; describes a style of brewing that involves many repeated short infusions in a small pot.
Grainy~A term describing high quality CTC teas.
Green~Unfermented, dried tea, traditionally found primarily in China and Japan, but becoming increasing popular in the West due to purported health benefits.
Gunpowder~Green tea that has been rolled into pellets, which unfurl in hot water to brew.
Gyokuro~A Japanese term meaning pearl dew, referring to green tea produced from shaded plants.
Hard~A term describing pungent tea, often positively associated with Assam teas.
Harsh~A term describing bitter teas.
Heavy~A term describing a full, deep-colored infusion without astringency.
Hyson~A Chinese term meaning flourishing spring associated with green teas, and a brand of tea popular in the eighteenth century.
Iced Tea~Tea brewed and served chilled
Jasmine~Black Pouchong tea scented with jasmine flowers.
Keemun~Black tea from central China, typically hand-rolled and fired.
Lapsang souchong~A Chinese black tea that is fired over a pinewood fire for a characteristically smoky aroma and flavor.
Light~A term describing tea that produces a weak infusion.
Malty~A term describing slightly over-fired tea, sometimes desirable.
Metallic~A term describing the dry taste of some teas.
Muddy~A term describing a dull, brownish infusion
Nose~A synonym for aroma, defined above.
Oolong~A lightly fermented style of tea, typically using larger leaf grades.
Orange pekoe~A grade of large, whole leaf tea; does not describe flavor.
Orthodox~A processing method that imitates the larger leaf styles of hand-produced teas.
Pan-fired~A term describing that has been fired in a wok.
Pekoe~A grade of small, whole leaf tea, from the Chinese term baihao, which refers to the white hairs of the new buds on the tea plant.
Plain~A term describing a dull, sour infusion.
Plucking~The process of harvesting the tea by cutting the flush from the growing tea plant.
Polyphenols~Astringent compounds found in tea.
Pu erh~A type of black tea that has been microbiologically fermented, associated with the Yunnan province of China.
Pungent~A term describing highly astringent tea.
Raw~A term describing bitter tea.
Rolling~The process of crushing the leaves to activate certain enzymes and initiate fermentation; also results in the curled appearance of the final tea leaf.
Self-drinking~A term describing full-bodied tea that does not need to be blended.
Smoky~A term describing teas fired over an open fire, resulting in exposure to wood smoke.
Soft~A term describing under fermented tea.
Souchong~Large leaf teas harvested from the third and fourth leaf of the tea plant.
Stalk~A term describing teas that contain pieces of stalk from poor plucking.
Tannin~A misleading term referring to tea polyphenols, which are different than the tannic acid polyphenols associated with other plants such as grapes.
Tarry~Another term describing smoky teas, defined above.
Tat~A wire mesh or burlap apparatus used to lay the leaves out for withering and fermentation
Theaflavins~Orange-red potyphenols unique to fermented black teas, and a compound formed from catechins.
Theanine~An amino acid unique to tea.
Theine~A synonym for caffeine.
Ti kuan yin~Meaning iron goddess of mercy, an especially dark and fragrant type of Oolong tea.
Tippy~A term describing high quality teas differentiated by the white or golden tips of the leaves.
Tisane~Herbal tea, that is teas produced from the leaves of plants other than the tea plant.
Tuocha~A type of brick tea using pu erh tea pressed into a bowl-shaped brick.
Two and a bud~A term describing the part of the tea plant that is typically harvested, that is, the top two leaves and the bud. See also Flush.
White~A type of very light green tea; the term refers to the white hairs on the picked tea bud.
Winey~A term describing aged, mellow teas, as with some Keemun teas.
Withering~The process of allowing the fresh leaves to dry after plucking, before fermentation.
Woody~A term describing an unpleasant hay taste in black tea.
Yixing~Pronounced ee-hsing, a region in China known for its purple clay, and the unglazed teapots produced from it.
Yunnan~Spicy tea grown in the Yunnan province, in the southwest of China.