Although simply grown and harvested, tea is a drink full of flavor complexities and nuances. Tea merchants and professional tea tasters arrange professional tea tastings in order to identify the exclusive individual characteristics and traits of the various types of tea. Tea is generally described as having a foreground, middle ground and background flavor. These three flavor dimensions come together to create the tea's flavor profile. Tasting tea is an art perfected only through experience. Professional tea tasters must undergo years of training in order to develop their pallet.

At a tea tasting, specific stages and strict procedures are observed. The stages of a tea tasting are the followings:

1. Tea tasting takes place around a tasting table which is laden with bowls of dry tea leaves. This allows the tea tasters to touch and feel the leaves and also to observe their appearance before brewing. Tea tasting uses all the steps to characterize the tea: visual, smell, taste and touch. They can tell a lot about a tea by examining the dry leaves. They gently press some dry leaves in the hand to determine their characteristics. Most new teas are a little springier and less likely to crumble than older teas. They look for fibers, dust or stalks and note the leaf size. Evaluation of the dry leaves is made to see if they have any of the following characteristics:

A
Adhesive - Well-rolled, wiry leaves that tend to cling together when picked up.
Attractive - Well-made, uniform in color, size, and texture.

B
Bloom - Leaves look lively and have a lustrous quality. A sign of good manufacture and sorting. Reduction of leaf has taken place before firing. A 'sheen' that has not been lost through over-handling or over-sorting.
Black - A black appearance is desirable preferably with 'bloom'.
Blackish - A satisfactory appearance for CTC type teas which denotes careful sorting.
Bold - Particles of leaf which are too large for the particular grade.
Bright - A lively bright appearance, which usually indicates that the tea will produce a bright liquor.
Brown - Leaves are brown in color. Although black is a desirable color for black tea leaves, tippy teas are never totally black due to the presence of the lighter-colored tips, which are desirable. A brown appearance in CTC type teas may also indicate overly harsh treatment of leaf.
Burned - Taint caused by extreme over drying during manufacture.

C
Chunky - A very large broken-leaf tea.
Clean - Leaf that is free from fiber, dirt and all extraneous matter.
Coppery - Bright leaf that indicates a well manufactured or make of tea
Crepy - Leaf with a crimped appearance common to larger grade broken-leaf teas such as BOP.
Curly - Leaf appearance of whole leaf grade teas such as OP, as distinct from 'wiry'.

D
Dark - A dark or dull color that usually indicates poorer leaf quality.
Dry - Indicates slight over-firing or drying during manufacture.
Dull - Lacking bloom.
Dusty - Leaf tea that contains some tea dust.

E
Even - Teas true to their grade, consisting of pieces of leaf of fairly even size.

F
Flaky - Flat open pieces of leaf often light in texture.

G
Green - When referring to black tea, it means the leaf has been underfermented, or alternatively it can be leaf plucked from immature bushes and will often, when steeped, result in a raw or light liquor. This can also be caused by poor rolling during making or manufacture.
Grey - Caused by too much abrasion during sorting.
Golden Tip - Tea contains golden colored leaf tips. This is desirable.
Grainy - Describes primary grades of well-made CTC teas such as Pekoe dust.

L
Leafy - Tea containing larger than average leaves.
Leggy - Tea leaves are long and thin.

M
Mixed - Uneven leaf of varying color.

N
Neat - A grade of tea having good make and size.
Nose - Smell of the dry leaf.

S
Stylish - Leaf of superior appearance containing "tip".
Stalk and Fiber - Bits of tea bush other than the leaf which should be minimal in superior grades but are unavoidable in lower-grade teas.

T
Tip - Pieces of the leaf tip.
Tippy - Teas that contain generous amounts of leaf tip and therefore produce a more flavorful cup.

U
Uneven and Mixed - Uneven pieces of leaf particles indicating poor sorting and resulting in a tea not true to a particular grade.

W
Well-twisted - Refers to how the leaf was rolled. A leaf that has "twist" is well-rolled.
Whiskery - Leaves covered with a fine hairy fiber, also described as "hairy".
Wiry - A thin long leaf that has been nicely rolled.

2. In the next stage an amount of tea leaves of each sample is put into the cup for brewing. White or clear cups are used to view the truest color, although the color does not necessarily indicate the strength or body of the liquor. Boling water is poured onto the tea leaves and the cup is covered to allow brewing. The analysis of the infused leaves begin as the cups are filled. Smaller, flat leaves will show more body than larger twisted leaves, which take longer to steep. The teas are stepped for a fixed time, generally three to five minutes. After steeping they take in the aroma of the tea and examine the infused leaves for color and evenness.

3. The infused leaves are then taken out and displayed for inspection then the tasting of the liquor takes place. The infused leaf evaluation is also important to see if they possess any of the following characteristics:

Aroma - Leaves have a fragrant smell.
Bright - Leaves have a lively reflective quality rather than looking dull.
Coppery - Leaves have a coppery color, usually denoting a good quality tea.
Green - This a defective color in infused leaf. This defect may be caused by coarse plucking, insufficient fermentation, as also poor and inadequate rolling and insufficient withering.
Dark - Leaves are dark or dull in color, sometimes denoting a lesser quality tea.
Dull - Leaves that lack a bright, reflective quality.

4. The professional tea tasters move around the table, taking one tea sample after another with a teaspoon, sip it into their mouths and then slurp the tea over their entire palates and mouths for smooth and consistent tasting. This allows them to gain the maximum tasting impression and to get a sense of the tea's body and flavor profile. This step is important since we taste sweetness at the tip of the tongue, bitterness at the back, saltines at the tip but also at the sides of the front of the tongue and sourness at the back edges. A stringency or pungency is a sensation, not a taste, which is felt on the gums and part of the cheek. When the liquor is swirled round the mouth, the thickness, body or viscosity is felt and judged. When tasting tea, they use both, taste buds and sense of smell, to discern flavor and quality. Tea tasting is a precise skill and one that can be performed only with a good natural palate and active olfactory nerve and the ability to value a tea calls for long experience and knowledge.

Tea experts and professional tea tasters use a vocabulary of words covering hundreds of concepts in order to describe the appearance, taste and aroma of tea. Some of the most important are:

A
Agony of leaves - The rolling and unfurling of the leaves up and down in the cup at the time of steeping that is when boiling water is poured on them.
Aroma - The fragrant, attractive smell of the dry tea leaves, the leaves in infusion and of the brewed tea itself, sometimes referred to as "nose" or "bouquet." Good aromas are described as flowery or fruity. High grown teas, such as Darjeeling, are prized for their distinctive aroma. Smell or scent which denote the inherent character, usually found in teas grown at high altitudes.
Astringency - The lively, pungent sensation on the tongue that gives tea its refreshing quality. The feeling of tingling and dry sensation created in the mouth of the drinker by teas rich in polyphenols. This should not be confused with bitterness.
Autumnal - Tea manufactured during autumn is known as autumnal tea. The leaf obtained after final firing in that period is reddish in color, but with varying degrees of flavor and aroma, for which customer prefers it.

B
Baggy - An unpleasant taste, normally resulting from the tea being carried or wrapped in unlined Hessian bags.
Bakey - An unpleasant taste caused by using very high temperatures during drying the leaves and consequently too much moisture has been driven off the leaf. This is an undesirable characteristic.
Bergamot - The "Chinese Orange" bergamot is a citrus fruit shaped like a pear, which originated in China but is today grown in Italy, and the essence of which is used to flavor Earl Grey Tea.
Biscuity - A pleasant aroma, resembling fresh baked bread that can be often found in some Assam teas.
Bitter - An unpleasant bitter taste associated with raw teas.
Body - This expresses the weight of the drink on the tongue, the strength of taste and the feeling of fullness in the mouth. A tea is described has having light, medium or full body. Full-bodied teas have fullness and strength as opposed to being thin.
Brassy - An unpleasant, bitter metallic taste. Usually associated with unwithered tea.
Bright - Liquor looks lively as opposed to dull. This denotes a leaf that is bright or light in color and an expectation of a taste that is refreshing and alive and gives a feeling of astringency to the tongue. This is a desirable characteristic of choice tea. This quality becomes more apparent after the addition of milk.
Brisk - This describes a tea that is full and lively on the tongue and that has been properly fermented and dried. A vivacious, slightly astringent taste, opposed to flat or soft tasting liquor.

C
Chesty - Tea leaves having an after taste or smell from the wooden chest in which the tea was packed.
Character - Distinct qualities of the tea that allow the taster to detect the region where the tea was grown. This attractive taste is specific to growth origin describing teas grown at high altitude.
Color - Describes depth of color. The region when the tea was grown and the grade of tea play a part in the resulting shade and depth of the liquor color.
Colory - Categorization for tea that has a good color. A liquor that possesses depth of color, sometimes indicate full body or taste, but not necessarily so.
Coarse - A tea producing a harsh undesirable liquor with a bitter taste.
Common - A very plain light and thin liquor with no distinct favor.
Complex - A multidimensional aroma or taste profile.
Creaming Down - A natural precipitate obtained as the liquor cools down. Particles float or rise to the top of the tea in some types of black tea or blended teas. This is considered undesirable and is likely to be caused by the use of poor water.

D
Dry - A slightly bakey or scorched taste.
Dull - A liquor that lacks a lively, bright character in both taste and appearance. The drink looks murky and is of a low quality. Lacks of brightness usually denotes poor tea. This can be due to faulty manufacture and firing or a high moisture content.

E
Earthy - Normally caused by damp storage of tea but can also describe a taste that is sometimes climatically inherent in teas from certain regions.
Empty - A liquor lacking fullness. No substance.

F
Fine - Tea of exceptional taste and quality.
Firing - Drying the tea leaves by way of hot air or in a wok in order to quickly halt the process of fermentation.
Flat - Tea of poor taste and flat and of a low quality. Lifeless liquor completely lacking in briskness. This indicates old tea or tea that is not fresh. Tea tends to lose its characteristics and taste with age, unlike some wines which mature with age. It can also be caused by improper storage.
Favor - A most desirable extension of character caused by slow growth at high altitudes. Relatively rare.
Flavory - Tea that has a pronounced, satisfying flavor. Pronounced flavor is more generally found in high grown teas such as Darjeeling or Ceylon.
Flowery - A concept that describes whole tea leaves that have light colored tips.
Fruity - The fruity characteristic of choice, Oolong Tea.
Full - Tea possessing color, strength and body as opposed to being empty or thin.

G
Gone off - Tea without taste or life or that has a bad smell. Often denotes a high moisture content.

H
Hard - Tea that has penetrating and desirable strength, a very pungent liquor, particularly used for Assam tea. Harshness - An unpleasant degree of strength. A taste generally due to the leaf being under withered during manufacture resulting in a very rough taste.
Heavy - Tea that possesses a thick, strong liquor with depth of color but is lacking in briskness.
High - Fired - Over fired or dried, but not bakey or burned.
Hungry - When the characteristics generally associated with the tea variety or region of origin are not present.

L
Lacking - Describes a neutral liquor with no body or pronounced characteristics.
Light/Pale - Lacking strength and depth of color or light in weight of poor density and sometimes flaky, but may be flavory or pungent.

M
Malty - A full, bright tea with a malty taste often found in Assam tea.
Mature - Not bitter or flat.
Mellow - Tea leaves which have matured well produce a mellow tasting tea.
Metallic - A sharp coppery taste.
Muddy - This describes a dull, opaque infusion lacking in taste.
Muscatel - Grapey taste. This is an exceptional characteristic found in some Darjeeling tea.
Mushy - Tea that has been packed or stored with a high moisture content.
Musty - The brew has a moldy taste or smell which is due to improper packing or storage.

O
Orange Pekoe - This term describes a large whole leaf tea.

P
Pekoe - Derived from the Chinese word that describes the white hairs on the side of the leaves of certain teas. The term denotes small, whole leaf tea.
Peak - This is the magical moment when the body, the taste, the aroma and the astringency of the tea combine to in the mouth to create an ecstatic feeling. This mainly relates to the black teas rather than green tea or Oolong tea.
Plain - A liquor that is 'clean' but lacking in desirable characteristics.
Plucking - Picking of the tea.
Point - A desirable brightness and acidity often associated with Ceylon teas.
Powdery - Fine light dust as the tea people say meaning a very fine light leaf particle.
Pungent - A bright liquor that has pronounced briskness and a strong, astringent flavor. Strong tea with a presence.  Highly desirable.

Q
Quality - Refers to 'cup quality' and denotes a combination of the most desirable liquoring qualities.

R
Ragged - An uneven badly manufactured and graded tea.
Rasping - A very coarse and harsh liquor.
Raw - A bitter, unpleasant taste.
Rich - A pleasantly thick and mellow liquor.
Round - A full, smooth-tasting liquor.

S
Self drinking - Tea that is good in itself and does not need to be blended or to have any additions lemon added.
Smooth - Describes tea possessing a smooth pleasant taste.
Soft - The opposite of briskness. Tea lacking any live characteristics and is caused by inefficient fermentation and/or drying.
Stale - Tea that has an unpleasant taste because it is old or has been stored in damp conditions.
Stewed - A soft liquor with undesirable taste that lacks point. Caused by faulty firing or drying at low temperatures and often with insufficient airflow through the oven during tea manufacture or making.
Strong - Liquor possesses strength of body and flavor.
Sweaty - Disagreeable taste. Poor tea.

T
Taint - Characteristic or taste that is foreign to tea such as oil, garlic etc. Often due to the tea being stored next to other commodities with strong characteristics of their own.
Tarry - A smoky aroma which should not be there.
Thick - Tea that has good body as opposed to being "thin". Liquor with good color and strength. Assam tea is known for producing a thick liquor.
Thin - Tea that lacks body. An insipid light liquor that lacks desirable characteristics. This is not necessarily undesirable as certain tea growing regions, such as Darjeeling, are celebrated for their tea's thin, flavory liquors. However teas from Assam should never have a thin liquor.
Tip - A sign of fine plucking apparent in top grades of tea.
Tired - Tea that is past its prime and consequently has a flat or stale character.

W
Weedy - A grass or hay taste associated with teas that have been under withered during manufacture and sometimes referred to as 'woody'.
Woody - Tea that has a sawdust-like character.

5. After tasting one tea the tasters spit out the tea liqueur into spittoons and quickly move down the line, tasting several teas one after another.

Professional tea tasting is done without any additives such as sugar, honey, milk or others. The purpose of the tasting is to distinguish the elements of taste and smell. After the tasting, a wide range of additives may be added to the tea according to personal taste. The brewing time may be shortened or increased, or the amount of tea leaves brewed may be increased or decreased and the tea may be sweetened with sugar or honey according to personal taste.