Smell and Taste of Tea

by Adam Yusko

Everyone over the course of our lives has been acquiring a wealth of knowledge on tastes, smells and sensations. Many people, myself included, review teas and post notes on what it reminds us of. I’m hear to tell you that you don’t need to have an amazing sense of smell to be able to make your own notes on a tea, or be able to give your opinion.

Like I said we have had a life time of learning and associating smells, and tastes with various objects. So next time you sit down with a favorite tea, ask yourself, “What does this smell remind me of?” But do yourself a favor, don’t stop at “it smells like tea!” Think of fruits, cereals, vegetables, wood and flower aromas. Do not be shy about what you smell in there, as its long been said that three people will have four different opinions on what something tastes and smells like.

With that in mind be bold and admit it if you smell sea salt, do not be scared to say so. There are millions of possible flavor combinations, and chances are other people understand what you are getting at when you pick up a certain aroma, and they may be able to hone in on that aroma. Plus its well known that everyone has sensitivities to different categories of scents. But remember this path goes two ways when you can not smell something someone else can, do not insist that they are wrong.

I find that asking yourself questions such as “what do I smell,” “what do I taste” and “what do I sense” all help you identify trends in categories of tea, and should you ever stumble upon that mysterious unlabeled sample you can make educated guess as to what it could be, and better yet give sound reasons as to why you choose that as the teas identity.

So, keep in mind that everyone will come up with different descriptors as to the tastes and sensations of a tea. Always relate that aromas and tastes to what you know. Last but not least keep asking yourself questions to hone on in the right answer.