For Beginners and Tea Lovers: Essential Tea Terms You Should Know - Part 1

Whether you are savoring a delicate first-flush green or a robust black or blended tea, understanding key tea terms transforms how you experience what’s in your cup. At By Thompson, we believe good tea deserves good knowledge. So, how well do you know your tea vocabulary? Here is a clear guide to the vocabulary that deepens your appreciation of every cup drawn from traditional tea knowledge and modern understanding.

1. Terroir: Pronounced as “tear-wahr,” it is the complete “sense of place” that shapes a tea before any processing begins. It includes soil composition, elevation, climate, rainfall, temperature swings, humidity, surrounding vegetation, and local farming traditions. Notably, the same tea plant grown in two different locations will produce distinct leaves because of these environmental factors.

2. Flush (Harvest): A flush is a period of new growth on the tea plant when tender buds and young leaves are ready for plucking. In seasonal regions, the main harvests are often called first flush, second flush, and later autumn or winter flushes, which are more robust. Timing of harvest strongly influences flavor and quality.

3. Oxidation: Oxidation is the natural enzymatic reaction that occurs when tea leaf cells are broken, with the internal compounds meeting oxygen. Enzymes convert catechins into new compounds, darkening the leaf and shifting flavors and notes. Oxidation process is responsible in creating major tea categories.

4. Cultivar: A cultivar is short for “cultivated variety.” Cultivars refers to a specific, selectively bred and propagated strain of the tea plant chosen for favourable traits such as flavor, aroma, yield, or climate adaptability. While all true tea comes from Camellia sinensis, thousands of cultivars exist. Different cultivars can produce noticeably different teas even when grown and processed in the same way.

5. Processing: Processing covers all the steps that turn freshly plucked leaves into finished dry tea. Processing stages include withering, disruption/rolling, controlled oxidation, fixation, shaping, drying/firing, and sorting.

6. Infusion: Infusion is both the process and the resulting liquid or liquor. The process of infusion involves steeping tea leaves in water to extract soluble compounds, flavors, and aromas. Making a cup of tea is creating an infusion.

7. Tea: True tea is the beverage and dried leaf produced exclusively from the leaves and buds of the Camellia sinensis plant. All classic categories such as white, green, yellow, oolong, black, and pu-erh, come from this single species. It is important to note that herbal “teas” made from other plants are infusions but not true tea.

8. Aroma: Aroma is the fragrance of the leaf, and when brewed or served, may refer to the fragrance emitted by the rising steam of the infused liquor. Aroma ranges from floral, fruity, and vegetal to malty, toasty, or mineral. It is one of the first indicators of origin, cultivar, harvest timing, and processing skill.

9. Body: Also called mouthfeel, body describes the weight, fullness, and texture of the tea liquor on the tongue and in the mouth. A tea may feel light and delicate, medium, or full and substantial. Body is influenced by polyphenol content, processing, and brewing strength, and is distinct from simple flavor intensity.

10. Withering: Withering is the first major processing step after plucking, in which freshly harvested leaves are spread out to lose moisture and become soft and pliable.

11. Fixation: Also known as “kill-green,” is the application of high heat (by pan-firing, steaming, or other methods) to denature the enzymes in the leaf and halt oxidation at the desired level. It locks in the tea’s character, removes grassy notes, and softens the leaf for shaping. This step is essential for green teas and many oolongs.

12. Steeping: Steeping is the act of soaking tea leaves in hot (or cold) water for a set time so flavors, aromas, and compounds are released into the liquid. It is the basic step of making an infusion. Time, temperature, and leaf quantity determine strength and balance.

Next time you open a tin from By Thompson, you’ll notice more as you are knowledgeable of common tea vocabulary. Ready to put the vocabulary into practice? Explore our loose-leaf and blended collections, and taste the difference that thoughtful sourcing and careful craft make in your sips.