Tea, a timeless beverage steeped in history and culture, has captivated taste buds worldwide. Its preparation, an art form in itself, requires a specialized vocabulary and an understanding of the tools involved. This comprehensive guide will delve into the world of tea making, exploring the terminology and essential tools that elevate the tea-drinking experience.
Tea Maker Terminology: A Glossary of Expertise
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Tea Sommelier: A connoisseur of tea, specializing in its history, production, and tasting. Equivalent to a sommelier in the world of wine.
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Tea Master: A highly skilled tea professional, often found in traditional tea ceremonies, who possesses extensive knowledge of tea cultivation, preparation, and etiquette.
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Tea Blender: An expert who combines different teas to create unique flavor profiles and blends.
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Tea Merchant: A business specializing in the sale and distribution of tea.
Tea Making Tools: Essential Implements for Perfect Brewing
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Teapot: A vessel specifically designed for brewing tea, typically made of ceramic, glass, or metal.
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Tea Infuser: A device used to hold loose tea leaves while they steep in hot water. Common types include tea balls, tea baskets, and tea socks.
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Tea Strainer: A fine-mesh sieve used to separate tea leaves from the brewed tea.
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Tea Kettle: A specialized kettle designed to heat water to the optimal temperature for tea brewing.
Beyond the Basics: Specialized Tea Making Equipment
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Samovar: A traditional Russian tea urn that keeps water continuously hot for extended tea drinking sessions.
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Gaiwan: A Chinese teacup with a lid and saucer, used for both brewing and drinking tea.
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Chawan: A Japanese tea bowl, typically made of ceramic, used in traditional tea ceremonies.
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Tea Cozy: An insulated cover placed over a teapot to retain heat and prolong the steeping process.
The world of tea making is a rich tapestry of terminology and tools, each element contributing to the enjoyment of this timeless beverage. From the expertise of tea sommeliers to the specialized equipment used in tea ceremonies, the language and tools of tea making reflect the cultural significance and global appeal of this ancient art form.
Essential Skill Two – International Standard Tea Evaluation
Being able to conduct international standard tea evaluation is crucial if you want to work in the tea industry or run your own tea company.
Tea evaluation aims to evaluate three crucial facets of the tea: tea type, tea grade, and tea quality.
There are a number of steps you must take in order to check these three items and obtain the required results.
When China opened up its international tea trade during the Qing Dynasty, they created the first international standard for evaluating tea. People will discover that the tea industry makes far more sense if they can learn how to taste Chinese tea.
Over the centuries, tea-drinking and processing practices in China were transformed.
What do you need for tea evaluation?
Tea Evaluation Cup Set:
- Cup for brewing tea
- Bowl for examining tea liquor
- Spoon for tasting a tea
International Standard Tea Evaluation Tea Tray:
To store tea samples and assess the dry tea leaves’ quality
Tea Evaluation Plate:
For checking the quality of infused tea leaves
The three items mentioned above cover the essentials, but you may need additional teaware for the International Standard Tea Evaluation.
How to Perform the International Standard Tea Evaluation Process
Step1: Checking the Dry Tea Leaves
This is a crucial place to start when assessing the quality of tea.
Take note of the shape, scent, and other details that are unique to dry tea leaves. This will help you get a general idea of your tea’s possible grade and quality.
The task of verifying your preliminary evaluation of the dry tea leaves will be the focus of the following steps.
Step 2: Brewing the Tea
The traditional Chinese tea ceremony is not the same as brewing tea for the International Standard Tea Evaluation. You’ll have to steep a certain amount of tea for a predetermined amount of time. Different shapes of tea will require different brewing times.
The International Standard Tea Evaluation states that tea should be brewed “TASTING, NOT TASTE.” Instead of brewing to bring out the best flavors in the tea, the goal is to brew to a set of standards and then assess the tea’s advantages and disadvantages.
Step 3: Smell Tea
Smell the teacup as soon as the liquor made from the leaves is brewed. The tea cup is now warm, and there’s a strong scent from the brewed leaves. You can fully experience the precise scent of the tea cup by sniffing it.
Step 4: Tasting the Tea
The tasting associated with the Chinese tea ceremony will not be the same as this one. To validate your assessment of the tea’s quality, you should record both the pleasant and unpleasant tastes in a single sip and contrast them with the aroma you just inhaled from the tea cup. After that, you’ll try to determine which step of the tea processing process worked well and which didn’t.
Step 5: Check the Brewed Tea Leaves
The last and most crucial step assists you in verifying the accuracy of your assessment of tea quality. You have all the information required to make an overall assessment of the tea’s quality based on the three procedures listed above. Checking the brewed leaves verifies your previous assessments. Should they not align with your assessment at this juncture, you will have to repeat each step.
Step 6: Recording
You will use expert forms that have been prepared for you at each stage of the tea evaluation process to document your assessment and assist you in reaching your ultimate decision regarding the tea’s quality.
It is crucial to keep track of all of your tea evaluation findings when dealing with the global tea trade. Your records assist you in making wise choices regarding the buying and selling of tea.
What is Tea Sommelier?
The French term “sommelier” designates a particular position in the wine business. A sommelier tastes, evaluates, and appreciates tea using extremely specialized tasting skills and knowledge.
China is the birthplace of tea, and since its discovery thousands of years ago, Chinese tea culture has flourished. However, the concept of a “tea sommelier” emerged relatively recently in Western nations. To fully appreciate these two of the most exquisite drinks in the world, there is an unexpected overlap in the level of expertise needed. This makes the idea of a sommelier easily applicable to the tea industry and provides a quick route for Western nations to develop a deeper appreciation of tea.
But there are important distinctions between wine and tea. While wine is usually consumed primarily through taste, tea requires consideration of the brewing process or ceremony just before drinking. Should a tea sommelier focus more on tasting or brewing?.
Three roles stand out as distinct from the Chinese perspective in tea circles:
- In Chinese, those who are skilled in the brewing and serving of tea are referred to as Chayishi (錕鉺縈), meaning a specialist in the tea art.
- Production specialists are those who are masters at crafting fine tea for brewing.
- Tasting specialists are people who have a special talent for tasting tea.
Seldom did individuals in ancient China achieve the pinnacle of tea expertise in each of these three domains. In China’s tea history, Lu Yu (733–804), a member of the Tang Dynasty, was the most influential tea expert. As the founder of Chinese tea culture, he is regarded as the Tea Saint in China. His book, The Classic of Tea, was the most thorough work on the subject in antiquity, covering a wide range of intricate subjects like cultivating, making, brewing, and tasting tea. Due to his extensive contributions to the field of tea, he is now referred to as the Tea Master in Western nations.
It’s funny how many people nowadays identify as “tea masters.” Some of them are skilled in conducting tea ceremonies, some in tasting tea, and some in creating exquisite teas, but we haven’t yet seen a true tea master with the caliber of Lu Yu.
The International Tea Academy draws inspiration from Lu Yu’s legacy when instructing its students: a tea sommelier certified by the ITA must be an expert in both brewing and tasting. Helping you achieve the best possible brewing, tasting, and processing standards is our aim. In order to be genuinely regarded as an exceptionally proficient tea sommelier
Tea Makers and Kettles | The power of the perfect tea | Breville USA
FAQ
What do you call someone who brews tea?
What is a tea master called?
What is a tea pourer called?
What do you call a tea person?
What is a tea maker called?
A tea maker can also be called a tea master, tea specialist, or tea barista. As the term “tea sommelier” takes from “wine sommelier,” it can easily be inferred that the origins of the phrase lie not in the world of tea-making but in winemaking and wine waiting. The word “sommelier” has French origins and is usually used to refer to a wine waiter.
What is the purpose of a tea maker?
However, a tea maker’s primary purpose is to brew tea, which involves water and tea leaves. Some devices on our list act as electric kettles, which heat water, while others use creative brewing methods to produce unique products. Q: Steel vs. plastic tea maker? A: In general, a steel tea maker is likely to last you longer than a plastic one.
What is the best tea maker?
As the most innovative tea maker on the list (and one made by a small company), the Viante Tea Infuser Electric Glass Kettle is for serious tea connoisseurs. Built-in tea infuser- can be used with or without the infuser Preset temperature settings to make black tea, green tea, white tea, oolong tea, and even French press coffee.
What are the different types of Operation tea makers?
Operation Tea makers can be categorized into two types: electric and manual. Electric tea makers offer automated features and convenience, while manual tea makers require more hands-on involvement. The choice between the two depends on personal preferences and the desired level of control and convenience in the tea brewing process.