The color, aroma, taste, and qi of the Tea infusion are known as the “Four Aspects of Tea Infusion.” The experience of these four aspects is referred to as the tea flavor. Tea flavor is a special sensation obtained when sipping tea, representing the highest quality and style within its category. Different teas yield different experiences.
Different teas have different “flavors,” and understanding them all is no simple task. In your leisure time, take the opportunity to taste various teas. Let's explore some of these flavors below. Which one do you understand the most?
01 Aged Flavor (Chen Yun)
The aged flavor, also known as Pu'er Chen Yun, is the flavor that emerges after Pu'er tea has aged over time. In the world of Pu'er tea, “the older, the more fragrant” is a famous saying that describes the quality of Pu'er tea. Like fine wine, Pu'er tea requires a long period of aging, especially with the saying “grandfather makes, grandson sells.” Gaining knowledge and experience in appreciating the aged flavor of Pu'er tea is a unique discipline.
When tasting Pu'er tea, the first indicator is the aged flavor, to determine how old it is. Then one can proceed to appreciate the aroma, taste, infusion, and qi of the tea. The difference in the age of the aged flavor affects the tea's aroma. The older the aged flavor, the stronger the sensation it provides.
02 Guan Yin Flavor (Yin Yun)
The Guan Yin Flavor, or Yin Yun, is a unique flavor specific to Tieguanyin from Anxi, symbolizing its quality and characteristics. The Guan Yin Flavor varies in height, strength, sweetness, subtlety, dominance, elegance, and grace… each infusion of Tieguanyin and each batch made by a tea farmer possesses a different flavor.
The Guan Yin Flavor combines color, aroma, and taste harmoniously, with a fresh and refreshing fragrance, a rich and sweet flavor, and an aftertaste that lingers on the palate, evoking thoughts and contemplation. Generations of tea enthusiasts and scholars have attempted to describe it, but alas, words fail to capture its essence, leading to the phrase “beyond words,” which adds a layer of mystery to Tieguanyin.
03 Aged Flavor (Chen Yun)
The aged flavor is the flavor that develops after aging. In the realm of Pu'er tea, “the older, the more fragrant” is the most fitting saying to describe Pu'er tea. Like fine wine, Pu'er tea requires a long period of aging, particularly with the saying “grandfather makes, grandson sells.”
Gaining knowledge and experience in appreciating the aged flavor of Pu'er tea is a unique discipline. The aged flavor is the primary indicator when tasting ripe Pu'er tea, to determine its age. Then one can proceed to taste the aroma, taste, nature, and qi of the tea. The difference in the age of the aged flavor affects the tea's aroma. The older the aged flavor, the stronger the sensation it provides.
04 Elegant Flavor (Ya Yun)
The elegant flavor is a unique characteristic of West Lake Longjing. West Lake Longjing is flat and upright in appearance, green and glossy in color, and has a clear and fragrant aroma. When brewed, the tea leaves turn green, resembling blooming lotus flowers, vividly alive. It is renowned for its “four excellences”: green color, fragrant aroma, sweet taste, and beautiful shape.
Its regional, varietal, and processing characteristics are infused into the tea aroma and permeate the tea infusion, alternating and emerging, forming the unique “elegant flavor” of West Lake Longjing, which is “beautiful and dynamic.”
05 Cool Flavor (Leng Yun)
The saying “light fragrance and cool flavor, the champion tea” refers to Huangshan Maofeng. Xu Chu wrote in his “Travel Notes on Mount Huang” during the Ming Dynasty: “Beside the Lotus Hermitage, tea is grown in stone crevices, with a clear fragrance and a cool and refreshing flavor that lingers on the palate, called Huangshan Clouds and Mist.” According to historical research, Huangshan Clouds and Mist is the predecessor of Huangshan Maofeng.
With a small amount of water, swirl Huangshan Maofeng gently a few times, and a delicate and elegant fragrance instantly condenses into mist, rising up. Continue to pour water, keeping it shallow rather than deep. The tea buds gather together on the surface of the water, like flowers or jade. Due to the low temperature, the crumpled tea leaves have not yet unfurled, showing a light green hue with a hint of yellow, evoking sympathy. The tender fragrance gradually disperses, and after blowing away the tea leaves, take a sip—it is extraordinarily clear, sweet, and refreshing.
06 Monkey Flavor (Hou Yun)
The “monkey flavor” is a unique characteristic of Taiping Houkui. Taiping Houkui is a traditional Chinese tea belonging to the Green Tea category. The color, aroma, taste, and shape of “Taiping Houkui” are distinct, with the characteristic of “a cluster of knives and spears, dragons flying and phoenix dancing.” Each bud is two leaves embracing a sprout, flat, upright, unscattered, not curled, commonly known as “two knives and one spear.” The leaves are dark green and evenly glossy, with red veins visible, commonly known as “red silk threads.” It has a high and refreshing floral fragrance, a sweet and mellow taste, and a unique “monkey flavor.” The infusion is clear, green, and bright, with young, green, and luminous leaves at the bottom, the buds plump and whole. When drinking, one can appreciate the “first infusion highly fragrant, second infusion rich in taste, third and fourth infusions with lingering fragrance.”
The “monkey flavor” permeates the entire process of the growth habits, cultivation, production, and appreciation of Houkui tea, imbued with rich local cultural characteristics. Its exact meaning is beyond words.
07 Honey Flavor (Mi Yun)
In Guangdong, Lingtou Dancong tea uses “flower fragrance and honey flavor” to describe the variety's characteristics. In Fujian's Fuding, White Tea is described with “hair fragrance and honey flavor.” “Honey flavor” is a blend of various taste components that work in harmony, a unique aroma and a rich taste.
The characteristics of honey flavor can be divided into two levels of manifestation: At the level of honey, the appearance of the tea is yellow-brown and lustrous, with a honey-like texture; the infusion is orange-yellow and bright, with a honey-like color; its aroma, a unique floral honey fragrance, is not dispersed outward but dissolved in the tea infusion. Upon careful tasting, one realizes the honey fragrance is strong; its taste is truly honey-like. At the level of flavor, it is the organic fusion and interactive effect of honey and aroma. Organic fusion means honey is present in the aroma, and the aroma is dissolved in the taste.