Black |
tea which has been allowed to ferment as opposed to green tea: also describes colour |
Blister |
blistering of leaf caused by too rapid removal of moisture |
Bold |
pieces of leaf that are too big for a grade |
Broken |
broken by rolling or passing through a cutter |
Bold Broken |
broken by rolling or passing through a cutter |
Case Hardening |
applies mainly to orthodox teas : when outside casing becomes fully fired and prevents core from losing moisture: bold grapenutty CTCs are also susceptible to case-hardening |
Chesty |
resinous smell / taste caused by immature or inferior panels or battens. A undesirable resinous smell in both dry leaf and liquor that develops from inferior quality packing chests. |
Cheesy |
smell / taint caused by inferior glue of panels |
Choppy |
chopped in a breaker mill or cutter rather than in the roller |
Chunky |
brokens which are large : desirable feature when applied to tip |
Clean |
evenly sorted grade free from quantities of other grades, stalk and fibre |
Crepy |
crimped appearance |
Curly |
opposite to wiry |
Cut |
synonymous with choppy |
Common |
plain |
Discoloured leaf |
(self-explanatory) |
Even |
consisting of pieces of roughly equal size |
Fibrous |
It denotes the presence of fibre in some grades, particularly in fanning and dusts. This is due to coarse plucking or application of heavy pressure during rolling. |
Flaky |
flat, open, poorly made tea In orthodox manufacture, tea that is not properly twisted is termed 'flakey'. Flakiness develops from insufficient withering or rolling |
Flat |
open and flaky |
Grainy |
well-made hard leaf |
Grapenutty |
leaf balled in the process of manufacture |
Grey |
Grey coloured leaf is highly undesirable.Grayness develops due to faulty sorting and breaking procedures. |
Gritty |
leaf which feels hard to the touch |
Hairy |
thin fibre: similar to whiskery |
Irregular |
uneven whole leaf grades |
Keep |
well-manufactured tea with good keeping properties |
Knobbly |
round knobbly souchong grades |
Large |
large for market requirements |
Make |
good style |
Milled |
put through cutter or mill |
Mixed |
exaggerated form of unevenness |
Neat |
good leaf of even appearance |
Open |
opposed to twisted or rolled |
Pale Tip |
(self-explanatory) |
Powdery |
very fine light dust, the particles of which tend to cohere |
Pulverised |
dusts containing milled or pulverised fibre |
Ragged |
rough, shaggy and uneven |
Red |
(self-explanatory) |
Rough |
irregular and not well made |
Sandy |
containing sand |
Shelly |
shell-like appearance |
Shotty |
well-made souchong |
Silvery Tip |
(self-explanatory) |
Small |
small size than normal |
Spongy |
flat flaky |
Stalky |
excessive stalk |
Twist |
imparted during rolling |
Uneven |
containing uneven pieces |
Useful |
possessing good blending qualities |
Well-made |
uniform in colour, size and texture |
Wild |
end season teas having reddish appearance |