Learn the Proper Way to Taste Tea

Before we dig in our topic, let me put your mind at ease. The proper way to drink tea has nothing to do with the cup you are using (whether it is grandma’s chine or your favorite chipped mug). Neither does it have to do with what type of scones you prepare or if you should only eat macaroons imported from France. 

But it has everything to do with temperature, water, and slurping. So keep reading!

To get the best out of your tea tasting you need to use loose leaf and ditch the tea bag. Next make sure to use filtered water, it really makes a big difference. Finally invest in a kettle that has different temperature settings or use a thermometer. The first lesson I learned when I started working at Queen’s Pantry Teas was to brew my green tea at a much lower temperature. It made all the difference in the world. My tea was smoother and the flavors were bursting out of my cup! I was speechless! If you have ordered from us you should have received our magnet with proper brewing instruction. Follow the temperature recommendations. 

Next comes the slurping. Drink your tea the way you would slurp your soup. It may not sound super elegant but the action of slurping will aerate the tea and allow all the flavors to come alive in your mouth and nose. 

Ask yourself the following questions:

• what is the body of the tea? Is it light, heavy? Does it coat my mouth?
• What flavors are you tasting? You can refer to our flavor wheel for that. 

Last but not least, have fun with this experiment. Try different teas and find a tea that makes you happy. 

If you are going to taste different teas, we recommend that you start with whites, then move to green and oolong and finish with black. Before you brew your tea, take some time to observe the tea leaves and smell them.

Here are a few to get you started: Madagascar Coconut White; Blueberry Green; Pomegranate Oolong; Cinnamon Plum; Queen Mary.